Healthcare has always been a major driver of economic growth, and today more than ever. The healthcare industry, and the professionals that make it all possible, continue to benefit from the record number of insured Americans and the growing population of older Americans with complex, co-morbid conditions. From advanced clinicians to entry-level support positions, medical professionals involved in direct patient care have more opportunities than ever to make a positive difference in the delivery of healthcare in America.
Medical assisting is one of a handful of critical support roles that come with respectable salaries and professional opportunities, despite a relatively short training period that can be completed through a two-year associate’s program, or even shorter certificate and diploma programs.
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Salaries for Medical Assistants: Yearly Income in Different Parts of the Country
The medical assistant profession comes with average salaries in the $30,000s and top salaries in the mid- to upper- $40,000s – well above $20 an hour.
As of May 2019, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed an average, annual salary of $34,800 ($16.73 per hour) for medical assistants.
Earn the Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) designation and get a few years of experience under your belt and you’ll soon enjoy an average salary that’s about $10,000 above the mid-level. The BLS reports that medical assistants at the upper end of the salary range (top 10%) earned an average of $48,720 ($23.43 per hour) during this time.
The BLS also breaks down average salaries for medical assistants by geographic area:
The top-paying states for medical assistants during this time were:
- Alaska: $45,630
- Washington D.C.: $44,530
- Washington: $43,670
- Massachusetts: $41,780
- Minnesota: $41,710
Most of the highest paying metro areas for medical assistants are located on the west coast, off-setting the higher cost of living there:
- Vallejo-Fairfield: $49,880
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward: $48,920
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: $47,140
- Santa Rosa, CA: $46,550
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $46,450
- Barnstable Town, MA: $45,900
- Anchorage, AK: $45,11
- Fairbanks: $44,770
- Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA: $44,380
- Olympia-Tumwater, WA: $43,630
Medical Assistant Salaries for Certified vs. Non-Certified Medical Assistants
Because medical assisting preparation tends to be fairly standard in terms of curriculum and clinical experiences, professional certification remains one of the best ways these medical support professionals can stand out from the competition and position themselves as leaders in their field.
The Certified Medical Assistant (CMA) certification through the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) has become a standard requirement among many employers. While salaries among CMAs are comparable to non-CMAs, this designation often leads to more and better employment opportunities.
A 2019 Compensation and Benefits Report published by the AAMA revealed an average, annual salary of $33,570 ($17.74 per hour) for full-time medical assistants with the CMA. This report also broke down the average salaries for CMAs by experience level:
- 0-2 years: $29,256 ($15.67)
- 3-5 years: $31,852 ($16.88)
- 6-9 years: $33,590 ($17.73)
- 10-15 years: $35,649 ($18.80)
- 16+ years: $38,364 ($20.03)
Medical Assisting Salaries by Work Setting
According to the BLS, while the majority of medical assistants work in physician offices, the top earners were in outpatient centers and general and medical surgical hospitals:
- Outpatient care centers: $39,190
- General medical and surgical hospitals: $37,190
- Physician offices: $35,490
- Offices of other healthcare practitioners: $32,540
- Continuing care retirement communities and assisted living facilities; $29,690
The top-paying industries for medical assistants included:
- Computer systems design and related services: $43,870
- Junior colleges: $43,400
- Agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities: $42,850
- Other amusement and recreation industries: $41,850
- Medical and diagnostic laboratories: $40,960
Medical Assistant Hourly Wages by State
The BLS reports the following average, hourly wages (median – top 10%) for medical assistants, by state:
- Alabama: $13.74 – $18.98 (approximately 9,580 medical assistants)
- Alaska: $21.55 – $28.25 (approximately 2,740 medical assistants)
- Arizona: $16.35 – $20.09 (approximately 17,540 medical assistants)
- Arkansas: $14.43 – $19.47 (approximately 3,850 medical assistants)
- California: $18.10 – $28.43 (approximately 96,850 medical assistants)
- Colorado: $17.75 – $23.45 (approximately 12,100 medical assistants)
- Connecticut: $18.58 – $25.37 (approximately 8,140 medical assistants)
- Delaware: $16.34 – $22.77 (approximately 2,700 medical assistants)
- District of Columbia: $21.31 – $27.94 (approximately 1,870 medical assistants)
