Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

29-2055 Surgical Technologists

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel. May help set up operating room, prepare and transport patients for surgery, adjust lights and equipment, pass instruments and other supplies to surgeons and surgeon's assistants, hold retractors, cut sutures, and help count sponges, needles, supplies, and instruments.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
110,160	1.1 %	$23.58	$49,040	0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$15.80	$18.70	$22.74	$27.90	$33.25
Annual Wage (2)	$32,870	$38,910	$47,300	$58,040	$69,170

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	77,390	1.40	$23.33	$48,530
Outpatient Care Centers	12,350	1.34	$25.00	$52,000
Offices of Physicians	11,300	0.44	$23.43	$48,730
Offices of Dentists	3,840	0.41	$22.09	$45,950
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,690	0.65	$26.49	$55,110

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	77,390	1.40	$23.33	$48,530
Outpatient Care Centers	12,350	1.34	$25.00	$52,000
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,690	0.65	$26.49	$55,110
Offices of Physicians	11,300	0.44	$23.43	$48,730
Offices of Dentists	3,840	0.41	$22.09	$45,950

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	1,690	0.65	$26.49	$55,110
Employment Services	1,630	0.04	$25.98	$54,040
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	360	0.01	$25.80	$53,670
Outpatient Care Centers	12,350	1.34	$25.00	$52,000
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	590	0.19	$23.66	$49,210

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Texas	10,340	0.85	1.12	$23.76	$49,410
California	9,640	0.57	0.74	$29.30	$60,940
Florida	7,340	0.85	1.12	$21.17	$44,030
New York	5,750	0.61	0.81	$26.59	$55,310
Georgia	4,410	1.00	1.32	$21.55	$44,830

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
West Virginia	1,080	1.55	2.04	$17.97	$37,390
South Dakota	600	1.42	1.87	$19.70	$40,970
Mississippi	1,350	1.20	1.58	$19.09	$39,700
Alabama	2,220	1.14	1.50	$17.61	$36,630
Idaho	750	1.07	1.40	$24.68	$51,330

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Alaska	190	0.59	0.78	$30.74	$63,930
California	9,640	0.57	0.74	$29.30	$60,940
District of Columbia	260	0.37	0.49	$28.50	$59,280
Nevada	1,080	0.80	1.05	$28.39	$59,040
Minnesota	2,340	0.82	1.07	$28.19	$58,630

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	5,610	0.59	0.78	$27.92	$58,070
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	3,100	0.51	0.67	$28.01	$58,260
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	2,960	0.99	1.30	$25.67	$53,390
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,690	0.58	0.76	$24.75	$51,490
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,670	0.99	1.31	$22.57	$46,940
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	2,590	0.73	0.95	$24.82	$51,620
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	2,310	0.89	1.17	$22.04	$45,840
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	1,930	0.98	1.29	$20.91	$43,490
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	1,930	0.68	0.89	$22.77	$47,370
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	1,720	0.84	1.10	$24.71	$51,410