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Salary · Surgical Tech · United States

Surgical Tech salary: $64,650 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$64,650median ($31.08/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for surgical technologists in the United States was $64,650 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $45,940 and the top 10% earned more than $96,940. That median is 1.3 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Hawaii ($82,640).

Data Government data groups this job as Surgical Technologists (O*NET-SOC 29-2055.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$45,940
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$54,690
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$79,750
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$96,940
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Surgical Tech salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Hawaii$82,640
  2. Oregon$81,390
  3. California$81,310
  4. Massachusetts$80,870
  5. Alaska$80,380
Most people employed
  1. California11,920
  2. Texas10,160
  3. Florida9,120
  4. New York6,540
  5. Pennsylvania4,490
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Hawaii$82,640$39,370–$94,010290
Oregon$81,390$59,930–$97,3301,090
California$81,310$49,140–$115,74011,920
Massachusetts$80,870$60,350–$109,5502,220
Alaska$80,380$54,840–$101,060310
Minnesota$80,210$62,820–$98,4701,770
Connecticut$79,890$45,980–$104,9201,220
New York$79,550$53,680–$105,3306,540
District of Columbia$77,520$37,800–$101,180340
Washington$77,270$55,270–$103,6902,510
New Jersey$77,200$48,270–$100,4902,780
Colorado$75,740$51,040–$92,5802,100
Nevada$75,480$48,330–$102,4301,110
New Hampshire$75,040$56,760–$87,560370
Rhode Island$74,130$49,910–$101,850240
Wisconsin$74,120$59,410–$86,6702,180
Idaho$72,550$48,430–$87,2101,100
Arizona$72,260$50,030–$96,8402,410
Maryland$68,970$45,590–$85,8201,880
Virginia$67,580$47,980–$102,0201,910
Texas$65,220$39,950–$92,58010,160
Illinois$64,650$48,560–$91,8903,570
Indiana$64,240$51,350–$80,6002,680
Georgia$64,010$40,390–$84,0404,380
Nebraska$63,880$49,870–$79,350770
Michigan$63,320$43,690–$79,5503,840
Maine$62,860$48,330–$80,380470
Utah$62,720$45,760–$87,4301,170
Pennsylvania$62,680$47,130–$77,7604,490
Florida$62,440$41,270–$85,6209,120
Ohio$62,420$48,110–$80,6403,730
Delaware$62,250$48,150–$79,310340
South Carolina$62,160$38,830–$75,2102,680
North Dakota$61,640$50,440–$72,120370
Oklahoma$61,190$49,200–$77,3201,940
Missouri$61,120$44,930–$78,4102,100
Montana$60,970$37,690–$79,330490
North Carolina$60,920$45,990–$78,6504,400
Vermont$60,660$49,510–$88,460140
Kansas$60,600$44,720–$76,8801,200
Iowa$60,540$47,280–$75,100950
Tennessee$60,530$47,620–$75,9203,310
Kentucky$60,490$41,440–$79,9801,440
South Dakota$59,870$38,450–$75,470600
Wyoming$58,850$45,080–$79,920210
Arkansas$57,400$38,750–$75,4601,640
Louisiana$57,370$36,580–$74,6502,230
New Mexico$51,780$42,430–$78,650540
Mississippi$49,810$38,800–$66,3001,110
Alabama$49,420$36,490–$64,3602,480
West Virginia$49,110$38,010–$72,010580
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$106,840
  2. Vallejo, CA$105,260
  3. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$99,960
  4. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$99,390
  5. Urban Honolulu, HI$87,330
  6. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$86,790
  7. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$84,120
  8. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT$83,580
  9. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA$82,430
  10. Stockton-Lodi, CA$82,300
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Anesthesiologist Assistant$135,880
  2. Radiation Therapist$105,310
  3. Ultrasound Tech$96,590
  4. Respiratory Therapist$82,280
  5. Radiology Tech$80,110
  6. Surgical Tech$64,650
  7. Sterile Processing Technician$47,700
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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