- Florida: $16.03 – $20.61 (approximately 57,410 medical assistants)
- Georgia: $15.86 – $20.77 (approximately 27,180 medical assistants)
- Hawaii: $18.70 – $24.45 (approximately 4,340 medical assistants)
- Idaho: $16.58 – $21.65 (approximately 3,350 medical assistants)
- Illinois: $16.93 – $23.68 (approximately 22,940 medical assistants)
- Indiana: $16.29 – $20.20 (approximately 16,120 medical assistants)
- Iowa: $17.12 – $22.70 (approximately 4,970 medical assistants)
- Kansas: $14.81 – $19.23 (approximately 5,220 medical assistants)
- Kentucky: $15.43 – $20.43 (approximately 9,940 medical assistants)
- Louisiana: $14.20 – $18.96 (approximately 8,570 medical assistants)
- Maine: $17.42 – $22.57 (approximately 4,340 medical assistants)
- Maryland: $17.47 – $23.78 (approximately 13,110 medical assistants)
- Massachusetts: $19.60 – $25.53 (approximately 14,990 medical assistants)
- Michigan: $16.12 – $20.17 (approximately 24,580 medical assistants)
- Minnesota: $19.99 – $24.95 (approximately 9,950 medical assistants)
- Mississippi: $14.16 – $18.98 (approximately 3,590 medical assistants)
- Missouri: $15.94 – $20.25 (approximately 10,870 medical assistants)
- Montana: $17.36 – $22.88 (approximately 1,240 medical assistants)
- Nebraska: $16.23 – $23.33 (approximately 2,810 medical assistants)
- Nevada: $16.65 – $21.53 (approximately 6,800 medical assistants)
- New Hampshire: $17.90 – $22.93 (approximately 2,770 medical assistants)
- New Jersey: $17.64 – $23.74 (approximately 19,120 medical assistants)
- New Mexico: $14.73 – $19.82 (approximately 6,750 medical assistants)
- New York: $18.01- $24.49 (approximately 27,530 medical assistants)
- North Carolina: $16.10 – $20.11 (approximately 19,640 medical assistants)
- North Dakota: $17.61 – $23.29 (approximately 410 medical assistants)
- Ohio: $15.87 – $19.92 (approximately 25,640 medical assistants)
- Oklahoma: $14.80 – $19.48 (approximately 8,740 medical assistants)
- Oregon: $19.02 – $24.52 (approximately 13,340 medical assistants)
- Pennsylvania: $15.85 – $20.59 (approximately 29,280 medical assistants)
- Rhode Island: $17.62 – $23.79 (approximately 2,820 medical assistants)
- South Carolina: $15.28 – $19.59 (approximately 10,890 medical assistants)
- South Dakota: $14.72 – $18.83 (approximately 930 medical assistants)
- Tennessee: $15.53 – $21.56 (approximately 15,280 medical assistants)
- Texas: $15.37 – $20.50 (approximately 65,170 medical assistants)
- Utah: $16.29 – $20.20 (approximately 7,940 medical assistants)
- Vermont: $17.22 – $22.08 (approximately 1,110 medical assistants)
- Virginia: $16.86 – $24.73 (approximately 14,860 medical assistants)
- Washington: $20.90 – $27.47 (approximately 15,780 medical assistants)
- West Virginia: $13.58 – $17.88 (approximately 3,280 medical assistants)
- Wisconsin: $17.80 – $22.92 (approximately 12,420 medical assistants)
- Wyoming: $16.23 – $21.72 (approximately 860 medical assistants)
Medical Assistant Annual Salaries by State
The following BLS stats reveal the average salaries for medical assistants in each state, both at the median level and in the top 10%.
- Alabama: $28,570 – $39,490
- Alaska: $44,820 – $58,750
- Arizona: $34,000 – $41,790
- Arkansas: $30,020 – $40,510
- California: $37,640 – $59,130
- Colorado: $36,920 – $48,770
- Connecticut: $38,640 – $52,760
- Delaware: $34,000 – $47,360
- District of Columbia: $44,320 – $58,120
- Florida: $33,400 – $42,880
- Georgia: $32,990 – $43,200
- Hawaii: $38,900 – $50,850
- Idaho: $34,480 – $45,030
- Illinois: $35,220 – $49,250
- Indiana: $33,880 – $42,020
- Iowa: $3,5610 – $47,210
- Kansas: $30,800 – $40,000
- Kentucky: $32,090 – $42,490
- Louisiana: $29,530 – $39,430
- Maine: $36,240 – $46,950
- Maryland: $36,330 – $49,470
- Massachusetts: $40,770 – $53,100
- Michigan: $33,540 – $41,950
- Minnesota: $41,570 – $51,890
- Mississippi: $29,460 – $39,480
- Missouri: $33,160 – $42,130
- Montana: $36,110 – $47,580
- Nebraska: $33,760 – $48,520
- Nevada: $34,630 – $44,770
- New Hampshire: $37,230 – $47,690
- New Jersey: $36,690 – $49,390
- New Mexico: $30,640 – $41,230
- New York: $37,450 – $30,930
- North Carolina: $33,500 – $41,830
- North Dakota: $36,640 – $48,440
- Ohio: $33,000 – $41,430
- Oklahoma: $30,770 – $40,520
- Oregon: $39,570 – $51,010
- Pennsylvania: $32,970 – $42,830
- Rhode Island: $36,650 – $49,490
- South Carolina: $31,780 – $40,740
- South Dakota: $30,620 – $39,170
- Tennessee: $32,290 – $44,840
- Texas: $31,980 – $42,640
- Utah: $33,880 – $42,010
- Vermont: $35,820 – $45,920
- Virginia: $35,070 – $51,430
- Washington: $43,470 – $57,140
- West Virginia: $28,250 – $37,190
- Wisconsin: $37,020 – $47,680
- Wyoming: $33,770 – $45,170
Salary and employment data compiled by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics in May of 2019. Figures represent accumulated data for all employment sectors in which medical assistants work. BLS salary data represents average and median earnings for the occupations listed and includes workers at all levels of education and experience. This data does not represent starting salaries.
All salary and employment data accessed June 2020.