Anesthesiologist Assistant Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Anesthesiologist Assistants earn a median of $135,880 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). That is 167% above the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $65.33/hr. The middle half earn between $120,670 and $163,980. The top 10% earn $190,280 or more.

The median hourly wage for anesthesiologist assistants is $65.33 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $135,880 annual median works out to about $11,320 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of anesthesiologist assistants earn less than $99,380 a year and the bottom quarter less than $120,670 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

Yes, more often than not. The median is $135,880, so more than half of anesthesiologist assistants earn over $100,000 a year; even the 25th percentile is $120,670 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). In 51 states the median itself is above $100,000: New Jersey ($165,690), California ($165,650), Washington ($164,360), Hawaii ($164,050), and 47 more.

The highest state medians for Anesthesiologist Assistants are New Jersey ($165,690), California ($165,650), Washington ($164,360) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, Oklahoma moves to the top at $155,448.

BLS does not split anesthesiologist assistants' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $190,280, against a median of $135,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are New Jersey ($165,690), California ($165,650), Washington ($164,360).

Yes. BLS reports a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for Anesthesiologist Assistants, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as extensive preparation.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 21.1% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 11,500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Physician assistants, also known as PAs, examine, diagnose, and treat patients under the supervision of a physician. A core O*NET task: provide airway management interventions including tracheal intubation, fiber optics, or ventilary support. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software, Medical software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 33% of anesthesiologist assistants usually work more than 40 hours a week, 63% work exactly 40 and 4% work fewer. 67% say their schedule is regular and 33% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Anesthesiologist Assistants highest on the Conventional, Social and Investigative interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ISTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

27 to 29 months of graduate study. A premedical bachelor's degree, then a CAAHEP-accredited master's programme running 27 to 29 months at the programmes we checked. ASA describes the training as approximately 2 years of specialised science and clinical education in anesthesia, with a minimum of 2,000 anesthesia hours or 600 cases to graduate.

Yes, and it is issued by the state you work in, not nationally. Practice authority is the defining state variable for this occupation, more than for almost any other. AAAA states that CAAs can practise in 22 states, Washington DC and Guam, and its practice authorization map, dated July 2025, distinguishes states that license CAAs from states that authorise them through physician-delegatory authority, and carries a further category for a state that requires physician assistant licensure in addition. Because that map is the only published list and is more than a year old, check the current position with the state board before relying on it. In every category the supervision requirement holds: ASA states that both delegatory authority and licensure require supervision by a physician anesthesiologist, and Medicare requires the supervising anesthesiologist to be immediately available. That is the structural difference from the CRNA, who is licensed as an advanced practice registered nurse and for whom 25 states plus Guam have opted out of the federal physician supervision requirement.

The NCCAA Certifying Examination for Anesthesiologist Assistants and the CDQ (Continued Demonstration of Qualifications examination). 180 multiple-choice items in two blocks of 90, 235 minutes of testing time plus an optional 15-minute break, with 30 unscored pretest items. Eligibility requires graduation from an anesthesiologist assistant programme at a USDE- or CHEA-recognised institution covering basic medical sciences, medical biophysics, patient monitoring, laboratory instrumentation, data analysis, patient assessment, clinical anesthesia practice, quality assurance conferences and emergency preparedness. Registration $1,400. The content outline was validated by a job analysis last performed in 2021.

Women make up 77.5% of anesthesiologist assistants, against 47.1% of all employed people: a female-dominated occupation. Only 9.2% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs): a young workforce. The median worker is 38.0 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.