Histology Technician Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Histology Technicians earn a median of $62,930 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 23% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. That works out at $30.26/hr. The middle half earn between $47,650 and $81,450. The top 10% earn $100,990 or more.

The median hourly wage for histology technicians is $30.26 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $62,930 annual median works out to about $5,240 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of histology technicians earn less than $38,910 a year and the bottom quarter less than $47,650 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

A minority do. $100,000 sits between the 75th percentile ($81,450) and the 90th ($100,990), so roughly 10% to 25% of histology technicians earn more than that (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is New York at $97,280.

The highest state medians for Histology Technicians are New York ($97,280), Oregon ($83,010), New Hampshire ($81,020) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split histology technicians' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $100,990, against a median of $62,930 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are New York ($97,280), Oregon ($83,010), New Hampshire ($81,020).

Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Histology Technicians, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 48.0% hold associate's degree or other 2-year degree.

It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 2.7% over 2025–2035, about the same as the 3.5% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 20,800 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Clinical laboratory technologists (also known as medical laboratory scientists) and clinical laboratory technicians (also known as medical laboratory technicians) perform medical laboratory tests for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. A core O*NET task: cut sections of body tissues for microscopic examination, using microtomes. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Medical software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 8% of histology technicians usually work more than 40 hours a week, 88% work exactly 40 and 4% work fewer. 92% say their schedule is regular and 8% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Histology Technicians highest on the Realistic, Investigative and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

There is no single figure. The NAACLS-accredited programme route varies by institution, and the structured-programme alternative in Route 2 must run at least 9 months and include at least 480 hours of clinical experience. Route 2's experience option is a year of full-time work in a histopathology laboratory.

Not a state license. Most states license no clinical laboratory personnel at all. The ASCP Board of Certification lists 11 jurisdictions that do: California, Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia and Puerto Rico. What they license differs. New York certifies histotechnicians under Subpart 79-16, accepting HT(ASCP) or HT(ASCPi), a West Virginia Histologist licence, or a NAACLS-accredited associate degree programme, with a converted examination score of at least 75. Florida licenses histology technicians and technologists by keying the requirement to the ASCP credential itself. West Virginia licenses the title Histologist and Nevada licenses a Histotechnologist. California licenses cytotechnologists but has no histotechnician category. Tennessee remains on the list but narrowed its law in 2021 to exempt hospital and independent laboratories. Note also that California and New York run state-licensure-only examinations through the ASCP BOC: passing one grants the state licence but not an ASCP credential.

The HT(ASCP) (Histotechnician, HT(ASCP)). Computer adaptive examination, 100 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, scored 100 to 999 with 400 to pass. Application fee $235. Three domestic eligibility routes: a NAACLS-accredited HT programme within 5 years; 60 semester hours or an associate degree with 12 semester hours across biology and chemistry plus a year of histopathology experience or a 9-month structured programme with at least 480 clinical hours; or the same academic credit plus a 50-week US military histotechnician course within 10 years.

Women make up 67.2% of histology technicians, against 47.1% of all employed people: more women than in the workforce as a whole. 22.0% are 55 or older, close to the 23.2% across all jobs. The median worker is 39.9 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages, for the Census group "Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians".