National comparison · BLS OEWS, May 2025

Healthcare occupation wages

High-employment detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioner and technical major group.

OccupationEmploymentMedianMeanSelected measure
Registered Nurses3,379,720$97,550$101,420$97,550
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses648,410$64,400$67,050$64,400
Pharmacy Technicians471,680$45,750$46,620$45,750
Physicians, All Other342,720$265,930$262,040$265,930
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians332,940$62,930$67,350$62,930
Nurse Practitioners323,040$132,300$137,300$132,300
Pharmacists321,970$140,910$140,920$140,910
Physical Therapists267,330$102,760$105,280$102,760
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians230,490$80,110$83,840$80,110
Dental Hygienists222,740$98,100$98,990$98,100
Medical Records Specialists194,720$51,140$56,790$51,140
Speech-Language Pathologists183,390$97,870$98,170$97,870
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other182,610$50,290$58,710$50,290
Emergency Medical Technicians180,510$44,470$46,830$44,470
Occupational Therapists162,450$100,330$101,280$100,330
Physician Assistants162,150$135,880$141,280$135,880
Psychiatric Technicians156,960$45,130$46,610$45,130
Respiratory Therapists139,790$82,280$87,300$82,280
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians129,140$47,380$49,120$47,380
Dentists, General124,390$170,950$191,350$170,950

How to read this comparison

This table is ordered by median. That measure is kept distinct from the other columns so readers can see how a different question changes the ranking.

Every row uses the cross-industry national OEWS table for May 2025. The occupation code and period stay fixed within the ranking. Values are survey estimates and may be rounded; the ordering does not account for living costs, experience, industry, work schedule, benefits, or individual qualifications.

A ranking answers only the question encoded by its sort key. Employment is not wage, mean is not median, and a wide percentile spread is not a forecast of wage growth. Open an occupation profile for the complete set of published measures before treating a position in this table as meaningful.

LaborBrief does not fill suppressed estimates, combine releases, or infer future values. The pages in the methods library explain mean versus median, percentiles, source dates, and responsible use.

For state context, use the state index and only compare cells that carry all six required BLS values. A state page can show concentration and employment scale that a national ranking cannot. Return to the wages hub for other sorting questions.

Primary sources

Data period: BLS OEWS, May 2025Verified: 2026-08-04