20 Best Metropolitan Markets for Surgical Technologist Pay

In a January commentary we examined Surgical Technologist Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Areas.  As is the case with many professions, the major metro areas in the U.S. are the top employment centers for surgical technologists.  Even so, it is in smaller metro markets where surgical technologists will frequently find better average compensation levels. This can be seen in May 2019 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which reveals that only four of the 20 largest metro areas in the nation were among the 20 best metropolitan markets for surgical technologist pay:

	Metropolitan Area		# Employed	Annual Mean Wages
1	Salinas, CA		60	$74,280
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (#)		1,170	$72,790
3	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA		560	$69,750
4	Anchorage, AK		150	$69,690
5	Vallejo-Fairfield, CA		140	$69,160
6	Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade		680	$68,150
7	Fresno, CA		240	$67,280
8	Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV		830	$67,060
9	Redding, CA		50	$66,520
10	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA		110	$66420
11	Barnstable Town, MA		110	$66,250
12	Waterbury, CT		70	$63,690
13	Fairbanks, AK		50	$62,920
14	San Diego-Carlsbad, CA (#)		660	$62,840
15	New Haven, CT		180	$62,740
16	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA		770	$62,550
17	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (#)		1,250	$62,470
18	Stockton-Lodi, CA		160	$61,570
19	Corvallis, OR		30	$61,560
20	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (#)		1,210	$61,240
	National		109,000	$50,110

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted January 6, 2021