Healthcare News
What healthcare jobs pay: the May 2025 wage data
Fact-checked against official sources· Oct 1, 2026How we research
Applies to: National · 1 min read
The short answer
BLS's Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program publishes wage estimates for about 830 occupations. The May 2025 estimates are the newest, and they power every pay page in the Lounge.
National medians, May 2025
- Registered nurses: $46.90 an hour ($97,550 a year)
- Dental hygienists: $47.16 an hour
- Physical therapists: $49.40 an hour
- Occupational therapists: $48.24 an hour
- Speech-language pathologists: $47.05 an hour
- Respiratory therapists: $39.56 an hour
- LPN/LVNs: $30.96 an hour
- Dental assistants: $23.11 an hour
- Medical assistants: $21.97 an hour
- Phlebotomists: $21.75 an hour
- Nursing assistants: $20.32 an hour
- Home health and personal care aides: $17.21 an hour
The median is the middle: half of workers earn more and half earn less.
Where you work matters
Pay differs a lot from state to state, and from metro area to metro area. Our pay pages show the median and the range for each profession in every state, plus California's metro areas.
How to use these numbers
OEWS covers wage and salary workers (not the self-employed). Use it as a fair baseline when you compare an offer, and remember it doesn't include benefits.
Sources
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Checked against these sources on Oct 1, 2026.
General information, not legal, financial, tax or medical advice. Requirements change and vary by state and employer, so always confirm with the official source linked on this page.
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