Contents
- Computer technician wages statistics: national pay benchmarks
- Computer technician wages statistics: annual and hourly wage percentiles
- Computer technician wages statistics by specialty and industry
- Computer technician wages statistics across states and metro areas
- Computer technician wages statistics in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas
- Computer technician wages statistics: industry pay differences
- Sources
Computer technician wages statistics: national pay benchmarks
“Computer technician” is a broad everyday label. The Bureau of Labor Statistics figures here cover specifically named occupations: computer support specialists (15-1230), computer network support specialists (15-1231), and computer user support specialists (15-1232). They are not a separate wage estimate for every worker who might be called a computer technician. The May 2025 national benchmark below is for computer support specialists as a whole; the narrower specialties are discussed separately. BLS national OEWS table · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
For U.S. computer support specialists, the May 2025 estimate reported employment of 863,380, a mean hourly wage of $33.55, and a mean annual wage of $69,790. The mean is an average across the wage distribution, so it describes a different point from the median. BLS national OEWS table
| U.S. computer support specialists, May 2025 | Estimate |
|---|---|
| Mean hourly wage | $33.55 |
| Mean annual wage | $69,790 |
| Median hourly wage | $30.24 |
| Median annual wage | $62,890 |
| Employment | 863,380 |
The same national table reports a median hourly wage of $30.24 and a median annual wage of $62,890. The median marks the midpoint of the wage distribution: an equal number of observations fall on either side of it. It complements the mean by describing a different point in that distribution. These estimates describe the named occupation and period; they do not specify an individual worker’s offer or paycheck. BLS national OEWS table
Computer technician wages statistics: annual and hourly wage percentiles
The May 2025 occupational outlook data distinguish network support from user support. Network support specialists had a median annual wage of $76,220, compared with $61,860 for user support specialists. The figures apply to separate BLS specialties and report annual medians. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
The same source describes wage thresholds at the lower and upper ends of each occupation’s annual distribution. The lowest 10 percent of network support specialists earned less than $47,120, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $127,780. For user support specialists, the lowest 10 percent earned less than $40,980 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,540. These statements describe thresholds for the tails of the distributions, not exact wages for each person in those groups. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
| Specialty, May 2025 | Median annual wage | Lowest 10 percent | Highest 10 percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer network support specialists | $76,220 | Less than $47,120 | More than $127,780 |
| Computer user support specialists | $61,860 | Less than $40,980 | More than $100,540 |
The May 2023 OEWS specialty profiles also define percentile wage tables with hourly and annual rows, and columns for the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentiles. This is a broader way to describe a distribution than relying on a single average or midpoint. The geographic and industry observations later in this article use the profiles’ separately labelled mean wage columns, not the percentile columns. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023 · BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
Computer technician wages statistics by specialty and industry
For May 2025, the BLS occupational outlook lists median annual wages in selected industries for network support specialists. Finance and insurance was listed at $82,640; government, excluding state and local education and hospitals, at $78,030; telecommunications at $77,810; computer systems design and related services at $74,320; and educational services (state, local, and private) at $65,830. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
| Computer network support specialists, May 2025 | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | $82,640 |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $78,030 |
| Telecommunications | $77,810 |
| Computer systems design and related services | $74,320 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | $65,830 |
For user support specialists, the selected May 2025 industry medians were $77,180 in government, excluding state and local education and hospitals; $65,400 in information; $60,440 in computer systems design and related services; $58,550 in educational services (state, local, and private); and $52,100 in administrative and support services. These are medians for the named specialty within each specified industry group. The selected lists do not represent every industry employing these specialists. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
| Computer user support specialists, May 2025 | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $77,180 |
| Information | $65,400 |
| Computer systems design and related services | $60,440 |
| Educational services; state, local, and private | $58,550 |
| Administrative and support services | $52,100 |
Computer systems design and related services appears in both selected lists: the median was $74,320 for network support specialists and $60,440 for user support specialists in May 2025. This is a comparison of reported medians for different occupations within the same industry category. The figures describe the outcomes; they do not explain what accounts for the difference. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook
Computer technician wages statistics across states and metro areas
The state observations below come from May 2023 OEWS profiles and report annual mean wages. For user support specialists, the profile’s top-paying-state entries include California at $79,950, the District of Columbia at $79,300, Massachusetts at $76,010, Washington at $73,140, and Colorado at $72,400. These are historical estimates for the stated period. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023
| Computer user support specialists, May 2023 | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| California | $79,950 |
