Average Psychiatric Technicians Salary in the United States
The national median salary for Psychiatric Technicians is $45,130 per year. The middle 50% earn between $38,430 and $50,160, with 156,960 workers employed nationally.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 estimates . Data covers 49 states and 227 metro areas.
Pay distribution
Here is how Psychiatric Technicians pay is distributed across workers nationally. The 10th percentile typically reflects entry-level or early-career pay, the median is the midpoint, and the 90th percentile represents the top earners in the field.
- 10th
- $35,090
- 25th
- $38,430
- Median
- $45,130
- 75th
- $50,160
- 90th
- $60,750
All values are percentiles of annual wages.
Psychiatric Technicians earn close to the national median for all US workers. Solidly middle-income.
Pay is tightly clustered around the median. Most psychiatric technicians earn within a narrow band, with less variation than many other occupations. That is often a sign of standardized roles or union and public-sector pay scales.
Job outlook
BLS projects employment for psychiatric technicians from 2024 to 2034. Psychiatric Technicians are projected to grow much faster than average, more than double the roughly 4% growth rate for all US occupations. Demand is strong and outpacing most of the labor market.
- Projected growth
- +20.0%
- 28,900 net jobs over the projection period.
- Annual openings
- 15,900
- Includes growth plus replacements for workers who leave. Annual openings reflect typical replacement demand alongside any growth.
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Work experience
- Less than 5 years
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Postsecondary training beyond high school is typically required, but a full four-year degree is not always necessary.
Where Psychiatric Technicians earn the most
Location matters a lot. The gap between top-paying and bottom-paying states is large, so where psychiatric technicians work can reshape their total compensation. Right now, the top-paying state is District of Columbia at $67,430, about 49.4% above the national median. At the metro level, Stockton-Lodi, CA leads with a median of $95,580.
Top-paying states
| State | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $67,430 | 380 |
| Oregon | $59,820 | 1,250 |
| New York | $58,080 | 2,040 |
| Nebraska | $57,370 | 1,390 |
| Connecticut | $55,500 | 1,040 |
| Hawaii | $55,150 | 2,060 |
| New Jersey | $54,040 | 2,520 |
| Washington | $52,470 | 1,920 |
Top-paying metros
| Metro area | Median salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Stockton-Lodi, CA | $95,580 | 330 |
| Napa, CA | $83,960 | 320 |
| Visalia, CA | $76,700 | 200 |
| Vallejo, CA | $76,120 | 260 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $72,550 | 580 |
| Salem, OR | $66,840 | N/A |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $65,500 | 50 |
| Madison, WI | $64,380 | 1,030 |
Compare two locations side by side
Pick two states or metros to see psychiatric technicians pay in each, along with a cost-of-living adjusted view.
Salary trend and related occupations
Between 2019 and 2025, the national median salary for Psychiatric Technicians rose from $33,780 to $45,130, a gain of +33.6% in nominal dollars.
Over the same period, US consumer prices rose by +25.9%. Just to keep pace with inflation, the 2019 median of $33,780 would need to be worth $42,538 in 2025 dollars.
The actual 2025 median of $45,130 is $2,592 above that inflation-adjusted benchmark, a real change of +6.1% in purchasing power.
Real wages have outpaced inflation by 6.1%, a modest but real gain in purchasing power.
- Nominal change
- +33.6%
- 2019–2025
- Cumulative inflation
- +25.9%
- US CPI, 2019–2025
- Real change
- +6.1%
- After adjusting for inflation
Median salary over time
Psychiatric Technicians median pay by year, going back through the available BLS releases.
- 2025
- $45,130
- 2024
- $42,590
- 2023
- $39,700
- 2022
- $37,380
- 2021
- $36,570
- 2020
- $35,030
- 2019
- $33,780
BLS did not publish a median for 2000–2018, so those years are omitted.
Related occupations
Other occupations in the same field, with median pay for comparison.
- Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
- $45,570
- Pharmacy Technicians
- $45,750
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- $44,470
- Opticians, Dispensing
- $47,260
- Medical Records Specialists
- $51,140
- Dietetic Technicians
- $37,640
Common salary questions for Psychiatric Technicians
What does the median salary mean? +
The median is the midpoint of all wages. Half of Psychiatric Technicians workers earn more and half earn less. It is a better measure of typical pay than the average, which can be skewed by very high or very low earners.
Why does pay vary so much by location? +
Local labor markets, cost of living, industry concentration, and employer competition all affect wages. High-cost metros like San Francisco and New York often pay more in nominal terms, though some of that premium is offset by higher living costs.
How current is this salary data? +
This page uses the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. BLS publishes OEWS data once per year, typically in the spring for the previous May reference period.
What do the percentile ranges tell me? +
The 10th and 90th percentiles show the full pay band. The 25th to 75th percentile range, the middle 50%, is where most workers fall. A wide spread usually means experience, specialization, or location matter a lot for this occupation.