Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2005

19-4021 Biological Technicians

Assist biological and medical scientists in laboratories. Set up, operate, and maintain laboratory instruments and equipment, monitor experiments, make observations, and calculate and record results. May analyze organic substances, such as blood, food, and drugs.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
67,080 2.7 % $17.54 $36,480 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.81 $13.14 $16.47 $20.94 $26.21
Annual Wage (2) $22,480 $27,330 $34,270 $43,550 $54,510

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Scientific research and development services 18,460 $19.55 $40,660
Colleges and universities 15,310 $16.63 $34,590
Federal government (OES designation) 10,460 $15.39 $32,000
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 8,640 $18.53 $38,550
State government (OES designation) 2,890 $14.94 $31,080

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Social advocacy organizations (8) $23.41 $48,700
Basic chemical manufacturing 210 $22.02 $45,800
Outpatient care centers 220 $21.31 $44,320
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing 180 $20.70 $43,060
Electronic instrument manufacturing 200 $19.99 $41,580

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Alaska 900 $15.56 $32,370 0.300%
Washington 3,310 $17.53 $36,460 0.125%
Utah 1,330 $13.88 $28,870 0.121%
Massachusetts 3,820 $21.93 $45,610 0.121%
Maryland 2,990 $19.17 $39,880 0.120%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Massachusetts 3,820 $21.93 $45,610 0.121%
Connecticut 860 $20.27 $42,170 0.052%
New Jersey 3,100 $20.21 $42,030 0.079%
California 8,720 $19.95 $41,500 0.059%
Michigan 1,380 $19.29 $40,120 0.032%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Ames, IA 460 $15.56 $32,370 1.131%
Corvallis, OR 280 $14.82 $30,820 0.797%
Durham, NC 1,960 $18.31 $38,080 0.776%
Fort Collins-Loveland, CO 600 $17.70 $36,820 0.487%
Fairbanks, AK 130 $15.07 $31,350 0.358%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Barnstable Town, MA 140 $29.97 $62,330 0.141%
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metropolitan Division 120 $26.40 $54,920 0.015%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 840 $25.64 $53,340 0.097%
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 290 $25.26 $52,550 0.097%
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT (8) $24.50 $50,960 (8)

About May 2005 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2005 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2005 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2005 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 24, 2006