Oklahoma·Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations·SOC 29-2055

Best Surgical Technologist programs in Oklahoma, ranked by enrollment

Assist in operations, under the supervision of surgeons, registered nurses, or other surgical personnel.

12 schools in Oklahoma run programs that feed this job, graduating 197 people a year. The job pays a median of $61,190 in Oklahoma across about 1,940 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSurgical TechnicianOperating Room Technician (OR Tech)Certified Surgical Technologist (CST)Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech)Scrub TechnicianSurgical OrderlySurgical Scrub TechnicianTravel Surgical Technologist
Graduates / yr
197
in Oklahoma
Median pay · Oklahoma
$61,190
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,940
people employed
Schools
12
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
67%
across those schools
Median net price
$25,909
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oklahoma that lead to this job

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

1 programs in Oklahoma that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oklahoma (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 Oklahoma page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 51.0909In Oklahoma
197
100.0%
12$53,520$20,250

Top 12 schools in Oklahoma

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 6 of the 12 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Tulsa Technology Center
Tulsa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
40Surgical Technology/Technologist$45,01981%
2Community Care College
Tulsa, OK Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
39Surgical Technology/Technologist$37,39467%$25,909
3Central Oklahoma College
Oklahoma City, OK Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Surgical Technology/Technologist53%
4Moore Norman Technology Center
Norman, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
20Surgical Technology/Technologist$39,66491%
5Canadian Valley Technology Center
El Reno, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
19Surgical Technology/Technologist71%
6Metro Technology Centers
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
13Surgical Technology/Technologist$55,84835%
7Tulsa Community College
Tulsa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
13Surgical Technology/Technologist$54,62128%
8Central Technology Center
Drumright, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
8Surgical Technology/Technologist85%
9Great Plains Technology Center
Lawton, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
8Surgical Technology/Technologist95%
10Wes Watkins Technology Center
Wetumka, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
7Surgical Technology/Technologist98%
11Autry Technology Center
Enid, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
6Surgical Technology/Technologist75%71%
12Oklahoma City Community College
Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs
3Surgical Technology/Technologist$35,55027%

All 12 schools in Oklahoma

Every school in Oklahoma 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 Oklahoma that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Tulsa Technology CenterTulsaPublic401
Community Care CollegeTulsaPrivate not-for-profit391
Central Oklahoma CollegeOklahoma CityPrivate for-profit211
Moore Norman Technology CenterNormanPublic201
Canadian Valley Technology CenterEl RenoPublic191
Metro Technology CentersOklahoma CityPublic131
Tulsa Community CollegeTulsaPublic131
Central Technology CenterDrumrightPublic81
Great Plains Technology CenterLawtonPublic81
Wes Watkins Technology CenterWetumkaPublic71
Autry Technology CenterEnidPublic61
Oklahoma City Community CollegeOklahoma CityPublic31

What surgical technologists earn in Oklahoma

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

Median annual in Oklahoma
$61,190
Mean annual
$60,450
Jobs in state
1,940
What the range looks like
10th pct$49,200Median$61,19090th pct$77,320
Versus the national median
-5.4%

U.S. median $64,650. Oklahoma pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.51×

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

Metro areas in Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, OK
$64,290median
930 jobs
Enid, OK
$59,920median
50 jobs
Tulsa, OK
$59,570median
560 jobs
Lawton, OK
$59,110median
70 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.5%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
7,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,200
115,600 → 120,800
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award

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 Surgical Technologists page.

How to become a Surgical Technologist

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
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.

Top skills

MonitoringActive ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingActive LearningLearning Strategies

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Oklahoma

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Surgical Technologists3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 51.0811Pathology/Pathologist Assistant
  • 51.0909Surgical Technology/Technologist
  • 51.1012Sterile Processing Technology/Technician

Common questions

Answers for people weighing surgical technologists programs in Oklahoma.

What degree do you need to become a Surgical Technologist?+

Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Surgical Technology/Technologist, which awarded 197 degrees in Oklahoma in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Surgical Technologist?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Allied Health Diagnostic. Together they graduate about 197 people a year in Oklahoma.

How much do surgical technologists earn in Oklahoma?+

The median is $61,190 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 5.4% below the U.S. median of $64,650. 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 surgical technologists growing?+

BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

12 institutions in Oklahoma reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 surgical technologists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Surgical Technician, Operating Room Technician (OR Tech), Certified Surgical Technologist (CST), Surgical Technologist (Surgical Tech) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 29-2055.

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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