20 Best Metro Areas for Speech-Language Pathologist Pay

As we reviewed in Speech-Language Pathologist Pay in the Top 20 Metro Areas earlier this year, the largest U.S. metropolitan markets are the major centers for speech-language pathologist employment. Nonetheless, a deeper look into U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data discloses that smaller metro areas commonly provide speech-language pathologists with higher paying employment opportunities.  A review of May 2019 BLS data shows us that only three of the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas were among the 20 best metro areas for speech-language pathologist pay:

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT		N/A	$117,710
2	Corvallis, OR		40	$105,380
3	Chico, CA		60	$104,640
4	New York-Newark-Jersey City (#)		13,240	$104,180
5	Bakersfield, CA		210	$103,760
6	Jackson, MI		50	$103,750
7	Santa Rosa, CA		100	$102,640
8	Columbus, GA-AL		50	$101,800
9	Fresno, CA		270	$101,550
10	Danbury, CT		90	$101,540
11	Ocala, FL		110	$101,200
12	Battle Creek, MI		60	$100,070
13	Gainesville, FL		210	$99,540
14	Modesto, CA		160	$99,500
15	Salinas, CA		N/A	$99,130
16	Denver-Aurora-Lakewood (#)		2,260	$98,360
17	Laredo, TX		120	$97,710
18	Dalton, GA		110	$97,640
19	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#)		N/A	$97,500
20	Napa, CA		40	$96,750
	National		154,360	$82,000

(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on January 1, 2021