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Orderlies: 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.

What Do Orderlies Perform?

The day-to-day responsibilities of orderlies span:

• 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.
• Transport portable medical equipment or medical supplies between rooms or departments.

What Orderlies Need to Know

Successful orderlies draw on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.

Top Skills

The competencies most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:

Knowledge Areas

Types of Orderlies Jobs

Common job titles for this role include:

• Attendant
• Cart Attendant
• Clinical Support Associate
• Emergency Room Orderly
• Hospice Entrance Attendant
• Hospital Corpsman
• Hospital Orderly
• Infirmary Attendant

How Many Orderlies Are There?

The U.S. employs around 147,690 orderlies working in the United States today. Demand is forecast to grow by +0.9% over the projection horizon.

How Much Do Orderlies Make?

Statistic	Value
Annual median	$31,214
Hourly median	$15.01
10th percentile	$21,573
25th percentile	$26,394
75th percentile	$36,035
90th percentile	$40,856

Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.

Pay by State

State	Annual median salary
Washington	$51,870
California	$48,550
Hawaii	$45,740
New York	$45,600
Minnesota	$44,970
Oregon	$43,810
Delaware	$42,440
Colorado	$41,390
Alaska	$40,610
Wisconsin	$40,090
New Hampshire	$39,630
Massachusetts	$39,420
Indiana	$38,820
Pennsylvania	$38,790
Rhode Island	$38,660
Illinois	$38,480
New Jersey	$38,140
Idaho	$38,090
Maine	$37,970
Tennessee	$37,600
District of Columbia	$37,450
South Carolina	$37,440
North Carolina	$37,200
Nebraska	$37,030
Maryland	$37,020
Arizona	$36,910
Virginia	$36,740
New Mexico	$36,580
Kansas	$36,440
Kentucky	$36,400
Iowa	$36,210
Missouri	$36,190
Ohio	$36,170
Connecticut	$35,840
Texas	$35,840
Michigan	$35,810
Wyoming	$35,400
Georgia	$34,780
West Virginia	$34,630
Nevada	$34,560
Florida	$34,560
Oklahoma	$33,650
Alabama	$31,240
Arkansas	$31,120
South Dakota	$30,690
Mississippi	$30,070
Louisiana	$26,350
Puerto Rico	$21,010

Top-Paying U.S. Regions

Earnings for orderlies differ across the country. Top regions by median wage:

Region	Median annual wage	Share of U.S. jobs	Location quotient
Far Western US	$47,329	11.8%	0.78
Middle Atlantic	$40,624	25.0%	1.76
Rocky Mountains	$40,334	1.8%	0.68
New England	$38,128	5.6%	1.33
Plains States	$37,690	3.6%	0.62
Great Lakes	$37,526	15.2%	1.09
Southwest	$35,943	7.0%	0.59
Southeast	$35,292	29.0%	1.32

Top Metro Areas

Metro area	State	Median annual wage	Employment
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	CA	$68,360	460
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	CA	$63,900	320
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	CA	$60,090	370
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	CA	$54,020	40
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	WA	$51,870	70
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	CA	$51,470	750
Chico, CA	CA	$49,810	50
Rochester, MN	MN	$48,110	50

Top Industries Employing Orderlies

Most orderlies are concentrated in the following sectors:

Industry	Employment	Median annual wage
Health Care and Social Assistance	49,040	$37,650
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services	1,520	$38,270
Educational Services	280	$37,190
Management of Companies and Enterprises	230	$43,810

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

Software Orderlies Use

• Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
• Office suite software: Microsoft Office software (hot technology)
• Electronic mail software: Microsoft Outlook (hot technology)
• Operating system software: Microsoft Windows (hot technology)

What the Workplace Is Like

Daily working conditions for orderlies reflects the following characteristics:

• Contact With Others
• Physical Proximity
• Exposed to Disease or Infections
• Telephone Conversations
• Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets

How to Become Orderlies

Typical orderlies positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.

Other Careers to Consider

Similar Occupations

• Anesthesiologist Assistants (Supplemental)
• Respiratory Therapists (Supplemental)
• Registered Nurses (Supplemental)
• Acute Care Nurses (Supplemental)
• Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians (Supplemental)
• Emergency Medical Technicians (Supplemental)
• Paramedics (Supplemental)
• Surgical Technologists (Primary-Long)

About the Data

Data on this page comes from the following authoritative sources:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
• BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
• O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.

SOC code: 31-1132.00 (Orderlies).