How much do medical lab technicians make?

Medical Lab Technician salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians (SOC 29-2010) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

Medical lab technicians in the US earned a median of $62,930 a year ($30.26 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $47,650 to $81,450.

Median annual pay: $62,930; Mean $67,350
Median hourly pay: $30.26; Mean $32.38
Typical range (10th–90th): $38.9K–$101K; $38,910 to $100,990
US jobs: 332,940; +2.7% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a medical lab technician: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: New York

Medical Lab Technician pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$38,910
25th percentile$47,650
Median$62,930
75th percentile$81,450
90th percentile$100,990

Half of all medical lab technicians earned more than $62,930 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $38,910; the top 10% made over $100,990. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $47,650 to $81,450.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$38,910	$18.71	$3,243
25th	$47,650	$22.91	$3,971
Median (50th)	$62,930	$30.26	$5,244
75th	$81,450	$39.16	$6,788
90th	$100,990	$48.55	$8,416
Mean (average)	$67,350	$32.38	$5,613

Medical Lab Technician salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for medical lab technicians by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. New York $97,280
2. Oregon $83,010
3. New Hampshire $81,020
4. Massachusetts $79,120
5. Vermont $78,680

Lowest-paying states

51. New Mexico $47,360
50. Idaho $47,450
49. Utah $49,090
48. Alabama $49,440
47. Arkansas $49,670

Best after cost of living: New York. Its median of $97,280 is worth about $90,140 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$49,440	48	$55,661	47	$23.77	7,250	3.43
Alaska	$60,950	30	$59,545	41	$29.31	680	2.08
Arizona	$62,530	23	$62,110	32	$30.06	6,440	1.99
Arkansas	$49,670	47	$57,133	46	$23.88	3,180	2.44
California	$76,010	7	$68,651	19	$36.54	29,210	1.60
Colorado	$70,050	12	$67,975	21	$33.68	5,000	1.74
Connecticut	$65,310	18	$63,034	30	$31.40	3,670	2.16
Delaware	$68,630	14	$68,762	17	$33.00	690	1.43
District of Columbia	$76,560	6	$69,663	12	$36.81	960	1.37
Florida	$60,510	36	$58,512	43	$29.09	25,790	2.60
Georgia	$62,180	24	$64,574	26	$29.89	11,540	2.36
Hawaii	$66,020	16	$60,045	40	$31.74	1,090	1.74
Idaho	$47,450	50	$49,689	50	$22.81	1,590	1.86
Illinois	$71,950	11	$71,980	8	$34.59	10,330	1.69
Indiana	$57,080	40	$61,160	35	$27.44	7,210	2.25
Iowa	$54,260	43	$61,826	33	$26.09	3,240	2.08
Kansas	$62,050	26	$68,892	14	$29.83	3,930	2.73
Kentucky	$60,880	32	$67,525	23	$29.27	4,860	2.43
Louisiana	$54,460	42	$61,741	34	$26.19	3,790	1.96
Maine	$68,690	13	$70,778	9	$33.02	1,250	1.95
Maryland	$63,690	21	$60,681	37	$30.62	6,200	2.25
Massachusetts	$79,120	4	$74,813	6	$38.04	10,850	2.98
Michigan	$61,260	28	$63,669	29	$29.45	10,000	2.27
Minnesota	$74,440	9	$75,481	5	$35.79	7,190	2.44
Mississippi	$50,640	46	$58,238	44	$24.35	3,070	2.64
Missouri	$60,300	37	$66,397	25	$28.99	7,670	2.61
Montana	$65,190	19	$68,878	15	$31.34	1,020	2.00
Nebraska	$60,540	35	$67,190	24	$29.11	1,930	1.88
Nevada	$57,320	39	$57,332	45	$27.56	2,040	1.31
New Hampshire	$81,020	3	$77,780	4	$38.95	800	1.16
New Jersey	$68,450	15	$62,911	31	$32.91	7,000	1.63
New Mexico	$47,360	51	$51,360	49	$22.77	2,160	2.48
New York	$97,280	1	$90,140	1	$46.77	16,460	1.70
North Carolina	$60,650	34	$64,298	28	$29.16	13,710	2.77
North Dakota	$62,680	22	$70,459	11	$30.14	1,370	3.20
Ohio	$63,800	20	$68,769	16	$30.67	13,050	2.35
Oklahoma	$53,300	44	$60,676	38	$25.63	4,250	2.49
Oregon	$83,010	2	$80,311	3	$39.91	2,660	1.35
Pennsylvania	$51,680	45	$52,966	48	$24.85	13,020	2.15
Rhode Island	$75,780	8	$74,091	7	$36.44	1,060	2.10
South Carolina	$55,280	41	$58,966	42	$26.58	4,380	1.90
South Dakota	$60,890	31	$68,735	18	$29.28	1,280	2.81
Tennessee	$62,070	25	$67,563	22	$29.84	8,410	2.56
Texas	$59,290	38	$61,088	36	$28.51	29,530	2.10
Utah	$49,090	49	$49,654	51	$23.60	6,370	3.67
Vermont	$78,680	5	$80,320	2	$37.83	460	1.52
Virginia	$61,050	29	$60,383	39	$29.35	7,150	1.74
Washington	$72,760	10	$67,992	20	$34.98	7,430	2.09
West Virginia	$61,810	27	$69,064	13	$29.72	1,800	2.57
Wisconsin	$60,670	33	$64,477	27	$29.17	8,480	2.88
Wyoming	$65,510	17	$70,676	10	$31.50	450	1.61

