Allied health careers: nine jobs compared by pay

Allied health salary by career

Surgical technologists have the highest median pay of the nine careers here, veterinary assistants the lowest, and the 5 in the middle are within $3,230 of each other.^{[oews][onet_surg][onet_ma][onet_phleb][onet_coder][onet_emt][onet_para][onet_vet][onet_spt][onet_vasst]} The table ranks them by the BLS May 2025 median and adds the hourly rate, the take-home pay of a single filer and the size of each workforce.^{[oews_api][irs][ssa]}

*At the median: single filer, 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, before state tax.

Highest paying allied health jobs on this list

The highest paying allied health job here is surgical technologist at $64,650, followed by paramedic ($60,600) and medical biller and coder ($51,140).^{[onet_surg][onet_para][onet_coder]} Pay at the top of the range tells a different story: the 90th percentile for surgical techs is $96,940, but for paramedics and coders it is $84,850 and $81,150, so experienced workers in those two fields can out-earn a median surgical tech.

The middle of the list clusters tightly: sterile processing techs $47,700, vet techs $47,380, medical assistants $45,690, phlebotomists $45,230, EMTs $44,470. For them, the state you work in matters more than the job title, as the next table shows. Veterinary assistants, the one career here with no postsecondary training requirement, earn the least ($38,150); see veterinary assistant salary. Sterile processing techs, who clean and sterilize surgical instruments, earn $47,700; see sterile processing technician salary.^{[ooh_vasst][onet_spt]}

Best-paying state for each career

Every career has a different best-paying state, and the West Coast, Hawaii and the District of Columbia lead most lists.^{[onet_surg][onet_ma][onet_phleb][onet_coder][onet_emt][onet_para][onet_vet][onet_spt][onet_vasst]}

State-by-state rankings and every metro area are on each career's page, and California, the biggest market, has its own pages for surgical techs, medical assistants and phlebotomists and vet techs, and Texas has one for medical assistants.

Training, exams and job outlook

Six of the careers have a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate or diploma) as their typical entry-level education; veterinary technicians usually need an associate's degree, and veterinary assistants a high school diploma.^{[ooh_surg][ooh_ma][ooh_phleb][ooh_coder][ooh_emt][ooh_vet][ooh_vasst]} BLS projects every career it profiles here to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2025 to 2035. Sterile processing techs (medical equipment preparers) have no Occupational Outlook Handbook profile; their main credential, HSPA's CRCST, costs $140 and requires 400 hours of hands-on work.^[hspa_hb]

*Surgical assistants and technologists combined. †EMTs and paramedics combined. ‡Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers combined. Exam fees: NBSTSA, AAMA (members/non-members), AMT, AHIMA, NREMT, AAVSB, HSPA.^{[nbstsa_faq][aama_app][amt_rpt][ahima_cca][nremt_emt][nremt_para][aavsb_apply][hspa_hb]}

The steps, fees and state rules for each path are on how to become a surgical tech, how to become a medical assistant, medical assistant certification, how to become a phlebotomist and EMT certification cost; EMT vs paramedic compares the two emergency roles and how to become a medical coder covers the desk-side route.

Salary pages for each career

Each career page has a salary calculator with every state and metro area, percentile tables and take-home pay:

• Surgical tech salary$64,650 median · $31.08/hr · top state HI
• Paramedic salary$60,600 median · $29.13/hr · top state WA
• Medical biller/coder salary$51,140 median · $24.59/hr · top state DC
• Sterile processing tech salary$47,700 median · $22.93/hr · top state CA
• Vet tech salary$47,380 median · $22.78/hr · top state DC
• Medical assistant salary$45,690 median · $21.97/hr · top state WA
• Phlebotomist salary$45,230 median · $21.75/hr · top state CA
• EMT salary$44,470 median · $21.38/hr · top state HI
• Veterinary assistant salary$38,150 median · $18.34/hr · top state RI

More healthcare careers: front desk, lab and management

Three neighboring careers have their own pages. Medical administrative assistants, who run scheduling, records and billing at the front desk, earn a $45,930 median; see medical administrative assistant salary.^{[onet_medsec]} Histotechnologists prepare tissue samples for pathologists inside the clinical laboratory workforce, whose median is $62,930; see histotechnologist salary.^[onet_lab] Medical and health services managers earn $123,860; see healthcare administration salary.^[onet_hsm] Both lab and management jobs typically start with a bachelor's degree.^{[ooh_lab][ooh_hsm]} Choosing a training program first? Surgical tech programs explains accreditation, the associate degree rule and the 120-case clinical requirement.

How to read these numbers

Every figure is a BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimate for May 2025, published through O*NET OnLine for each state and metro area.^{[oews][onet_ma]} BLS counts straight-time wages of employees and converts hourly pay to yearly pay at 2,080 hours, so overtime, shift differentials and self-employment are not included.^[oews_faq] The 10th percentile is the closest public stand-in for a starting wage; the median is the middle worker.