Surgical Technologist Salary by Setting (2026)
Surgical technologist pay varies by work setting in patterns that often outweigh state-level variation. Colleges and universities lead at $77,270 mean, followed by specialty hospitals at $75,540 and outpatient care centers at $69,250. General medical and surgical hospitals, the largest employer, pay $69,000, and physician offices $68,090. Per-setting analysis surfaces the case mix, shift structure, and benefit context that pay tables hide.
Hospital surgical tech
$69,000 mean (BLS general medical and surgical hospitals). Shift differentials, call, complex case mix, union pay at large systems, tuition reimbursement ladders.
Read the hospital pay deep dive →Ambulatory surgical center
$69,250 mean (BLS outpatient care centers; the ASC-specific industry was suppressed in the May 2025 release). Predictable day-shift schedule, no nights or weekends, joint and ortho ASC growth, IC opportunity for CSFAs.
Read the ASC pay deep dive →BLS setting-level pay breakdown
The BLS OEWS data publishes surgical technologist pay by industry classification, allowing direct comparison across work settings. Colleges and universities anchor the top at $77,270 mean, with specialty (non-general) hospitals close behind at $75,540. Outpatient care centers pay $69,250, and general medical and surgical hospitals (the largest single employer category, accounting for roughly 70 percent of total surgical tech employment) sit at $69,000. Physician offices, where smaller-scale procedural surgical work happens, pay $68,090, and the government aggregate (mostly VA medical centers and DoD military treatment facilities) is $64,930. In the May 2025 release the federal-government-only and ambulatory-surgical-center industry detail lines were both suppressed, so the closest published comparators are the government aggregate and outpatient care centers respectively.
The setting-level pay breakdown matters more than state-level variation for many surgical tech career decisions. A tech moving between settings within the same state can see a 10 to 20 percent pay change. A tech moving between states within the same setting typically sees a smaller pay change. For early-career planning, choosing the right setting often matters more than choosing the right state.