| District of Columbia | $79,300 |
| Massachusetts | $76,010 |
| Washington | $73,140 |
| Colorado | $72,400 |
For network support specialists, the profile’s states-with-highest-employment table reports annual mean wages of $70,430 in Texas, $81,150 in Illinois, $73,700 in Ohio, and $83,940 in California. Its separate top-paying-state table lists Rhode Island at $115,330 and Maryland at $102,600. The two tables select states using different criteria, so the employment entries are not a complete state wage ranking. BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
| Computer network support specialists, May 2023 | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| Rhode Island | $115,330 |
| Maryland | $102,600 |
| California | $83,940 |
| Illinois | $81,150 |
| Ohio | $73,700 |
| Texas | $70,430 |
The state figures retain the profiles’ annual mean measure. They are not medians, and the May 2023 date differs from the May 2025 national benchmarks. The profiles also contain employment, hourly mean wage, employment per thousand jobs, and location quotient fields for these state entries; the comparison here is limited to annual mean wages. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023 · BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
Computer technician wages statistics in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas
The May 2023 user support profile’s top-paying metropolitan areas include Sacramento—Roseville—Arden-Arcade, California, at an annual mean wage of $95,040; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California, at $88,620; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, at $87,650; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington, at $78,700; and Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, Massachusetts-New Hampshire, at $77,430. These are metro-area estimates for user support specialists. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023
For network support specialists, selected metro observations include Providence-Warwick, Rhode Island-Massachusetts, at $114,380; San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, at $109,930; Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Maryland, at $105,790; Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington, at $100,650; and New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania, at $92,980. The first three are listed in the profile’s top-paying metro table; Seattle and New York are listed among metro areas with the highest employment level. BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
| Network support specialists, May 2023 metropolitan areas | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $114,380 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $109,930 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $105,790 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $100,650 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $92,980 |
The profiles also report nonmetropolitan estimates. In May 2023, computer user support specialists in the Kansas nonmetropolitan area had an annual mean wage of $47,040. Computer network support specialists in Eastern Oregon’s nonmetropolitan area had an annual mean wage of $72,390. These values refer to different occupations and local areas, so they are separate local estimates rather than a direct like-for-like comparison. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023 · BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
Computer technician wages statistics: industry pay differences
The May 2023 industry profiles report annual mean wages, alongside employment and the occupation’s share of industry employment. In the user support profile’s industries-with-highest-employment table, software publishers had 28,740 workers, representing 4.39% of industry employment, and an annual mean wage of $74,610. Elementary and secondary schools had 37,750 workers, 0.44% of industry employment, and an annual mean wage of $56,800. Management of companies and enterprises had 37,490 workers, 1.35% of industry employment, and an annual mean wage of $64,890. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023
A different user support table selects industries by highest concentration of employment. Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance had 3,000 workers, 2.85% of industry employment, and an annual mean wage of $55,570. Because the table is concentration-based, this entry should be understood within that selection criterion, rather than as an overall industry rank. BLS computer user support profile, May 2023
| Computer user support specialists, May 2023 | Annual mean wage |
|---|---|
| Software publishers | $74,610 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | $64,890 |
| Elementary and secondary schools | $56,800 |
| Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance | $55,570 |
For network support specialists, computer systems design and related services reported 33,220 workers, 1.31% of industry employment, and an annual mean wage of $82,040. Telecommunications reported 13,550 workers, 2.09% of industry employment, and $81,770 annually. Both entries come from the profile’s industries-with-highest-employment table. BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
The network support profile’s highest-concentration table lists software publishers at an annual mean wage of $91,090, with 3,790 workers and 0.58% of industry employment. Its highest-employment table lists local government, excluding schools and hospitals, at $73,820, with 6,970 workers and 0.13% of industry employment. The table labels indicate how these rows were selected; they are not an exhaustive list of industries or a universal pay order. BLS computer network support profile, May 2023
Across these industry observations, each wage remains tied to its occupation, industry category, measure, and period. The May 2023 profile figures are annual means. The selected-industry values in the earlier section are May 2025 medians. They are separate reference points and should not be combined into a time series or treated as interchangeable measures.
Sources
- Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey by occupation, May 2025
- Computer Support Specialists: Occupational Outlook Handbook
- Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: Computer User Support Specialists
- Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023: Computer Network Support Specialists