Ohio·Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations·SOC 19-4031

Best Chemical Technician programs in Ohio, ranked by enrollment

Conduct chemical and physical laboratory tests to assist scientists in making qualitative and quantitative analyses of solids, liquids, and gaseous materials for research and development of new products or processes, quality control,.

50 schools in Ohio run programs that feed this job, graduating 818 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,750 in Ohio across about 3,120 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledChemical TechnicianLaboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst)Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech)Quality Control Technician (QC Tech)AssayerColoristPerfumerDye Expert
Graduates / yr
818
in Ohio
Median pay · Ohio
$59,750
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
3,120
people employed
Schools
50
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
57%
across those schools
Median net price
$21,785
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Ohio that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Ohio that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Ohio (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Ohio page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 40.0501In Ohio
809
98.9%
47$42,620$23,900
2
CIP 41.0301In Ohio
5
0.6%
2$51,860$11,959
3
CIP 40.0502In Ohio
4
0.5%
2$42,620$23,900

Top 25 schools in Ohio

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 8 of the 50 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Ohio State University - Main Campus
Columbus, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
227Chemistry, General$42,69888%61%
2Ohio University - Main Campus
Athens, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
138Chemistry, General$43,34965%85%
3University of Cincinnati - Main Campus
Cincinnati, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
57Chemistry, General$47,38775%85%
4Miami University - Oxford
Oxford, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
51Chemistry, General80%75%
5Kent State University at Kent
Kent, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
39Chemistry, General$39,79064%86%
6Cleveland State University
Cleveland, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
37Chemistry, General$48,14751%91%
7Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
33Chemistry, General87%$27,97637%
8University of Toledo
Toledo, OH Public · 2 feeder programs
25Chemistry, General57%92%
9Wright State University - Main Campus
Dayton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
19Chemistry, General42%96%
10The College of Wooster
Wooster, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
16Chemistry, General74%$22,49160%
11John Carroll University
University Heights, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Chemistry, General$30,08779%$25,70581%
12Stark State College
North Canton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
13Chemistry, General23%
13Denison University
Granville, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
11Chemistry, General79%$23,86417%
14Baldwin Wallace University
Berea, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Chemistry, General67%$25,10476%
15Kenyon College
Gambier, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Chemistry, General82%$20,47531%
16University of Cincinnati - Blue Ash College
Blue Ash, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
9Chemistry, General16%
17Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
Bowling Green, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
8Chemistry, General$43,84064%81%
18University of Akron Main Campus
Akron, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
8Chemistry, General$44,97052%60%
19Xavier University
Cincinnati, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
8Chemistry, General69%$31,11986%
20Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
7Chemistry, General50%84%
21Otterbein University
Westerville, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General68%$20,15085%
22Sinclair Community College
Dayton, OH Public · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General41%
23University of Dayton
Dayton, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Chemistry, General80%$28,56065%
24Muskingum University
New Concord, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Chemistry, General56%$19,37282%
25Marietta College
Marietta, OH Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Chemistry, General61%$18,56179%

All 50 schools in Ohio

Every school in Ohio with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Ohio that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Ohio State University - Main CampusColumbusPublic2271
Ohio University - Main CampusAthensPublic1381
University of Cincinnati - Main CampusCincinnatiPublic571
Miami University - OxfordOxfordPublic511
Kent State University at KentKentPublic391
Cleveland State UniversityClevelandPublic371
Case Western Reserve UniversityClevelandPrivate not-for-profit331
University of ToledoToledoPublic252
Wright State University - Main CampusDaytonPublic191
The College of WoosterWoosterPrivate not-for-profit161
John Carroll UniversityUniversity HeightsPrivate not-for-profit151
Stark State CollegeNorth CantonPublic131
Denison UniversityGranvillePrivate not-for-profit111
Baldwin Wallace UniversityBereaPrivate not-for-profit101
Kenyon CollegeGambierPrivate not-for-profit91

What chemical technicians earn in Ohio

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Ohio
$59,750
Mean annual
$62,150
Jobs in state
3,120
What the range looks like
10th pct$42,000Median$59,75090th pct$86,390
Versus the national median
-1.1%

U.S. median $60,390. Ohio pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.52×

Concentrated here: Ohio employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Ohio

Cleveland, OH
$62,080median
670 jobs
Toledo, OH
$60,000median
110 jobs
Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN
$61,760median
550 jobs
Columbus, OH
$62,340median
390 jobs
Canton-Massillon, OH
$57,080median
50 jobs
Youngstown-Warren, OH
$60,530median
40 jobs
Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH
$52,470median
110 jobs
Akron, OH
$51,050median
240 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.7%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
6,700
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,100
57,000 → 59,000
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Chemical Technicians page.

How to become a Chemical Technician

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
Associate's degree
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

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.

Top skills

ScienceReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingActive ListeningMonitoring

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Ohio

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 7 majors mapped to Chemical Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 40.0501Chemistry, General
  • 40.0502Analytical Chemistry
  • 40.0503Inorganic Chemistry
  • 40.0504Organic Chemistry
  • 40.0509Environmental Chemistry
  • 41.0301Chemical Technology/Technician
  • 41.0303Chemical Process Technology

Common questions

Answers for people weighing chemical technicians programs in Ohio.

What degree do you need to become a Chemical Technician?+

Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Chemistry, General, which awarded 809 degrees in Ohio in 2024-25, 98.9% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Chemical Technician?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Chemistry, Physical Science Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 818 people a year in Ohio.

How much do chemical technicians earn in Ohio?+

The median is $59,750 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.1% below the U.S. median of $60,390. 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 chemical technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +3.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 6,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Ohio?+

50 institutions in Ohio reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs 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 chemical technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Chemical Technician, Laboratory Analyst (Lab Analyst), Laboratory Technician (Lab Tech), Quality Control Technician (QC Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4031.

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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