Side-by-side distribution
Lab Technician
$29.00/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 46%
- Live roles
- 1,284
Nurse
$46.89/hr
per hour · USD
- Disclosing
- 53.1%
- Live roles
- 35,015
Highest-paying jobs
Lab Technician & Test Engineer
Lab Technician, Fluidstack Labs
Hardware Lab Technician
Master Test Lab Technician
Medical Lab Technician - Clinical Laboratory - PRN
Lab Technician and Test Engineer
Medical Laboratory Technician
Medical Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Electrical Test Technician, Hardware Platform EE Lab
Highest-paying jobs
Structural Heart Nurse Practitioner
Registered Nurse (RN), Hospice Community Health Nurse (Weekends)
Substitute Nurse: Candidate Pool:
Relief Veterinary Assistant/ Veterinary Nurse - Santa Monica
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist - CRNA
Experienced Dermatology Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant
Experienced Dermatology Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant
Psych Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP, Psych APRN)
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), Independent Contractor
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA)
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Advocate Health
|
$72,956 | 53 |
Aspen Dental
|
$57,200 | 38 |
Sanford Health
|
$68,640 | 23 |
Siemens Healthineers
|
$48,242 | 22 |
|
Sutter Health
|
$86,226 | 17 |
| EH Essentia Health | $63,648 | 16 |
Labcorp
|
$66,170 | 12 |
USC
|
$49,920 | 12 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Advocate Health
|
$99,320 | 1,589 |
| AD AdventHealth | $93,725 | 1,331 |
CVS Health
|
$137,259 | 926 |
Trinity Health
|
$99,580 | 602 |
DaVita
|
$99,840 | 549 |
BAYADA Home Health Care
|
$69,680 | 525 |
CenterWell
|
$122,720 | 517 |
| BI Beth Israel Lahey Health | $131,186 | 454 |
Lab Technician salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $78,750 | 5 |
| Austin | $62,000 | 3 |
| New York | $61,922 | 5 |
| Boston | $52,010 | 10 |
| Denver | $51,033 | 7 |
| Los Angeles | $49,920 | 12 |
Nurse salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $199,680 | 102 |
| Seattle | $150,977 | 55 |
| Los Angeles | $148,950 | 53 |
| Boston | $117,915 | 250 |
| Berlin | $102,960 | 7 |
| Sydney | $100,478 | 20 |
| Chicago | $99,237 | 109 |
| Atlanta | $98,675 | 25 |
| Austin | $98,384 | 38 |
| Denver | $97,521 | 141 |
Lab Technician vs Nurse: which pays more?
The median for Lab Technician is $29.00/hr per year (typically $23.35/hr–$34.00/hr), versus $46.89/hr for Nurse ($40.15/hr–$53.10/hr). That puts Nurse about 62% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Lab Technician and Nurse are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.