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Healthcare Support

Sterile Processing Technicians

SOC 31-9093

Clean, sterilize, and track surgical instruments and medical supplies.

The job
Median pay
$48k
$40k to $59k typical range
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Growing fast
+11% projected
Openings a year
11k
BLS projection
Typical education
Postsecondary cert
Our model
AI displacement risk
Low
How much of this job AI may do instead of the person
Works with AI
15/100
AI alongside the person rather than instead of them
AI exposure
13th pct
More exposed than 13% of occupations · modeled estimate · 4th pct in Microsoft's data
Future-proof
62/100

Take the next step

Weigh it against Patient Care TechniciansPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostCalifornia leads at $61k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at Sterile Processing Technicians and explore its neighbours See open jobsSterile Processing Technicians roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for Sterile Processing Technicians, who lean most on critical thinking Real pay & reviewsWhat Sterile Processing Technicians say they actually earn

Key skills

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.

StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
California8,7200.51.0×$61k
Florida5,2500.51.1×$46k
New York5,1900.51.1×$57k
Texas4,5200.30.7×$47k
Pennsylvania3,4500.61.1×$46k
Ohio3,2100.61.2×$46k
North Carolina2,9000.61.2×$45k
Illinois2,8000.50.9×$48k
New Jersey2,4400.61.1×$50k
Michigan2,4200.51.1×$46k
All 51 states
StateJobsPer 1,000vs nationalMedian pay
Arizona2,3200.71.4×$47k
Missouri1,9700.71.4×$43k
Colorado1,9500.71.4×$48k
Massachusetts1,9000.51.1×$59k
Georgia1,8600.40.8×$48k
Virginia1,8400.40.9×$47k
Indiana1,7500.51.1×$45k
Washington1,6700.50.9×$59k
Tennessee1,5900.51.0×$47k
Oregon1,5700.81.6×$49k
Minnesota1,3900.50.9×$50k
Wisconsin1,3800.50.9×$48k
Maryland1,1600.40.8×$49k
South Carolina1,1600.51.0×$43k
Kentucky1,1200.61.1×$47k
Connecticut1,0600.61.3×$48k
Alabama1,0000.50.9×$36k
Kansas7400.51.0×$45k
Oklahoma6900.40.8×$43k
Louisiana6200.30.6×$36k
Utah6000.30.7×$48k
Iowa5900.40.8×$40k
Idaho5800.71.4×$46k
Nebraska5500.51.1×$41k
West Virginia5300.81.5×$45k
Maine5100.81.6×$47k
Nevada5100.30.7×$47k
South Dakota4801.02.1×$42k
New Hampshire3800.61.1×$49k
Mississippi3500.30.6×$35k
North Dakota3500.81.6×$39k
Montana3300.61.3×$45k
Arkansas3200.20.5×$38k
Washington DC3100.40.9×$49k
New Mexico3000.30.7×$37k
Alaska2200.71.4×$50k
Hawaii2200.40.7×$52k
Delaware1900.40.8×$53k
Rhode Island1900.40.8×$51k
Vermont1400.50.9×$49k
Wyoming1200.40.9×$48k

Top metro areas

  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ5,270 jobs · $59k median
  2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA3,010 jobs · $60k median
  3. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN2,140 jobs · $49k median
  4. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ1,800 jobs · $47k median
  5. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD1,660 jobs · $50k median
  6. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL1,350 jobs · $46k median
  7. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH1,310 jobs · $61k median
  8. Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO1,280 jobs · $45k median

Explore the rankings

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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.