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Sterile Processing Technician Salary by State and Other Factors That Affect Pay
Sterile Processing Technician Salary by State and Other Factors That Affect Pay
By: Shelby Gruber | October 2026
Are you thinking about becoming a sterile processing technician? If so, you’re probably wondering what the job pays before you commit to training. The short answer: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) wage data for the occupation that includes sterile processing technicians show a national median of $47,700 a year. State medians range from about $35,000 in Mississippi to more than $61,000 in California.
Below, you’ll find the median wage for every state and the District of Columbia, which states pay the most, and what the data can (and can’t) tell you about other factors that affect pay.
How much do sterile processing technicians make?
BLS doesn't list sterile processing technician as a separate occupation. Instead, these workers fall under a broader category of medical equipment preparers (occupation code 31-9093). The Labor Department's career database, O*NET, lists titles like sterile processing and distribution technician, central sterile technician, and central service technician under that code.
According to the most recent data from May 2025, medical equipment preparers earned a median wage of $47,700 a year, or $22.93 an hour. That means half of workers earned more and half earned less. The table below uses medians too, so you’re comparing the same measure.
There’s also a pretty wide range in pay; the middle 50% of workers earned between $39,800 and $58,570 a year.
Sterile processing technician salary by state
Median wages vary by state, from $35,160 in Mississippi to $61,370 in California — a gap of more than $26,000 a year.
One thing to know before you look up your state: most states have a median below the national figure. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia, come in above $47,700. Your own state's median gives you a better idea of what pay looks like where you live.
*Median annual wages for medical equipment preparers (the BLS occupation that includes sterile processing techs), May 2025. Source: BLS wage data via O*NET. Figures are not adjusted for cost of living.
States with the highest sterile processing tech median pay
California leads by a clear margin. After that, Washington and Massachusetts are only $250 apart, with New York close behind. The highest-paying states include:
- California: $61,370
- Washington: $58,830
- Massachusetts: $58,580
- New York: $57,320
After New York, there's a drop of about $4,000 to the next state, Delaware ($53,300).
What else should you know about sterile processing pay?
The BLS data above make one thing clear: pay varies by location. What they don’t show is whether experience, certification, education, or shift work affects pay, or by how much. That means there isn’t a reliable dollar amount to attach to those factors.
Even so, there’s a sizable gap between lower and higher earners. Nationally, the lowest-paid 10% of medical equipment preparers earned $36,410 or less a year, and the top 10% earned $69,950 or more.
BLS doesn’t break down what causes that gap, though. So if you're comparing offers, ask each employer how its pay scale works and what might help you earn more.
It's also worth weighing pay against the cost of living in your area. The state figures aren't adjusted for cost of living, so a bigger paycheck in one state doesn’t necessarily mean your money will go further.
Pay differs within a state, too. BLS publishes wage data for metro and nonmetropolitan areas, so if you know where you’d like to work, look up the median wage for your area on O*NET.
What about certification?
If you're wondering whether certification raises pay, the wage data used here doesn’t show a specific pay increase for certified sterile processing technicians. However, certification matters for job eligibility in some states. The rules, including how long new hires have to get certified, vary by state.
As of October 2026, states with these requirements include Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Delaware, for example, gives new hires 18 months to earn one of two approved credentials.
Minnesota's law exempts sterile processing technicians employed on or before December 31, 2027. Sterile processing technicians who don't qualify for that exemption have 24 months from their hire date to earn an accepted credential.
Both Delaware's and Minnesota's laws accept the Certified Registered Central Service Technician (CRCST) credential from the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA). Full CRCST certification requires 400 hours of hands-on sterile processing experience and a passing score on a 150-question exam. HSPA lets you complete those hours before you test or, with provisional certification, within six months after you pass. For a rundown of other credentials, see our guide to sterile processing certifications.
Are you ready to get started in sterile processing?
U.S. Career Institute’s online Sterile Processing Technician program lets you train on your own schedule and finish in four to nine months part time. The program also prepares you to take the CRCST exam. Full CRCST certification requires 400 hours of hands-on sterile processing experience, which you’ll arrange separately. Explore the Sterile Processing Technician program to learn more!