Surgical Assistants Salary
The median pay for a surgical assistants in St. Louis, MO-IL is $74,080/year ($35.62/hour), per BLS data. The range runs from $37K at the entry level to $106K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $77,905 in purchasing power. Rent on a 2-bedroom averages $1,218/month, or 25% of estimated take-home pay.
So what does $74K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About surgical assistants
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
St. Louis sits well above the national pay line for surgical assistants, local pay runs about 11% higher than the U.S. median of $67K. Rent runs $1,218/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 25.3% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for surgical assistants in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Springfield | $38K | $42K |
| Springfield | $78K | $84K |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | $80K | $77K |
| Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin | $87K | $90K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level surgical assistants (10th percentile) start around $37K. Mid-career wages sit at $74K. Top earners bring in $106K or more, a $69K spread from bottom to top.
Surgical Assistants pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Surgical Assistants salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $123K | +85% | 90 |
| Arizona | $111K | +66% | N/A |
| Colorado | $107K | +61% | N/A |
| Nevada | $101K | +51% | 230 |
| New Jersey | $91K | +36% | N/A |
| South Carolina | $86K | +28% | 480 |
| Kentucky | $85K | +27% | 480 |
| Tennessee | $82K | +22% | 750 |
| Oregon | $80K | +20% | 220 |
| Illinois | $80K | +20% | 2,300 |
| Virginia | $79K | +18% | 1,000 |
| Wisconsin | $78K | +17% | 810 |
| New Hampshire | $78K | +16% | 130 |
| Ohio | $77K | +16% | 970 |
| Minnesota | $76K | +14% | 360 |
| Connecticut | $68K | +1% | 320 |
| Montana | $67K | +1% | 100 |
| Iowa | $66K | -1% | 30 |
| Washington | $65K | -2% | 100 |
| Texas | $65K | -3% | 2,840 |
| Florida | $63K | -6% | 1,260 |
| California | $63K | -6% | 1,210 |
| New Mexico | $62K | -7% | 130 |
| Rhode Island | $62K | -7% | N/A |
| Alaska | $61K | -8% | 60 |
| Pennsylvania | $61K | -9% | 240 |
| New York | $60K | -10% | 470 |
| North Carolina | $60K | -10% | 670 |
| Maryland | $58K | -13% | 670 |
| Kansas | $58K | -13% | 180 |
| Indiana | $57K | -15% | 690 |
| Idaho | $56K | -15% | N/A |
| Michigan | $56K | -16% | 560 |
| Massachusetts | $56K | -16% | N/A |
| Hawaii | $54K | -19% | 70 |
| Nebraska | $53K | -20% | 80 |
| West Virginia | $51K | -24% | 280 |
| Mississippi | $51K | -24% | 120 |
| Arkansas | $50K | -26% | 80 |
| Georgia | $50K | -26% | 840 |
| Missouri | $49K | -26% | 510 |
| Utah | $45K | -33% | 290 |
| Alabama | $42K | -38% | 470 |
| Oklahoma | $40K | -40% | 220 |
Showing 1–10 of 44 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track surgical assistants salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Healthcare
Frequently asked questions
Can a surgical assistant afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
Yes — at the median salary of $74K, rent takes 25.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for surgical assistants in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new surgical assistants typically earn — is $37K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,226/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 55% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is surgical assistant a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay is 11% above the national median — $74K here vs. $67K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for surgical assistants?
St. Louis pays $74K median vs. the U.S. average of $67K — that’s +11%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $78K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do surgical assistants make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $74,080 a year, that works out to about $36 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $37,100, and experienced surgical assistants can clear $105,720. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $74K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,813/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 25.3% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a surgical assistants salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median surgical assistants salary is worth about $77,905 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do surgical assistants get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.