Occupational Therapists
Median $100,330
Occupation · SOC 29-1127
Speech-Language Pathologists: pay and where the jobs are
What speech-language pathologists earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$97,870 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $98,170
- Median hourly wage
- $47.05
- Mean hourly wage
- $47.20
- Employment
- 183,390
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-1127.
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How much do speech-language pathologists make?
The median annual wage for speech-language pathologists was $97,870 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $62,900 and the highest-paid 10% more than $134,160. As an hourly rate, the median is $47.05. About 183,390 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in California ($118,970), Colorado ($110,750) and District of Columbia ($109,380). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in Nevada.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for speech-language pathologists looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $62,900 | $30.24 | $5,242 | $4,393 |
| 25th percentile | $77,730 | $37.37 | $6,478 | $5,293 |
| Median | $97,870 | $47.05 | $8,156 | $6,473 |
| 75th percentile | $114,570 | $55.08 | $9,548 | $7,452 |
| 90th percentile | $134,160 | $64.50 | $11,180 | $8,580 |
Speech-Language Pathologists: pay by state
52 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$82,370 take-home in national prices
2
$81,516 take-home in national prices
3
$81,067 take-home in national prices
Where a median speech-language pathologist paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 16,930 | $118,970 | $79,750 | $160,900 | $84,160 | $76,011 |
| Colorado | 4,420 | $110,750 | $73,900 | $164,520 | $82,091 | $79,660 |
| District of Columbia | 390 | $109,380 | $81,800 | $137,140 | $79,450 | $72,292 |
| Washington | 3,570 | $105,550 | $81,330 | $132,630 | $81,620 | $76,271 |
| Nevada | 1,270 | $104,510 | $63,180 | $136,520 | $82,353 | $82,370 |
| Rhode Island | 720 | $104,000 | $75,270 | $130,830 | $77,556 | $75,827 |
| Delaware | 690 | $102,760 | $79,880 | $135,200 | $75,269 | $75,414 |
| Alaska | 340 | $102,670 | $79,700 | $125,950 | $80,787 | $78,925 |
| Oregon | 1,600 | $102,660 | $74,410 | $143,000 | $72,792 | $70,425 |
| New Jersey | 6,840 | $101,560 | $71,620 | $167,230 | $75,381 | $69,281 |
| Massachusetts | 5,290 | $101,310 | $71,030 | $129,730 | $74,790 | $70,719 |
| New York | 15,310 | $100,610 | $64,980 | $157,920 | $74,270 | $68,819 |
| Connecticut | 2,390 | $100,110 | $65,400 | $130,290 | $74,000 | $71,422 |
| Florida | 10,080 | $99,990 | $69,970 | $122,050 | $79,173 | $76,559 |
| Texas | 19,120 | $99,910 | $66,370 | $132,990 | $79,117 | $81,516 |
| Maryland | 3,510 | $99,190 | $63,480 | $130,590 | $74,265 | $70,756 |
| New Mexico | 1,250 | $98,690 | $61,630 | $134,750 | $74,754 | $81,067 |
| Arizona | 3,390 | $97,800 | $68,990 | $130,550 | $75,581 | $75,073 |
| Hawaii | 270 | $97,560 | $61,000 | $120,620 | $71,463 | $64,995 |
| Georgia | 4,030 | $96,760 | $59,800 | $125,550 | $72,821 | $75,624 |
| Virginia | 4,460 | $96,250 | $66,890 | $132,400 | $71,822 | $71,037 |
| Illinois | 9,040 | $95,080 | $60,870 | $123,800 | $71,157 | $71,187 |
| Ohio | 7,270 | $93,300 | $61,840 | $125,330 | $72,337 | $77,972 |
| Pennsylvania | 6,570 | $92,960 | $60,650 | $130,780 | $71,308 | $73,083 |
| Utah | 1,460 | $91,560 | $56,070 | $128,490 | $69,181 | $69,975 |
| South Carolina | 2,190 | $90,530 | $56,560 | $124,070 | $68,831 | $73,420 |
| Minnesota | 3,890 | $89,380 | $62,390 | $107,820 | $66,761 | $67,695 |
| Missouri | 3,230 | $89,280 | $58,180 | $119,240 | $68,380 | $75,294 |
| Michigan | 4,730 | $89,120 | $62,430 | $108,670 | $67,989 | $70,662 |
| Indiana | 3,310 | $87,360 | $60,990 | $122,930 | $67,740 | $72,582 |
| North Carolina | 5,600 | $86,460 | $60,800 | $121,040 | $66,714 | $70,727 |
| Tennessee | 3,320 | $84,630 | $58,550 | $116,790 | $68,367 | $74,417 |
| Oklahoma | 1,870 | $84,470 | $51,230 | $127,920 | $64,999 | $73,995 |
| Idaho | 1,210 | $84,380 | $62,090 | $121,890 | $64,827 | $67,886 |
| Nebraska | 1,310 | $84,350 | $59,120 | $117,980 | $65,212 | $72,375 |
| Arkansas | 2,430 | $83,580 | $56,250 | $134,420 | $65,024 | $74,794 |
| Kentucky | 2,610 | $83,550 | $63,250 | $121,090 | $64,801 | $71,874 |
| New Hampshire | 720 | $83,040 | $64,030 | $119,290 | $67,249 | $64,560 |
| Wisconsin | 2,940 | $83,000 | $61,320 | $108,360 | $63,802 | $67,806 |
| Maine | 640 | $82,660 | $54,010 | $108,580 | $62,666 | $64,571 |
| Vermont | 430 | $82,090 | $64,320 | $103,380 | $63,666 | $64,994 |
| Wyoming | 240 | $82,040 | $63,520 | $124,250 | $66,545 | $71,792 |
| Iowa | 1,540 | $81,050 | $63,270 | $106,460 | $63,421 | $72,264 |
| West Virginia | 880 | $80,970 | $62,690 | $125,160 | $62,973 | $70,363 |
| Kansas | 1,690 | $80,120 | $59,390 | $108,390 | $61,523 | $68,308 |
| Montana | 490 | $78,740 | $58,460 | $106,330 | $61,136 | $64,595 |
| Mississippi | 1,790 | $78,130 | $50,280 | $106,170 | $61,401 | $70,614 |
| North Dakota | 630 | $75,240 | $56,140 | $103,350 | $61,553 | $69,193 |
| Alabama | 2,060 | $73,660 | $58,010 | $109,300 | $57,576 | $64,821 |
| Louisiana | 3,000 | $69,610 | $53,480 | $107,650 | $56,099 | $63,599 |
| South Dakota | 410 | $65,680 | $54,740 | $98,810 | $54,954 | $62,034 |
| Puerto Rico | 150 | $49,800 | $41,630 | $95,280 | — | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 29-1127. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.