Careers / Orderlies

Orderlies — Career Decision Dashboard

United States

Opens your browser print dialog — choose “Save as PDF”.

Median annual wage

$38,290

United States, 2025

Employment

52,440

United States, 2025

Typical education

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

Job Zone 2

Skills identified

35

10 related careers

Career overview

Transport patients to areas such as operating rooms or x-ray rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds. May maintain stocks of supplies or clean and transport equipment. Psychiatric orderlies are included in Psychiatric Aides.

O*NET code
31-1132.00
Job zone
2
Experience required
None

Typical tasks

  • Restrain patients to prevent violence or injury or to assist physicians or nurses to administer treatments.
  • Lift or assist others to lift patients to move them on or off beds, examination tables, surgical tables, or stretchers.
  • Transport patients to treatment units, testing units, operating rooms, or other areas, using wheelchairs, stretchers, or moveable beds.
  • Disinfect or sterilize equipment or supplies, using germicides or sterilizing equipment.
  • Clean equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, or portable medical equipment, documenting needed repairs or maintenance.
  • Respond to emergency situations, such as emergency medical calls, security calls, or fire alarms.
  • Change soiled linens, such as bed linens, drapes, or cubicle curtains.
  • Carry messages or documents between departments.

Choose a location

Salary analysis — United States

$32,240
10th
$35,570
25th
$38,290
Median
$44,560
75th
$50,600
90th

10th percentile

$32,240

25th percentile

$35,570

75th percentile

$44,560

90th percentile

$50,600

Most important skills

  • Service Orientation3.4
  • Social Perceptiveness3.4
  • Active Listening3.1
  • Speaking3.0
  • Coordination2.9
  • Critical Thinking2.8
  • Monitoring2.6
  • Writing2.6
  • Judgment and Decision Making2.6
  • Reading Comprehension2.5
  • Time Management2.5
  • Negotiation2.4

What skills do you need?

Select the skills you already have

Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.

Skill coverage

0%

0 of 4 identified skills

Matched

0

Missing

4

Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.

Skills to develop

SkillImportanceRequired levelYour levelGap
Service Orientation3.42.6Not selected2.6
Social Perceptiveness3.42.5Not selected2.5
Active Listening3.12.5Not selected2.5
Speaking3.02.1Not selected2.1

Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.

Related careers

Respiratory Therapists

Supplemental

National median $82,280

Compare with Orderlies
Patient Representatives

Supplemental

National median $50,290

Compare with Orderlies
Registered Nurses

Supplemental

National median $97,550

Compare with Orderlies
Anesthesiologist Assistants

Supplemental

National median $135,880

Compare with Orderlies
Acute Care Nurses

Supplemental

National median $97,550

Compare with Orderlies
Paramedics

Supplemental

National median $60,600

Compare with Orderlies
Emergency Medical Technicians

Supplemental

National median $44,470

Compare with Orderlies

How salary varies by location

LocationMedianEmploymentYear
San Francisco, CA$69,8704802025
San Jose, CA$65,7903002025
Santa Rosa, CA$63,780402025
Sacramento, CA$62,3803702025
Bakersfield, CA$50,110802025
Santa Maria, CA$50,040502025
CA$49,9204,8702025
Modesto, CA$49,890802025
Los Angeles, CA$49,7601,8902025
San Diego, CA$49,4103302025
WA$48,6902002025
Rochester, MN$48,290702025
VT$48,120702025
Minneapolis, MN$47,5102602025
Riverside, CA$47,4406202025
HI$47,130802025
NY$46,6004,6802025
Seattle, WA$46,5601002025
New York, NY$45,8504,9702025
OR$45,1205002025
All locations with published data

Career transition paths

Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Orderlies to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.

Build a transition comparison

Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0.

Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).

Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.