Best programs to become a phlebotomist
You do not need a college degree to become a phlebotomist. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist (IPEDS completions).
1 college program at 335 schools trains phlebotomists, graduating 10,645 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $45,230 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About phlebotomists
Draw blood for tests, transfusions, donations, or research. May explain the procedure to patients and assist in the recovery of patients with adverse reactions.
Best programs to study to become a phlebotomist
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 51.1009 | 10,645 | 100.0% | 335 | $49,401 | $19,848 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
What phlebotomists earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $40,230 | 10,220 | 1.12× | 37 | 1,431 |
| California | $56,040 | 13,520 | 0.80× | 19 | 881 |
| Nevadamoderate | $45,760 | 1,300 | 0.91× | 4 | 787 |
| Illinois | $46,010 | 7,910 | 1.40× | 21 | 786 |
| Washington | $48,880 | 2,820 | 0.86× | 14 | 608 |
| Utah | $40,630 | 1,680 | 1.05× | 7 | 580 |
| Ohio | $39,770 | 5,120 | 1.00× | 35 | 547 |
| Arizona | $46,260 | 3,430 | 1.15× | 14 | 543 |
| Georgia | $45,840 | 5,280 | 1.17× | 19 | 524 |
| Colorado | $47,180 | 2,420 | 0.91× | 13 | 456 |
| Texas | $40,450 | 12,820 | 0.99× | 17 | 441 |
| Arkansas | $37,450 | 1,100 | 0.91× | 12 | 298 |
| New York | $50,530 | 6,400 | 0.72× | 5 | 263 |
| Minnesota | $46,000 | 2,090 | 0.77× | 9 | 229 |
| Louisiana | $36,120 | 3,410 | 1.91× | 11 | 221 |
| Wisconsin | $46,470 | 3,610 | 1.33× | 7 | 217 |
| New Mexico | $42,910 | 760 | 0.95× | 9 | 213 |
| Indianalimited | $39,250 | 2,410 | 0.81× | 1 | 172 |
| Kansas | $39,100 | 1,120 | 0.85× | 8 | 171 |
| Mississippilimited | $36,290 | 1,200 | 1.12× | 2 | 147 |
| South Carolina | $39,010 | 2,760 | 1.30× | 6 | 147 |
| Pennsylvania | $43,910 | 5,510 | 0.98× | 7 | 110 |
| Michigan | $39,860 | 3,540 | 0.87× | 8 | 99 |
| North Carolina | $43,330 | 5,410 | 1.19× | 6 | 93 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $38,550 | 3,520 | 1.16× | 3 | 86 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $50,170 | 2,580 | 0.77× | 4 | 80 |
| New Jerseylimited | $48,650 | 5,230 | 1.32× | 1 | 78 |
| Oklahoma | $39,030 | 1,670 | 1.06× | 5 | 60 |
| West Virginia | $39,250 | 1,530 | 2.36× | 5 | 58 |
| Oregonmoderate | $49,160 | 1,800 | 0.99× | 3 | 57 |
| Connecticutlimited | $45,820 | 1,630 | 1.04× | 2 | 40 |
| Alaskamoderate | $45,900 | 210 | 0.71× | 3 | 36 |
| Iowalimited | $38,240 | 1,100 | 0.76× | 2 | 32 |
| Missourilimited | $43,120 | 1,890 | 0.70× | 2 | 28 |
| Mainelimited | $45,640 | 500 | 0.85× | 2 | 26 |
| Virginiamoderate | $46,340 | 3,600 | 0.95× | 3 | 25 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $46,380 | 970 | 2.10× | 1 | 24 |
| South Dakotamoderate | $39,560 | 320 | 0.77× | 3 | 23 |
| Delawarelimited | $48,110 | 430 | 0.95× | 1 | 11 |
| Wyominglimited | $38,180 | 190 | 0.72× | 1 | 7 |
| Alabamalimited | $37,220 | 2,350 | 1.21× | 1 | 6 |
| Montanalimited | $45,470 | 370 | 0.78× | 2 | 4 |
Skills and knowledge
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Dispose of contaminated sharps, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, and policies.
- Organize or clean blood-drawing trays, ensuring that all instruments are sterile and all needles, syringes, or related items are of first-time use.
- Draw blood from veins by vacuum tube, syringe, or butterfly venipuncture methods.
- Match laboratory requisition forms to specimen tubes.
- Dispose of blood or other biohazard fluids or tissue, in accordance with applicable laws, standards, or policies.
- Conduct standards tests, such as blood alcohol, blood culture, oral glucose tolerance, glucose screening, blood smears, or peak and trough drug levels tests.
- Collect specimens at specific time intervals for tests, such as those assessing therapeutic drug levels.
- Process blood or other fluid samples for further analysis by other medical professionals.
Skills
- Speaking3.4
- Active Listening3.4
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Writing3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies2.9
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.6
- English Language3.8
- Administrative3.4
- Education and Training3.4
- Psychology3.2
- Computers and Electronics3.1
Abilities
- Near Vision3.9
- Arm-Hand Steadiness3.8
- Problem Sensitivity3.6
- Oral Expression3.5
- Oral Comprehension3.5
- Written Comprehension3.5
Core activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.6
- Getting Information4.5
- Working with Computers4.4
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Processing Information4.3
How to get in
How to become a phlebotomist
- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 1 majors mapped to Phlebotomists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 51.1009Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a phlebotomist?+
You do not need a college degree to become a phlebotomist. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a phlebotomist?+
The field of study that leads most directly to this job is Phlebotomy Technician/Phlebotomist (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 program to this job, which graduates about 10,645 people a year.
How much do phlebotomists earn?+
The median is $45,230 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $35,780 at the 10th percentile to $58,780 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for phlebotomists growing?+
BLS projects a +5.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 18,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
335 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 1 program that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do phlebotomists work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Phlebotomist, Mobile Examiner, Phlebotomy Technician, Lab Liaison Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 31-9097.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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