Pick your state, your experience, and your work setting. This calculator estimates your pay range from real Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for medical equipment preparers (SOC 31-9093), the federal occupation code that covers sterile processing techs.
The short answer: the national median for sterile processing techs is $22.93 an hour ($47,700 a year), from the most recent BLS wage data (OEWS May 2024, via O*NET). The middle half of techs earn between $19.13 and $28.16 an hour. California leads the states at a mean of $29.70 an hour, while dental clinics pay the least of any major setting at a mean of $17.32 an hour. Where you work, in what setting, and how long you have done it all move the number, so run the calculator for your situation.
Three choices, one estimated range. Built from published BLS wage tables, no invented numbers.
Estimates only, built from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2023 (SOC 31-9093). The bar shows where your range sits against the national 10th to 90th percentile spread; the tick marks the national median. Actual offers vary by employer, metro area, shift, and local demand.
State is the single biggest lever on a sterile processing tech paycheck. BLS state tables for medical equipment preparers (SOC 31-9093) show a gap of more than $12 an hour between the highest and lowest paying states. California sits at the top with a mean wage of $29.70 an hour ($61,780 a year), and it also employs the most techs in the country at about 7,750, so the high average is not a quirk of a tiny sample. New York, Texas, Florida, and Ohio round out the highest-employment states, but their averages run lower: New York at $24.66, Texas at $22.05, Ohio at $20.36, and Florida at $20.28.
The rest of the top-paying list is worth a look before anyone packs a moving truck. The District of Columbia averages $28.28, Alaska $26.44, New Jersey $25.23, and Delaware $25.22. All figures below are mean wages from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2023, the latest vintage with published state tables at the time this page was built.
| State | Mean hourly wage | Mean annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| California | $29.70 | $61,780 |
| District of Columbia | $28.28 | $58,830 |
| Alaska | $26.44 | $55,000 |
| New Jersey | $25.23 | $52,480 |
| Delaware | $25.22 | $52,450 |
| New York | $24.66 | $51,290 |
| Texas | $22.05 | $45,870 |
| Missouri | $20.47 | $42,580 |
| Ohio | $20.36 | $42,340 |
| Florida | $20.28 | $42,190 |
Most people picture sterile processing as a hospital basement job, and most of the time it is: general medical and surgical hospitals employ the overwhelming majority of medical equipment preparers, about 46,330 of them, at a mean wage of $23.05 an hour. But the BLS industry tables show meaningful differences across settings, and the calculator above applies them.
Specialty hospitals (excluding psychiatric and substance abuse facilities) pay the most of any major setting at a mean of $26.59 an hour ($55,300 a year). Outpatient care centers, which include ambulatory surgery centers, come next at $25.91 an hour ($53,890). Offices of physicians pay a mean of $23.87 an hour, other ambulatory health care services $22.17, and staffing firms $21.24. Dental offices sit at the bottom of the major settings at a mean of just $17.32 an hour ($36,020 a year), roughly 25 percent below the national mean.
| Work setting | Mean hourly wage | Mean annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Specialty hospital | $26.59 | $55,300 |
| Outpatient care center (surgery center) | $25.91 | $53,890 |
| Office of physicians | $23.87 | $49,650 |
| General medical and surgical hospital | $23.05 | $47,940 |
| Other ambulatory health care services | $22.17 | $46,110 |
| Employment services (staffing) | $21.24 | $44,180 |
| Office of dentists | $17.32 | $36,020 |
Two caveats keep this table honest. First, these are means, not medians: a few high earners pull the average up, so the typical tech in a given setting may earn a bit less than the number shown. Second, staffing firms look mid-pack here, but agency paychecks often include shift premiums and overtime that the base wage tables do not fully capture.
The national percentile data tells the experience story cleanly. In the May 2023 BLS release, the 10th percentile for medical equipment preparers sat at $16.36 an hour and the 90th at $30.76, a spread of nearly double. That spread is largely experience, specialization, and leadership. Entry-level techs typically land in the bottom quarter of the range ($16.36 to $18.30). The national median of $21.77 is where a few solid years of experience usually put you. Techs at the 75th percentile ($25.63) and above are generally veterans, leads, or specialists in high-paying states and settings.
The updated May 2024 data tells the same story one rung higher: a median of $22.93 an hour, a middle half between $19.13 and $28.16, and a 90th percentile of $33.63. The ladder has not changed shape, it has just shifted up with inflation and demand. The calculator maps your experience band to the matching slice of the national distribution, then adjusts for your state and setting.
