Laboratory Technician Hourly Pay & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 3,224 US job postings by 1,119 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for laboratory technicians: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 3,224 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for laboratory technicians in US job postings is $22.84 an hour (820 postings from 298 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $20.00 to $26.16 an hour.
- Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $23.75 an hour (259 postings).
- The skills that most set laboratory technician postings apart are attention to detail, pcr, lims.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Laboratory Technician job postings in the US, October 2026
- $22.84/hr
- Median advertised pay (820 postings)
- $20.00–$26.16
- Middle 50% of postings
- $23.75/hr
- Starting pay (postings asking up to 1 year)
- 3,224
- US job postings from 1,119 employers
How much does a laboratory technician make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $22.84 an hour, from 820 US job postings by 298 employers that state pay. That is about $51,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 820 US laboratory technician job postings: median $51,000 a year ($22.84 an hour), middle half $45,000 to $71,000.
- Median: $51,000 ($22.84/hr)
- 25th percentile: $45,000
- 75th percentile: $71,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $20K–$30K | 1.8% |
| $30K–$40K | 14.0% |
| $40K–$50K | 29.5% |
| $50K–$60K | 20.7% |
| $60K–$70K | 8.8% |
| $70K–$80K | 5.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 3.8% |
| $90K–$100K | 2.6% |
| $100K–$110K | 2.3% |
| $110K–$120K | 2.9% |
| $120K–$130K | 1.9% |
| $130K–$140K | 1.8% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.6% |
| $150K–$160K | 1.0% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.6% |
| $170K–$180K | 0.7% |
| $180K–$190K | 0.4% |
| $200K–$210K | 0.1% |
| $210K–$220K | 0.1% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $22.84 | $20.00–$26.16 | 489 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $51,000 | $45K–$71K | 820 |
What is the starting salary for a laboratory technician?
Postings that ask for up to 1 year of experience advertise a median of $23.75 an hour (259 postings).
| Experience asked | Median advertised pay | Postings |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1 years | $23.75/hr | 259 |
| 2-4 years | withheld | 189 |
| 5+ years | withheld | 65 |
Highest-paying laboratory technician jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lab Technician | $22.70/hr | 306 | 137 |
Skills employers ask for in laboratory technician job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 33% |
| Attention to detail | 26% |
| Organizational skills | 19% |
| Excel | 19% |
| Work independently | 14% |
| Problem-solving | 14% |
| Microsoft Office | 13% |
| Interpersonal skills | 11% |
| Word | 10% |
| Analytical skills | 6% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Have a laboratory technician job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a laboratory technician do?
Employers post these jobs as Lab Technician, Lab Manager, Laboratory Manager, Research Technician, Lab Associate and other titles. The largest specializations are Lab Technician (40%), Laboratory Manager (20%), Research Technician (13%), Sample Coordinator (14%), QC Technician (4%), Laboratory Analyst (3%), Stability Coordinator (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Biological Technicians (19-4021.00). Its most important tasks:
- Conduct research, or assist in the conduct of research, including the collection of information and samples, such as blood, water, soil, plants and animals.
- Monitor and observe experiments, recording production and test data for evaluation by research personnel.
- Examine animals and specimens to detect the presence of disease or other problems.
- Input data into databases.
- Isolate, identify and prepare specimens for examination.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a laboratory technician?
Among 1,150 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. 7% say 0 years and 40% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 1,150 US laboratory technician job postings: median 2 years, and 40% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 8% |
| 1 yr | 31% |
| 2 yrs | 25% |
| 3-4 yrs | 18% |
| 5-7 yrs | 15% |
| 8-9 yrs | 1% |
| 10+ yrs | 2% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Full-time 89%, Part-time 11% of the 343 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a laboratory technician: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Lab Technician | 166 (14.8%) |
| Lab Manager | 145 (13.0%) |
| Laboratory Technician | 141 (12.6%) |
| Laboratory Manager | 94 (8.4%) |
| Research Technician | 63 (5.6%) |
| Lab Associate | 35 (3.1%) |
| Laboratory Director | 32 (2.9%) |
| Lab Technician I | 29 (2.6%) |
| Specimen Processor | 28 (2.5%) |
| Laboratory Coordinator | 28 (2.5%) |
| Lab Intern | 27 (2.4%) |
| Laboratory Supervisor | 27 (2.4%) |
| QC Lab Technician | 24 (2.1%) |
| Laboratory Technician I | 23 (2.1%) |
| Lab Tech | 23 (2.1%) |
| QC Analyst | 23 (2.1%) |
| Lab Technician II | 22 (2.0%) |
| Lab Supervisor | 20 (1.8%) |
| Research Technician II | 19 (1.7%) |
| Laboratory Analyst | 18 (1.6%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Laboratory technician job titles compared
The titles people search for most, from the US job postings that use each exact title (October 2026).
| Job title | Open postings | Employers | Median pay | Median experience | Skills named most |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lab Technician | 327 | 166 | – | – | communication, attention to detail, work independently |
Laboratory Technician compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laboratory Technician | $22.84/hr | 2 years | 3,224 | – |
| Chemist | – | 2 years | 1,002 | 17 |
| Manufacturing Technician | $25.00/hr | 2 years | 3,947 | 18 |
| Medical Laboratory Scientist | $37.86/hr | 1 year | 6,314 | 16 |
| Quality Assurance Specialist | $105K | 3 years | 5,481 | 16 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Chemist | 17 | – |
| Manufacturing Technician | 18 | $25.00/hr |
| Medical Laboratory Scientist | 16 | $37.86/hr |
| Quality Assurance Specialist | 16 | $105K |
| Loan Processor | 17 | $57K |
| Biologist | 17 | – |
Applying for laboratory technician jobs?
- Laboratory technician resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find laboratory technician jobs: search open postings
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 17 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.