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Pay · 19-4043

Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians earn $53,350 a year at the midpoint

The middle of the pay scale for geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians is $53,350. A typical start is nearer $44,850; the top tenth earn about $99,560.

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$53,350median a year · United States
$25.65an hour $61,870average 6,980people
Nine in ten people in this work earn between the two ends. The shaded part is the middle half — where most people are.
$44,85025th $53,350median $72,11075th
$35,77010th percentile $99,56090th percentile
$44,850a year at the 25th percentile, nearer a first job
$102,090best-paying state · Maryland
$34,710lowest-paying state · Georgia
+91%top state against the national median
  • Read the spread, not the middle. The median is the midpoint across everyone in the occupation, most of them years into the work. A beginner starts nearer the 10th to 25th percentile, which is why the spread is published alongside it.
  • What the figure counts. The figure counts base pay plus tips, commissions and production bonuses. It leaves out the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers, and the value of benefits or profit sharing.
  • The annual figure is arithmetic. For hourly occupations the annual figure is the hourly rate times 2080 hours. It is a calculation, not observed earnings: part time is the norm in retail and food service.
  • Where you live moves it more than your resume does. National figures. A state or metro area can sit far from the national number, and that gap is usually larger than any difference a resume makes.
  • Not in these numbers. Growth and annual openings are not in this dataset. They come from the separate Employment Projections tables, where an opening is a modelled ten year average and not a posted vacancy.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025. Retrieved through the BLS Public Data API on 2026-08-13. bls.gov/oes “BLS.gov cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from BLS.gov.”

State matters a lotThe same job pays $102,090 in Maryland and $34,710 in Georgia — a gap of $67,380 a year.

Geological technician earnings, from starting pay to the best-paid 10%

Pick the job, where you work and how long you have done it. The range comes from the published wage percentiles for that job.

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An estimate from survey percentiles, not an offer. Employer, industry, shift and credentials move pay within and beyond this range. Full wage page for this job →

Nearby work, and what it pays

Occupations in the same group of the federal classification — the usual next steps, or the ones beside this one.

Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians$53,350
Biological Technicians$57,510+$4,160 Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health$55,090+$1,740 Food Science Technicians$52,130−$1,220 Agricultural Technicians$49,630−$3,720

Geological technician pay rate, hourly to yearly

Starts at this job’s median. Change the rate or the hours; a full-time year is 40 hours for 52 weeks.

$53,352a year

Resumes for geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

Name the job in the builder and the duties, skills and credentials it is screened on are written in for you.

Microsoft ExcelAutodesk AutoCADMicrosoft OutlookESRI ArcGIS softwareGeographic information system GIS systemsLeica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINEMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft PowerPoint
  • Tested and analyzed samples to determine their content and characteristics, using laboratory apparatus or testing equipment.
  • Collected or prepared solid or fluid samples for analysis.
  • Compiled, logged, or recorded testing or operational data for review and further analysis.

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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The owner of tiersi.com has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

No. 474 of 788 by median pay

Better paid than 40% of the occupations in the survey.

  1. 472 Welders, cutters, solderers and brazers $53,750
  2. 473 Engine and Other Machine Assemblers $53,710
  3. 474 Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians $53,350
  4. 475 Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators $53,340
  5. 476 Solar Photovoltaic Installers $53,140

Examples

Resumes written for this kind of job.

Real sheets, filled in end to end — for this job and the ones beside it.

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Geological technician wages by state

The 27 states where the most people do this work, of 35 with a published figure: their medians range by 2.94 times. Figures are the 2025 survey.

State Median a year Where most start 10th to 90th Employed
Maryland $102,090 $70,720 $70,720 — $177,630 30
Alaska $76,090 $57,230 $57,230 — $303,850 70
Nevada $73,700 $48,880 $48,880 — $94,670 260
California $69,410 $45,300 $45,300 — $164,670 480
West Virginia $69,350 $44,720 $44,720 — $87,530 60
Wyoming $63,070 $44,070 $44,070 — $103,860 90
Tennessee $63,050 $42,760 $42,760 — $76,110 110
Colorado $61,780 $49,630 $49,630 — $144,930 90
Massachusetts $61,630 $51,660 $51,660 — $98,140 40
Louisiana $59,120 $46,350 $46,350 — $119,800 160
Michigan $58,860 $34,330 $34,330 — $92,230 150
New York $57,150 $44,160 $44,160 — $75,160 280
Montana $55,520 $43,000 $43,000 — $83,400 100
Oregon $55,090 $47,880 $47,880 — $75,120 70
Illinois $53,280 $39,810 $39,810 — $75,230 80
South Carolina $53,160 $43,910 $43,910 — $73,960 90
North Dakota $51,240 $50,480 $50,480 — $83,130 90
Florida $49,980 $37,560 $37,560 — $74,340 300
Kentucky $49,840 $42,980 $42,980 — $77,210 60
Ohio $48,890 $37,440 $37,440 — $107,440 130
North Carolina $48,090 $37,680 $37,680 — $59,010 250
Pennsylvania $47,380 $32,200 $32,200 — $66,770 240
Arkansas $47,250 $39,300 $39,300 — $64,290 30
Oklahoma $46,890 $35,150 $35,150 — $94,980 410
Texas $46,840 $29,790 $29,790 — $104,420 2,190
Idaho $46,680 $40,900 $40,900 — $79,470 70
Georgia $34,710 $34,710 $34,710 — $104,150 30

Questions people often ask

What is a geological technician’s yearly income?

A geological technician makes a median of $53,350 a year (2025 survey). The middle half earn between $44,850 and $72,110.

What is a geological technician’s hourly pay rate?

The median pay rate is $25.65 an hour; the average is $61,870 a year.

What is the starting pay for a geological technician?

Starting pay is usually near the 25th percentile, $44,850 a year, and sometimes as low as the 10th, $35,770.

Which state pays geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians the most?

Maryland, with a median of $102,090 a year.

How many people work as geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians?

About 6,980 in the United States — number 474 of 788 occupations by median pay.

Jobs that pay about the same

Median pay within $480 of what geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians earn — $53,350 a year — but not always the same spread.

See all 788 occupations