Surgical Technologist Salary in Ohio (2026): $55,610/yr
Ohio employs the eighth-largest surgical technologist workforce in the United States and is anchored by Cleveland Clinic, one of the most consequential cardiac surgery programs in the world. State pay sits 12 percent below the national mean (BLS OEWS May 2024, 29-2055), but the low Ohio cost of living shifts the real purchasing power closer to the national average.
The Ohio surgical tech market
Ohio's surgical technology labor market is shaped by an unusually high concentration of major academic medical centers spread across three regional anchor cities. Cleveland is dominated by the Cleveland Clinic (which operates as a destination academic medical center attracting patients globally), University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, and MetroHealth (a Level I trauma and county safety-net hospital). Columbus is anchored by the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, OhioHealth (a large multi-hospital system), and Nationwide Children's Hospital. Cincinnati is anchored by the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, the Christ Hospital, Mercy Health Cincinnati, and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, one of the top-ranked pediatric programs in the country.
Toledo's surgical technology employment is concentrated at ProMedica Toledo Hospital and Mercy Health St Vincent. Dayton hosts Premier Health and Kettering Health. The northwest corner of the state, including the rural counties, has a thinner hospital network and surgical tech employment scales accordingly. The combination of multiple competing major academic medical centers and several large regional health systems creates an unusually broad set of career options for surgical technologists in Ohio, with active recruitment across the state by both hospital systems and ambulatory surgical center operators.
For pay-tier purposes, Cleveland Clinic sits at the top of the Ohio surgical tech pay band. The main campus operates one of the highest-volume cardiac surgery programs in the United States, with extensive subspecialty case mix across all surgical service lines and an extensive Level I trauma service. Experienced surgical techs at Cleveland Clinic main campus commonly earn in the $70,000 to $85,000 range, with CVOR specialty techs reaching $85,000 to $95,000 when shift differentials and call are included. Cleveland Clinic operates a structured tenure and step-increase pay scale, with internal training programs that support cardiac, thoracic, vascular, and transplant scrub specialization.
Beyond Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State Wexner Medical Center anchors the Columbus market with a large academic surgical service that includes cardiac, transplant, neurosurgical, and Level I trauma case mix. Pay at Wexner tracks closely with University Hospitals Cleveland for experienced surgical techs. Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is widely regarded as one of the top pediatric programs nationally and pays pediatric surgical tech roles competitively with other large children's hospital programs in the country. Pediatric cardiac surgery at Cincinnati Children's is one of the largest pediatric cardiac programs in the United States and is a key destination for techs interested in pediatric CVOR work.
Ohio metro pay
| Metro | Mean Annual | vs State Mean |
|---|---|---|
| Cleveland-Elyria | $60,900 | +9 percent |
| Columbus | $58,300 | +5 percent |
| Cincinnati (OH portion) | $57,800 | +4 percent |
| Akron | $55,200 | -1 percent |
| Toledo | $54,400 | -2 percent |
| Dayton | $54,100 | -3 percent |
| Canton-Massillon | $52,300 | -6 percent |
| Youngstown-Warren | $51,800 | -7 percent |
Metro figures approximate; precise values from BLS Metropolitan Area OEWS tables, May 2024 release.
Cleveland Clinic, CVOR, and the cardiac concentration
Cleveland Clinic main campus runs one of the highest-volume cardiac surgery programs in the United States, with thoracic and cardiothoracic surgery case volume that anchors the institution's national reputation. For surgical technologists interested in CVOR specialty work, Cleveland Clinic represents one of the most attractive single employers in the country. The institution operates structured internal training programs for cardiac scrub, supports CSFA program completion for techs interested in the first-assist career path, and offers tenure-and-step pay scales that reward long-tenure cardiac techs meaningfully.
The presence of Cleveland Clinic has a spillover effect on the broader Cleveland surgical tech market. Other Cleveland-area hospitals (University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, MetroHealth, the Cleveland VA Medical Center) compete for surgical tech talent on pay and benefits to maintain their own surgical services, which lifts the regional pay floor. The result is that Cleveland metro surgical tech pay sits at the top of the Ohio state range despite the overall state pay mean being below the national average.
For techs early in their career who are weighing where to relocate within Ohio, Cleveland offers the strongest combination of cardiac and complex specialty case-mix exposure. Columbus offers strong academic medical center exposure at Wexner Medical Center with the additional benefit of a fast-growing regional metro with relatively affordable housing. Cincinnati offers an unusual combination of strong adult academic medicine (UC Medical Center, the Christ Hospital) plus one of the top pediatric programs in the country (Cincinnati Children's). All three metros offer pay competitive with the national average on a purchasing-power adjusted basis.