What Medical Assistants Earn Nationally
BLS reports a national annual median of $45,690 and an hourly median of $21.97. The 10th percentile is $36,050 a year and the 90th percentile is $59,310. The survey estimates 817,870 medical assistant jobs nationwide.
A median divides the surveyed wages at their midpoint. The percentile figures show a wider spread around it. They are useful boundaries for understanding the occupation, but they do not divide workers into formal experience brackets. The 10th percentile is not a guaranteed starting salary, and the 90th percentile is not an automatic outcome after a set number of years.
Read the BLS medical assistant occupation wage profile alongside its medical assistant career overview. The wage survey and the career overview answer different questions about pay, training, and employment.
Compare Medical Assistant Salaries by State
The table pairs each state’s median with its lower and upper wage percentiles and employment count. The employment figure describes the size of the surveyed occupation. Compare the state where you intend to work with the actual local openings and the cost of commuting to them.
The table lists the 10 states with the highest median pay. Pick your state below to add its row, and each state name links to its training guide.
| State | Annual Median | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $59,290 | $46,540 | $74,200 | 19,500 |
| Alaska | $52,560 | $46,060 | $65,040 | 2,140 |
| District of Columbia | $51,050 | $39,620 | $76,900 | 2,260 |
| Minnesota | $50,480 | $40,110 | $60,100 | 10,580 |
| Oregon | $50,410 | $43,760 | $62,160 | 11,840 |
| California | $49,660 | $39,290 | $77,300 | 117,060 |
| Massachusetts | $49,460 | $43,280 | $61,870 | 14,880 |
| Wisconsin | $48,680 | $39,480 | $57,990 | 13,810 |
| Hawaii | $48,410 | $38,580 | $60,030 | 3,890 |
| Colorado | $48,400 | $39,130 | $59,760 | 13,160 |
| Alabama | $36,100 | $29,630 | $45,040 | 13,300 |
| Arizona | $45,940 | $38,100 | $51,310 | 21,460 |
| Arkansas | $37,760 | $30,840 | $46,060 | 5,150 |
| Connecticut | $47,430 | $38,480 | $59,530 | 10,250 |
| Delaware | $44,490 | $36,540 | $57,280 | 2,880 |
| Florida | $43,680 | $35,880 | $49,040 | 66,110 |
| Georgia | $41,600 | $34,270 | $51,430 | 28,780 |
| Idaho | $44,700 | $35,500 | $56,740 | 5,250 |
| Illinois | $46,090 | $36,400 | $56,590 | 20,260 |
| Indiana | $45,110 | $37,060 | $50,480 | 19,630 |
| Iowa | $45,480 | $36,730 | $54,960 | 5,990 |
| Kansas | $39,510 | $35,140 | $48,300 | 5,510 |
| Kentucky | $39,270 | $32,950 | $47,940 | 13,440 |
| Louisiana | $36,320 | $28,970 | $44,460 | 12,310 |
| Maine | $47,580 | $40,220 | $59,220 | 4,480 |
| Maryland | $46,410 | $36,930 | $57,250 | 16,390 |
| Michigan | $39,870 | $35,000 | $48,330 | 27,810 |
| Mississippi | $35,360 | $29,210 | $45,070 | 3,340 |
| Missouri | $40,440 | $35,810 | $48,360 | 13,050 |
| Montana | $46,820 | $38,670 | $56,770 | 2,460 |
| Nebraska | $47,370 | $37,940 | $59,450 | 2,380 |
| Nevada | $45,200 | $37,400 | $55,120 | 7,760 |
| New Hampshire | $48,020 | $39,640 | $60,100 | 3,000 |
| New Jersey | $47,210 | $37,010 | $58,070 | 20,330 |
| New Mexico | $39,230 | $34,600 | $47,850 | 5,400 |
| New York | $48,000 | $37,280 | $59,480 | 40,710 |
| North Carolina | $45,140 | $36,010 | $50,850 | 23,650 |
| North Dakota | $45,980 | $37,650 | $58,230 | 600 |
| Ohio | $42,810 | $36,050 | $48,560 | 28,950 |
| Oklahoma | $38,750 | $31,880 | $47,640 | 10,510 |
| Pennsylvania | $43,920 | $36,810 | $48,500 | 23,050 |
| Rhode Island | $47,190 | $39,280 | $56,840 | 3,210 |
| South Carolina | $41,160 | $34,730 | $49,110 | 12,110 |
| South Dakota | $41,870 | $35,980 | $48,960 | 1,340 |
| Tennessee | $39,570 | $34,840 | $48,540 | 19,180 |
| Texas | $39,520 | $31,200 | $49,260 | 75,340 |
| Utah | $45,360 | $35,890 | $56,260 | 9,990 |
| Vermont | $47,250 | $40,570 | $58,420 | 1,140 |
| Virginia | $44,740 | $37,090 | $52,000 | 16,650 |
| West Virginia | $37,180 | $30,890 | $45,350 | 4,540 |
| Wyoming | $40,920 | $31,200 | $51,840 | 1,040 |
All figures above are from the May 2025 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release. Each state link opens its training guide. The values are published wages, without a cost-of-living adjustment.
Use Local Job Offers to Build Your Budget
Start with positions you could reasonably commute to after training. Record the employer, advertised pay range, required certification, hours, and experience requirements. A job with a higher hourly rate can still have a different practical value if the available hours, travel, or benefits do not fit your needs.
Keep the distinction between an advertised range and an actual offer. Ask how the employer places a new hire within its range and whether the schedule is fixed. If a listing asks for experience you do not have, treat it as a future possibility instead of the starting point for your tuition budget.
The medical assistant career guide explains the education and credential questions to settle first. State agencies determine state credentials and authorized duties, while employers set their own job requirements within those rules.
Compare Training Costs With a Realistic Pay Scenario
Put the complete training cost next to the income you can sustain while studying. Include tuition, mandatory fees, supplies, exams, transportation, and any time you will need away from paid work. A daytime externship can affect your budget even when most lectures are online.
Build your plan around the wage and hours you can support with local evidence. You can then compare how different program prices would affect your borrowing or savings. Keep any loan interest separate from the school’s stated tuition, and confirm grants or benefit eligibility before subtracting them from the cost.
Use the medical assistant program cost guide and affordable program comparison to organize these details. A price only becomes comparable when you know the award it covers and which fees are included.
Read Graduate Outcomes Separately From Occupation Wages
A school’s placement rate and a BLS wage median describe different groups of people. The placement rate may cover a specific graduating cohort and use the program’s reporting definitions. The BLS median covers the occupation across many employers. Combining the two does not establish what graduates of that school earn.
When a program publishes a graduate salary survey, check the graduation year, number of responses, hours worked, and whether respondents work in a related job. Ask how graduates who did not respond are treated. The guide to reading program outcomes explains how to examine those measures without assuming they promise your result.
Use salary information as one part of a program decision, alongside the clinical training, credential route, and schedule described in the national rankings.
Sources and Further Reading
Put Your Research to Work
Compare the national program picks, look for online coursework with practical training, or start with medical assistant programs in your state.