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for medical lab technicians

352 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Kingston, NY	$103,180	$102,454	60
Binghamton, NY	$102,040	$109,882	130
Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY	$98,290	$89,827	340
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$96,930	$86,112	16,220
Bend, OR	$90,270	$87,127	110
Vallejo, CA	$86,250	$79,508	220
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$84,870	$76,859	1,870
Albany, OR	$84,850	$83,105	40
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$84,200	$78,119	340
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$84,130	$72,769	5,210

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	16,220	$96,930	$86,112
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	10,150	$67,430	$59,375
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	9,420	$59,280	$57,503
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	8,710	$79,480	$73,412
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	7,620	$73,960	$71,393
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	7,570	$61,970	$54,286
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	7,410	$61,350	$62,203
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	6,750	$65,530	$65,492
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	6,150	$59,790	$58,301
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	5,680	$70,300	$64,564

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves medical lab technician pay: employers and settings

Your education tier and employer set most of a lab tech's pay. Hospitals employ 44.1% of lab techs and pay the best of the main settings, at a median of $68,440; independent medical and diagnostic laboratories pay $58,320; physicians' offices pay $56,850. Federal jobs pay a median of $82,200; state government pays $67,560 and local government $64,220.

State makes a large difference. New York leads at $97,280, followed by Oregon at $83,010, New Hampshire at $81,020, Massachusetts at $79,120, and Vermont. New York stays on top after living costs, at $90,140. The lowest medians are Utah at $49,090, Idaho at $47,450, and New Mexico at $47,360.

Pay runs from $38,910, the 10th percentile, to $100,990, the 90th. These percentiles describe the spread of pay, not years worked. Hospital and government employers, high-paying states such as New York, and bachelor's-level scientist and supervisor roles sit toward the upper end. BLS publishes one combined figure for technicians and technologists, so the median covers both MLTs and scientists.

Where medical lab technicians work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	44.1%	$68,440
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	44.1%	$68,440
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	19.8%	$58,320
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories	19.8%	$58,320
Offices of Physicians	10.2%	$56,850
Offices of Physicians	10.2%	$56,850

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	292,190	$62,440
Private employers	292,190	$62,440
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	7,130	$82,200
Federal government (incl. Postal Service)	7,130	$82,200
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	15,770	$67,560
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	15,770	$67,560
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	17,850	$64,220
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	17,850	$64,220

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

Medical Lab Technician pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$62.9K $50.5K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $50,550 in 2015 to $62,930 in 2025, up 24% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $68,334 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 8% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What medical lab technicians do

A medical lab technician runs the tests on blood, urine, tissue and other body fluids that doctors use to diagnose and monitor disease. The work sits in two tiers. Medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) usually hold an associate degree and perform routine testing. Medical laboratory scientists (MLS), also called medical technologists or clinical laboratory scientists, hold a bachelor's degree and handle more complex testing, troubleshooting, quality control and supervision.