Here is the honest version that certification mills skip. The BLS does not publish a separate wage for CRCST holders versus non-certified techs, so there is no official number for a certification premium. Anyone quoting one is working from a survey sample, not federal data.
What certification genuinely does is unlock doors. HSPA requires 400 hours of hands-on experience in a sterile processing department plus a passing exam score. You can take the exam first and finish your hours within six months of passing, during which you hold provisional certification. Several states require certification for sterile processing techs, and many hospitals require it within a set period after hire even where the law does not. Certification qualifies you for travel assignments, which are some of the highest-paying arrangements in the field, and it is real leverage at the negotiating table: an employer comparing a certified candidate to an uncertified one is comparing someone who needs no training investment to someone who does.
Think of CRCST as a key, not a raise. It opens higher-paying rooms. Walking through them and negotiating well is still on you.
The hourly wage tables above describe base pay, but sterile processing departments run around the clock, and hospitals pay extra for the hours nobody wants. Night shifts, evening shifts, weekend rotations, and on-call coverage commonly come with differentials added on top of base pay, and surgery centers that run late cases often pay overtime when schedules slip. These extras can add a meaningful amount to annual earnings, sometimes the equivalent of several dollars an hour across a full year, but the amounts vary wildly by employer and are not captured in BLS averages.
Two practical notes. First, when comparing job offers, always compare total compensation: base rate plus differential plus expected overtime plus benefits. A hospital offering $1 less per hour with a strong night differential and full benefits can beat a surgery center with a higher base and thin benefits. Second, on-call pay structures differ: some facilities pay a flat standby rate plus a callback minimum, others pay time and a half for the whole call window. Ask for the exact policy in writing before you sign.
Every number in the calculator comes from one BLS release, the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2023, covering medical equipment preparers (SOC 31-9093). Your experience band selects a slice of the national percentile distribution: entry level maps to the 10th to 25th percentile, and each step up moves to the next slice, ending with senior techs at the 75th to 90th. Your state selection multiplies that band by the ratio of your state's BLS mean wage to the national mean. Your setting multiplies it by the ratio of that industry's BLS mean to the national mean. The percentile bar shows where your resulting range sits against the national 10th to 90th percentile spread.
The limits matter as much as the method. BLS publishes state-level means for the states shown in the dropdown; for the rest, the calculator shows the national estimate and says so. Metro areas inside a state can differ sharply from the state average, rural and urban pay are not the same, and shift differentials are not in these figures. Treat the result as a well-grounded estimate, then confirm against live job postings in your city.
Higher pay starts with the credential hospitals ask for. Our 1,000-question bank, cartoon game, and free podcast drill the CRCST exam until it feels easy. Free practice test, no signup.
Try the free practice testThe national median is $22.93 an hour ($47,700 a year), from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2024 as reported through O*NET. The middle half of techs earned between $19.13 and $28.16 an hour, with the 10th percentile at $17.50 and the 90th percentile at $33.63. Your actual pay depends on your state, your work setting, and your experience, so use the calculator above for a personalized estimate.
There is no federal law requiring CRCST certification, but several states require sterile processing techs to be certified, and many hospitals require it within a set period after hire. HSPA requires 400 hours of hands-on experience in a sterile processing department plus a passing exam score. You can sit for the exam first and complete your hours within six months of passing, during which you hold provisional certification.
California leads with a mean wage of $29.70 an hour ($61,780 a year), followed by the District of Columbia at $28.28, Alaska at $26.44, New Jersey at $25.23, and Delaware at $25.22, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2023. High pay does not always mean high purchasing power, so compare these figures against local cost of living before relocating for a paycheck.
The BLS does not publish a separate wage figure for certified versus non-certified techs, so no official premium number exists. In practice, certification expands where you can work: it satisfies state requirements and hospital hiring policies, qualifies you for travel assignments, and strengthens your negotiating position. Think of CRCST as unlocking higher-paying doors rather than an automatic raise.
The calculator is built entirely from published Bureau of Labor Statistics data: national percentile bands from the OEWS May 2023 release, state wage ratios from the BLS state tables, and setting adjustments from the BLS industry tables for medical equipment preparers (SOC 31-9093). It produces an estimated range, not a guaranteed offer. Actual pay varies by employer, metro area, shift, and how tight the local labor market is.
The outlook is positive. Surgical volumes keep rising as the population ages, outpatient surgery centers keep expanding, and every procedure depends on sterile instruments, which keeps demand for trained techs steady. Check the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook entry for medical equipment preparers for the current numerical projection, since projections are updated as new data is published.