State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Medical Assistant Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Medical Assistants earn a median of $45,690 per year ($21.97/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 12.5% through 2034, with about 112,300 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Postsecondary nondegree award.
SOC 31-9092Healthcare SupportLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $45,690
- Projected growth
- +12.5%
- Openings a year
- 112,300
- Typical education
- Certificate
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Chiropractor Assistant, Clinical Medical Assistant, Doctor's Assistant, Health Assistant, Ophthalmic Assistant.
How much do Medical Assistants make?
10th percentile$36,050
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$38,470
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$45,690
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$49,180
Upper quartile
90th percentile$59,310
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $45,690 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $21.97/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $46,120 |
| People employed | 817,870 |
Versus all US occupations
At $45,690, Medical Assistants earn 10% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $5,290 a year.
Versus healthcare support occupations
The median is typical for the Healthcare Support group, where the middle occupation pays $44,910.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $59,310 or more while the bottom 10% earn $36,050, a gap of 1.6×. That is a narrow spread, so experience and employer move pay less than in most occupations.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 18% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Washington pays the most at $59,290, and still leads at $55,404 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Medical Assistants the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $59,290 | $55,404 | 19,500 |
| Alaska | $52,560 | $51,349 | 2,140 |
| District of Columbia | $51,050 | $46,451 | 2,260 |
| Minnesota | $50,480 | $51,186 | 10,580 |
| Oregon | $50,410 | $48,771 | 11,840 |
| California | $49,660 | $44,852 | 117,060 |
| Massachusetts | $49,460 | $46,768 | 14,880 |
| Wisconsin | $48,680 | $51,735 | 13,810 |
| Hawaii | $48,410 | $44,029 | 3,890 |
| Colorado | $48,400 | $46,967 | 13,160 |
Is Medical Assistant a growing career?
Medical Assistants12.5%
All US occupations3.1%
+12.5% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Much faster than average
BLS projects employment of Medical Assistants to change 12.5% over 2024–2034, roughly 4.0× the 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 101,200 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 112,300 openings are projected each year, 13.8% of the 811,000 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
The growing size of the older adult population, which typically has more healthcare concerns than younger age groups, will increase demand for medical services. As a result, more medical assistants will be needed to support healthcare teams in physicians’ offices, hospitals, and other care settings by performing routine administrative and clinical tasks.
How to become a Medical Assistant
Medical assistants typically need postsecondary education, such as a certificate. Some workers enter the occupation with a high school diploma and learn through on-the-job training.
| Typical entry-level education | Postsecondary nondegree award |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Some preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | None |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as medical assistants.
- Post-Secondary Certificate44.7%
- High School Diploma20.5%
- Bachelor's Degree17.5%
- Some College Courses17.2%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)0.1%
What does a Medical Assistant do?
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks, such as scheduling appointments and taking patients’ vital signs. Their duties vary by location, specialty, and employer.
Day-to-day tasks
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Show patients to examination rooms and prepare them for the physician.
- Perform general office duties, such as answering telephones, taking dictation, or completing insurance forms.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
- Help physicians examine and treat patients, handing them instruments or materials or performing such tasks as giving injections or removing sutures.
- Schedule appointments for patients.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where medical assistants work
| Offices of physicians | 57% |
|---|---|
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | 17% |
| Outpatient care centers | 10% |
| Offices of other health practitioners | 7% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Active Listening3.9/5
- Speaking3.9/5
- Reading Comprehension3.8/5
- Critical Thinking3.6/5
- Monitoring3.5/5
- Writing3.4/5
- Active Learning3.3/5
- Learning Strategies3.1/5
Transferable skills
- Social Perceptiveness4.0/5
- Coordination3.5/5
- Service Orientation3.5/5
- Instructing3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.0/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0/5
- Time Management3.0/5
- Persuasion2.8/5
Tools and software
- Accounting software · in demand
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Medical software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Billing and invoicing software
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Categorization or classification software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Medical Assistant?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realisticprimary4.1
Investigative3.8
Artistic1.0
Socialprimary4.8
Enterprising2.0
Conventionalprimary5.8
Day to day this is work built around organising, following procedures and working precisely with data, combined with teaching, helping and working directly with other people.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Medical Assistant: frequently asked questions
How much do Medical Assistants make?
Medical Assistants earn a median of $45,690 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 10% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $21.97/hr. The middle half earn between $38,470 and $49,180. The top 10% earn $59,310 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Medical Assistant?
Not a degree, but you do need credentialled training: BLS lists a postsecondary non-degree award (a certificate or licence programme) as the typical entry route for Medical Assistants. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 44.7% hold post-secondary certificate.
Is Medical Assistant a growing career?
Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 12.5% over 2024–2034, more than double the 3.1% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 112,300 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Medical Assistant do?
Medical assistants complete administrative and clinical tasks, such as scheduling appointments and taking patients’ vital signs. A core O*NET task: interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Document management software.
Which states pay Medical Assistants the most?
The highest state medians for Medical Assistants are Washington ($59,290), Alaska ($52,560), District of Columbia ($51,050) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Medical Assistant?
O*NET scores Medical Assistants highest on the Conventional, Social and Realistic 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 that lines up most closely with ISFJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.