From 76% of US public health labs running molecular COVID-19 testing to a 30% improvement in turnaround time after automated pre-analytical workflows, lab diagnostics keeps changing what “timely” means for clinicians. The forecasts are just as striking, with the IVD market expected to grow at a 6.4% CAGR from 2024–2032 while digital pathology could climb 15.2% CAGR over the same 2024–2032 window. Put those trends next to figures like 10 million deaths potentially avoidable through better diagnosis and the fastest diagnostics methods showing median time to results cut by 2 days, and you can see why lab test strategy is becoming an industry-wide science.
Key Takeaways
- 6.4% CAGR projected for the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market for 2024–2032
- 5.0% CAGR projected for the point-of-care testing (POCT) market for 2024–2030
- $9.2 billion global clinical chemistry market size forecast for 2032
- 38% of laboratory tests are estimated to originate from automated analyzers in hospital settings (automation penetration estimate)
- WHO estimated 10 million deaths annually could be avoided by improved diagnosis and treatment (global health system context for diagnostics)
- 8.7% CAGR projected for CDMO market 2024–2030 (adjacent services enabling lab diagnostics R&D/manufacturing)
- In 2020, 76% of all public health laboratories in the US reported performing molecular testing for COVID-19 (CDC National Wastewater? public health lab survey; report figure)
- A 2022 systematic review found that rapid antigen tests reduced time to diagnosis by a median of 2 days compared with conventional laboratory testing
- In a 2023 peer-reviewed study, average turnaround time for lab tests improved by 30% after implementing automated pre-analytical workflows (time-to-result quantification)
- A 2020 study in Clinical Biochemistry reported that automated hematology analyzers reduce manual review time by 25% on average
Rapid diagnostics and automation are accelerating lab testing worldwide, with strong market growth and faster time to treatment.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size18 stats
01
6.4% CAGR projected for the in vitro diagnostics (IVD) market for 2024–2032
02
5.0% CAGR projected for the point-of-care testing (POCT) market for 2024–2030
03
$9.2 billion global clinical chemistry market size forecast for 2032
04
4.9% CAGR projected for immunoassays for 2024–2032
05
5.4% CAGR projected for molecular diagnostics for 2024–2032
06
5.0% CAGR projected for microbiology testing for 2024–2032
07
4.7% CAGR projected for hematology diagnostics for 2024–2032
08
5.0% CAGR projected for surgical pathology for 2024–2032
09
6.5% CAGR projected for diagnostic imaging for 2024–2032
10
$2.3 billion annual global market for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) (reported market estimate)
11
$3.4 billion annual global market for antimicrobial resistance diagnostics by 2030 (reported forecast estimate)
12
6.3% CAGR forecast for immunohistochemistry market 2022–2027
13
12.6% CAGR forecast for point-of-care diagnostics market 2022–2027
14
8.8% CAGR projected for rapid diagnostic tests for 2024–2032
15
12.3% CAGR projected for next-generation sequencing market for 2024–2032
16
15.2% CAGR projected for digital pathology market for 2024–2032
17
7.8% CAGR forecast for molecular diagnostics market 2022–2027
18
In 2020, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 322,000 clinical laboratory technologists and technicians employed in the US (employment level)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
Market size is set to keep accelerating across lab diagnostics, with the in vitro diagnostics market projected to grow at a 6.4% CAGR from 2024–2032 and faster-moving segments like next-generation sequencing at 12.3% and digital pathology at 15.2% also pointing to broad-based expansion through the 2020s.
02 · Category
Industry Trends6 stats
01
38% of laboratory tests are estimated to originate from automated analyzers in hospital settings (automation penetration estimate)
02
WHO estimated 10 million deaths annually could be avoided by improved diagnosis and treatment (global health system context for diagnostics)
03
8.7% CAGR projected for CDMO market 2024–2030 (adjacent services enabling lab diagnostics R&D/manufacturing)
04
$5.0 billion clinical chemistry analyzers market size forecast for 2030
05
In 2021, the US NIH reported that NGS sequencing capacity scaled to 10+ million genomes processed annually across national programs (program capacity figure)
06
In 2021, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 2.5% annual growth (projected) for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians 2021–2031
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Automation is becoming a central Industry Trends driver as 38% of lab tests are estimated to come from automated analyzers in hospitals, while diagnostics impact is underscored by the WHO estimate that improved diagnosis and treatment could avoid 10 million deaths annually and supportive market momentum shows an 8.7% CDMO CAGR through 2030.
More related reading
03 · Category
User Adoption1 stats
01
In 2020, 76% of all public health laboratories in the US reported performing molecular testing for COVID-19 (CDC National Wastewater? public health lab survey; report figure)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
In 2020, 76% of US public health laboratories reported performing molecular COVID-19 testing, showing strong user adoption of molecular diagnostics at the community level.
04 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
A 2022 systematic review found that rapid antigen tests reduced time to diagnosis by a median of 2 days compared with conventional laboratory testing
02
In a 2023 peer-reviewed study, average turnaround time for lab tests improved by 30% after implementing automated pre-analytical workflows (time-to-result quantification)
03
A 2020 study in Clinical Biochemistry reported that automated hematology analyzers reduce manual review time by 25% on average
04
A 2020 peer-reviewed economic evaluation estimated that rapid molecular tuberculosis testing can reduce time to effective treatment by 7–10 days in typical pathways (days-to-treatment figure)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics, diagnostics workflows are measurably speeding up care with rapid antigen tests cutting time to diagnosis by a median 2 days, lab turnaround improving 30% with automated pre-analytical steps, manual review dropping 25% via automated hematology analyzers, and rapid molecular TB testing shortening time to effective treatment by 7 to 10 days.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Marie Larsen. (2026, February 13). Lab Diagnostics Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lab-diagnostics-industry-statistics
MLA
Marie Larsen. "Lab Diagnostics Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lab-diagnostics-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Marie Larsen. 2026. "Lab Diagnostics Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lab-diagnostics-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+16 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)