Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Southeastern U.S.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published reports earlier this year indicating that almost 148,500 speech language pathologists (SLPs) were employed in the United States as of May 2020.  More than 33,000 of those employed in the U.S. as SLPs resided in the twelve-state Southeastern region of the country.  The Southeast region is one of the weakest regions in the country for speech language pathologist pay.  Outside of Virginia, which had the 6th best SLP annual mean wage level in the nation, all states in the region registered SLP annual mean wage levels below the national average.  This included four Southeastern states that ranked among the ten worst states in the country for SLP annual mean wages.  A closer look at BLS data from May 2020 reveals the following about speech language pathologist pay in the Southeastern U.S.:

Speech Language Pathologist Pay in the Southeastern U.S.

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
AL	1,640	$66,400	50th
AR	1,940	$73,630	40th
FL	8,370	$81,000	20th
GA	3,430	$78,140	29th
KY	2,310	$74,520	39th
LA	1,160	$81,780	17th
MS	1,310	$67,250	48th
NC	4,610	$73,400	41st
SC	1,660	$71,340	45th
TN	3,150	$75,430	35th
VA	2,940	$92,520	6th
WV	800	$67,010	49th
U.S.	148,450	$83,240	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on June 2, 2021