Median annual wages vary widely among hospital workers, according to May 2025 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Registered nurses, the nation’s largest healthcare practitioner occupation with roughly 3.4 million employed nationwide, earned a median annual wage of $97,550, according to a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics news release.
Below are the median annual wages for 42 occupations across the hospital workforce, listed in ascending order. The list is not exhaustive.
Editor’s note: Figures reflect median annual wages across all industries per BLS May 2025 data. All occupations are found in hospital and healthcare settings, though some — such as security guards, housekeeping cleaners and cooks — also work in other industries.
1. Maids and housekeeping cleaners: $35,510
2. Cooks, institution and cafeteria: $37,450
3. Orderlies: $38,290
4. Security guards: $38,020
5. Nursing assistants: $42,260
6. Emergency medical technicians: $44,470
7. Phlebotomists: $45,230
8. Pharmacy technicians: $45,750
9. Medical assistants: $45,690
10. Medical records specialists: $51,140
11. Paramedics: $60,600
12. Chaplains: $60,810
13. Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians: $62,930
14. Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses: $64,400
15. Surgical technologists: $64,650
16. Healthcare social workers: $67,880
17. Health information technologists and medical registrars: $68,020
18. Dietitians and nutritionists: $76,400
19. Radiologic technologists and technicians: $80,110
20. Respiratory therapists: $82,280
21. Diagnostic medical sonographers: $96,590
22. Registered nurses: $97,550
23. Occupational therapists: $100,330
24. Nuclear medicine technologists: $101,370
25. Physical therapists: $102,760
26. Medical and health services managers: $123,860
27. Nurse practitioners: $132,300
28. Physician assistants: $135,880
29. Pharmacists: $140,910
30. Pediatricians, general: $210,040
31. Nurse anesthetists: $236,590
32. Family medicine physicians: $244,180
33. Neurologists: $248,560
34. General internal medicine physicians: $256,560
35. Psychiatrists: $281,870
36. OB-GYNs: $292,910
37. Physicians, pathologists: $312,400
38. Dermatologists: $328,730
39. Emergency medicine physicians: $335,550
40. Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric: $358,550
41. Anesthesiologists: $391,490
42. Cardiologists: $496,010
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