The typical day is spent in a hospital lab or a large reference lab, loading samples onto automated chemistry and hematology analyzers, checking quality control before results are released, reviewing blood smears under a microscope, culturing bacteria, and crossmatching blood for transfusions. Lab techs rarely see patients but work closely with phlebotomists, nurses and pathologists, and they call critical results to doctors. Hospital labs run around the clock, so evening, night, weekend and holiday shifts are common, especially for new hires.

A typical day

Run quality control on analyzers at the start of a shift and fix problems before reporting any results
Load blood and urine samples onto automated chemistry, hematology and coagulation instruments
Look at blood smears and urine sediment under a microscope to flag abnormal cells
Type and crossmatch blood so patients receive compatible units for transfusion
Grow and identify bacteria from cultures and test which antibiotics will work
Phone critical values, such as dangerously low potassium, to the nurse or doctor right away
Calibrate and maintain instruments and keep records that pass lab inspections

Also called: lab technician, lab tech, medical laboratory technician, medical technologist, clinical laboratory scientist, medical laboratory scientist, clinical chemist, clinical laboratory scientist (cls).

How to become a medical lab technician

Full guide

To become a lab technician, you complete a NAACLS-accredited associate degree in medical laboratory technology (about 2 years) and pass a certification exam such as MLT(ASCP) or MLT(AMT). To become a medical laboratory scientist, you earn a bachelor's degree with an accredited MLS program (4 years) and pass the MLS exam; a few states also require a license.

Typical time: 2-4 years; Fastest: About 2 years (MLT)
Minimum education: Associate degree from a NAACLS-accredited medical laboratory technician program (bachelor's for medical laboratory scientists)
License: Required in some states only; certification is not legally required elsewhere but most employers expect it
Typical training cost: $10.0K–$43.7K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a medical lab technician: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 2-4 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $10.0K–$43.7K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $62,930; $11,950 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 16–69%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($11,950 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in less than a year to 3.7 years after training ends (2-4 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for medical lab technicians

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: +2.7%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 343,000; 352,400 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 20,800; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 0.7%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS projects jobs for clinical lab technologists and technicians to grow 2.7% from 2025 to 2035, from 343,000 to 352,400, a bit slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations. An older population needs more testing for conditions such as cancer and diabetes, and genetic testing is spreading. Against that, labs keep automating, so each tech can handle more samples. Still, about 20,800 openings are expected each year, mostly from retirements and people leaving the field.

Related careers and their pay

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Medical Lab Technician salary FAQ

How much do medical lab technicians make an hour?

The median hourly wage for medical lab technicians was $30.26 in May 2025. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $18.71 an hour and the highest-paid 10% more than $48.55. Hourly figures are BLS estimates for all workers in the occupation, full-time and part-time.

Which state pays medical lab technicians the most?

New York has the highest median pay for medical lab technicians, $97,280 a year, followed by Oregon ($83,010) and New Hampshire ($81,020). After adjusting for each state's price level, New York comes out ahead at about $90,140 in national-average dollars.

Do medical lab technicians make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 10% and 25% of medical lab technicians earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $62,930, and the top 10% earn more than $100,990. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What is the difference between an MLT and an MLS?

A medical laboratory technician (MLT) typically has an associate degree and performs routine tests. A medical laboratory scientist (MLS), also called a medical technologist or clinical laboratory scientist, has a bachelor's degree and handles more complex testing, quality control and supervision. Both certify through ASCP or AMT. Many MLTs later finish an MLT-to-MLS bachelor's program.

Is a lab tech the same as a phlebotomist?

No. A phlebotomist draws blood from patients and gets the samples to the lab; training is a short certificate. A lab technician tests those samples and needs an associate or bachelor's degree, usually with certification. In small labs and clinics one person may do both, but the jobs, training and pay are different.

Do lab techs work nights?

Often, at least at first. Hospital labs run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because emergency departments, ICUs and operating rooms need results at all hours. New lab techs frequently start on evenings, nights or weekends and move to day shifts with seniority. Reference labs and physicians' office labs are more likely to have regular daytime hours, though they typically pay less than hospitals.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 29-2010
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (29-2011.00, 29-2012.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
Clinical Laboratory Technologists and Technicians, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
About NAACLS, National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences · checked October 28, 2026
Medical Laboratory Technician (MLT), American Medical Technologists · checked October 28, 2026
Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS), American Medical Technologists · checked October 28, 2026
Medical Laboratory Scientist and Medical Laboratory Technician credentials, ASCP Board of Certification · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026

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