Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians

Detailed Occupation

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2021 Workforce

80.8k

Average Age

42.3

Average Salary

$41,976

Average Male Salary

$49,928

Average Female Salary

$35,472

About

Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are most often employed by the Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing industry. The average yearly wage for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians was $41,976 in 2021.

The locations that employ the most Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN, Irvine City (Central) PUMA, CA, and Elmore, Autauga, Montgomery (Outer) & Lowndes Counties PUMA, AL. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN, Anaheim City (West) PUMA, CA, and Elmore, Autauga, Montgomery (Outer) & Lowndes Counties PUMA, AL.

Production Occupations Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workforce. Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workforce in 2021 was 80,839 people, of which 55% were women and 45% were men. Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians are paid most in Algonquin, McHenry & Nunda Townships PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in Murfreesboro City PUMA, TN.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

36,369

Male Workforce

± 4.68k

44,470

Female Workforce

± 5.18k

The Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workforce in 2021 was 80,839 people (55% women and 45% men). This implies an average annual growth of −0.544% between 2014 (81,281) and 2021 (80,839).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians.

During 2021, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were Alaska ($109,495), District of Columbia ($80,251), and Louisiana ($61,046).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$41,976

AVERAGE WAGE

#362 in the ranking (2021)

$59,596

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2021, Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians earned an average of $41,976, $17,620 less than the average national salary of $59,596

The graph shows the ranking of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2021.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.312

WAGE GINI

In 2021, Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.312, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians and on wages for those in the field. Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing is the industry that employs the most Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, by average wage, is Electric power generation, transmission & distribution ($103,801).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

80.8k

2021 Workforce

± 6,979

2.07%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 12%

This graphic shows the share of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians employed by various industries. Medical equipment & supplies manufacturing employs the largest share of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians at 52%, followed by Offices of dentists with 25.3% and Offices of physicians with 22.7%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in the US. The workforce of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in 2021 was 80,839 people, with 55% woman, and 45% men. The average age of male Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in the workforce is 44.2 and of female Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is 40.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in 2021 was 80,839 people, with 55% woman, and 45% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (10,747 people), 30 to 34 years (9,736 people), and 40 to 44 years (8,555 people). Among them they concentrated 36% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2021, 19.5% of Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workers were Hispanic and 80.5% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (75.4%), Puerto Rican (14.9)%, and Colombian (9.73)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2021, 68.7% of the Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workforce were White, of which 58.4% were women and 41.6% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Asian (9.78%) and Black (8.7%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians is Health but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2021 were Mechanical Technologies.

Among the necessary skills for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians, Quality Control Analysis stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians need more than the average amount of Repairing.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians in 2021 (counting all academic degrees) were Health (2,671 people), Biology (2,059 people), and Business (1,494 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workers were Some college (25,808 people), High School or Equivalent (23,487 people), and Associates Degree (13,332 people).

The graphic shows the Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Medical, dental, & ophthalmic laboratory technicians need many skills, but most especially Quality Control Analysis, Active Listening, Critical Thinking.