Two 2003 salary reports of the annual and hourly salaries of speech-language pathologists and audiologists show a steady rise in salaries from 2001.

Annual salaries for SLPs rose from $45,000 to $52,600, and audiologists' salaries increased from $50,000 to $55,000, according to the latest data gathered by ASHA for the 2003 Omnibus Survey. Those salaries reflect data for a calendar year of 11-12 months.

The survey was sent to a sample of 7,500 members in the United States with proportionate representation of certified SLPs, certified audiologists, dually certified clinicians, and non-certified members and those in the process of obtaining certification. Of those surveyed, 58% or 4,387 responded.

The median annual salary for SLPs (on an 11-month or 12-month contract) was $52,600. Audiologists earned a median annual salary of $55,000. Hourly salaries are as follows:

median for SLPs employed for 26 or more hours per week: $28.33
median for SLPs employed for 25 or fewer hours per week: $40
median for audiologists working 26 or more hours per week: $25
median for audiologists working 25 or fewer hours per week: $30
The reports provide median salaries rather than "mean salaries" because medians are more stable and less susceptible to extremes. The median is "calculated" by putting all answers in order, from lowest to highest, and choosing the one in the middle. Thus, half of the people earn less than the median and half earn more. The government uses median statistics in reporting data such as average housing costs.

Degrees
Annual salaries for those with doctorates were higher than for those with only a master's. In 2003, SLPs with doctoral degrees in the professions reported a median salary of $57,114; those with a master's reported a median salary of $47,000.

Audiologists with highest degrees in the professions reported median annual salaries for an academic year of $47,000 with a master's and $56,500 with a doctorate. For a calendar year, their median salaries were $52,000 and $70,000, respectively.

The difference between those with a doctorate in the professions and those with a master's was $10,114 for SLPs and $15,000 for audiologists (computed from combined academic and calendar-year salaries).

Geography and Locale
Both annual and hourly salaries vary by geographic region and locale. Annual salaries for SLPs were highest in the Northeast for academic-year employment ($54,000) and highest in the West on a calendar-year basis ($60,000). Audiologists reported the highest median annual salaries for an academic year in the Midwest ($50,000) and the highest calendar-year salaries in the West ($60,000).

Hourly salaries for SLPs were highest in the Northeast for either a workweek of 25 hours or less ($56 per hour) or for a longer workweek ($34 per hour). For audiologists, hourly salaries topped out in the Northeast ($40) for a workweek of 25 hours or less, and in the West for longer workweeks ($28.83).

In terms of locale, annual salaries for SLPs, audiologists, and dually certified clinicians were lowest in rural areas. Hourly salaries for audiologists tended to be lowest in metropolitan/urban areas.

Employment Facility
Annual salaries were $58,000 per calendar year for audiologists in full-time private practice, $53,350 for SLPs, and $83,500 for dually certified individuals. For school-based clinicians, annual academic-year salaries were $45,000 for SLPs, $47,000 for audiologists, and $50,000 for dually certified professionals. Median annual salaries based on a calendar year were higher in colleges and universities than in other types of facilities for audiologists ($68,000) and highest for SLPs in residential health care facilities ($62,000).

For professionals paid on an hourly basis, median salaries in full-time private practice were $25 for audiologists and $60 for SLPs. School-based SLPs employed for no more than 25 hours a week reported a median wage of $50 per hour, and those employed for more hours earned $40 per hour.

Audiologists employed in nonresidential health care facilities for up to 25 hours a week earned $30 per hour; those working more hours earned $23.54.