How much do patient care technicians make in 2026?
Patient care technicians are counted in the BLS nursing assistant series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 31-1131 national median at $42,260 a year ($20.32 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $33,940 and the top 10% at $51,980. The survey does not separate patient care technicians from nursing assistants, and the pooling matters because the technician title usually means an expanded scope — phlebotomy, electrocardiograms, point-of-care testing, catheter care — that a nursing home assistant does not have. That expansion is what lifts a technician toward the top of a narrow band: dialysis, telemetry and emergency-department technician posts pay above general floor assistant work, and night and weekend differentials do the rest. The band itself is tight because the role is unlicensed and certification-based, so realistic progression usually means moving into a licensed programme. Employment is projected to grow 2.3% through 2034 with roughly 204,100 openings a year. → Full patient care technician career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $42,260 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Patient Care Technicians earn a national median $42,260/yr ($20.32/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-1131); the P10 to P90 range is $33,940 to $51,980.
- BLS pools patient care technicians into the nursing assistant series, so the $33,940 to $51,980 range covers both hospital technicians and long-term-care assistants.
- The technician title normally carries an expanded skill set — phlebotomy, ECGs, point-of-care testing — which is what places these jobs in the upper half of a narrow band.
- Dialysis, telemetry and emergency-department posts plus night and weekend differentials are the practical routes above the $42,260 median; beyond that, progression means entering a licensed programme.
US Patient Care Technician Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do patient care technicians earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 31-1131; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-1131, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a patient care technician earn at each career stage?
Technician pay follows unit assignment, added skills and shift rather than a licence ladder. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS nursing assistant distribution (SOC 31-1131).
By State
Which states pay patient care technicians the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national nursing assistant median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Two local rules bite here: state nurse aide registry and training requirements determine what a technician may do without further certification, and state minimum wage floors compress the bottom of this band in low-wage markets, since entry technician pay often sits just above the statutory minimum.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($48,600), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
patient care technician pay by state — all 4 state guides
By Metro
Which cities pay patient care technicians the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national nursing assistant median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a patient care technician’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does patient care technician pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Patient Care Technicians sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify patient care technician wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a patient care technician actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Patient Care Technician Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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