Healthcare Practitioners
Clinical Laboratory Scientists
SOC 29-2010
Run and interpret the lab tests that most diagnoses depend on.
The job
Median pay
$63k
$48k to $81k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing
+2.7% projected
Openings a year
21k
BLS projection
Typical education
Bachelor's
Our model
AI displacement risk
Moderate
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
8/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
33rd pct
More exposed than 33% of occupations · modeled estimate · 38th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
56/100
Key skills
- Lab technique
- Analysis
- Quality control
- Instrumentation
- Precision
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 29,530 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $59k |
| California | 29,210 | 1.6 | 0.8× | $76k |
| Florida | 25,790 | 2.6 | 1.2× | $61k |
| New York | 16,460 | 1.7 | 0.8× | $97k |
| North Carolina | 13,710 | 2.8 | 1.3× | $61k |
| Ohio | 13,050 | 2.4 | 1.1× | $64k |
| Pennsylvania | 13,020 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $52k |
| Georgia | 11,540 | 2.4 | 1.1× | $62k |
| Massachusetts | 10,850 | 3.0 | 1.4× | $79k |
| Illinois | 10,330 | 1.7 | 0.8× | $72k |
All 51 states
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 10,000 | 2.3 | 1.1× | $61k |
| Wisconsin | 8,480 | 2.9 | 1.4× | $61k |
| Tennessee | 8,410 | 2.6 | 1.2× | $62k |
| Missouri | 7,670 | 2.6 | 1.2× | $60k |
| Washington | 7,430 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $73k |
| Alabama | 7,250 | 3.4 | 1.6× | $49k |
| Indiana | 7,210 | 2.3 | 1.1× | $57k |
| Minnesota | 7,190 | 2.4 | 1.1× | $74k |
| Virginia | 7,150 | 1.7 | 0.8× | $61k |
| New Jersey | 7,000 | 1.6 | 0.8× | $68k |
| Arizona | 6,440 | 2.0 | 0.9× | $63k |
| Utah | 6,370 | 3.7 | 1.7× | $49k |
| Maryland | 6,200 | 2.2 | 1.1× | $64k |
| Colorado | 5,000 | 1.7 | 0.8× | $70k |
| Kentucky | 4,860 | 2.4 | 1.1× | $61k |
| South Carolina | 4,380 | 1.9 | 0.9× | $55k |
| Oklahoma | 4,250 | 2.5 | 1.2× | $53k |
| Kansas | 3,930 | 2.7 | 1.3× | $62k |
| Louisiana | 3,790 | 2.0 | 0.9× | $54k |
| Connecticut | 3,670 | 2.2 | 1.0× | $65k |
| Iowa | 3,240 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $54k |
| Arkansas | 3,180 | 2.4 | 1.1× | $50k |
| Mississippi | 3,070 | 2.6 | 1.2× | $51k |
| Oregon | 2,660 | 1.4 | 0.6× | $83k |
| New Mexico | 2,160 | 2.5 | 1.2× | $47k |
| Nevada | 2,040 | 1.3 | 0.6× | $57k |
| Nebraska | 1,930 | 1.9 | 0.9× | $61k |
| West Virginia | 1,800 | 2.6 | 1.2× | $62k |
| Idaho | 1,590 | 1.9 | 0.9× | $47k |
| North Dakota | 1,370 | 3.2 | 1.5× | $63k |
| South Dakota | 1,280 | 2.8 | 1.3× | $61k |
| Maine | 1,250 | 2.0 | 0.9× | $69k |
| Hawaii | 1,090 | 1.7 | 0.8× | $66k |
| Rhode Island | 1,060 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $76k |
| Montana | 1,020 | 2.0 | 0.9× | $65k |
| Washington DC | 960 | 1.4 | 0.6× | $77k |
| New Hampshire | 800 | 1.2 | 0.6× | $81k |
| Delaware | 690 | 1.4 | 0.7× | $69k |
| Alaska | 680 | 2.1 | 1.0× | $61k |
| Vermont | 460 | 1.5 | 0.7× | $79k |
| Wyoming | 450 | 1.6 | 0.8× | $66k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ16,220 jobs · $97k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA10,150 jobs · $67k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX9,420 jobs · $59k median
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH8,710 jobs · $79k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN7,620 jobs · $74k median
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL7,570 jobs · $62k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX7,410 jobs · $61k median
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA6,750 jobs · $66k median
Explore the rankings
Explore Clinical Laboratory Scientists interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.