Medical Records Specialist Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Medical Records Specialists earn a median of $51,140 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), close to the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $24.59/hr. The middle half earn between $43,490 and $64,820. The top 10% earn $81,150 or more.

The median hourly wage for medical records specialists is $24.59 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $51,140 annual median works out to about $4,260 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 medical records specialists earn less than $37,000 a year and the bottom quarter less than $43,490 (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.

Rarely. Even the 90th percentile is $81,150, so fewer than 10% of medical records specialists earn $100,000 or more (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No state's median reaches $100,000; the highest is District of Columbia at $72,040.

The highest state medians for Medical Records Specialists are District of Columbia ($72,040), Rhode Island ($63,960), Hawaii ($63,180) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split medical records specialists' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $81,150, against a median of $51,140 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are District of Columbia ($72,040), Rhode Island ($63,960), Hawaii ($63,180).

Not a degree, but you do need credentialed training: BLS lists a postsecondary non-degree award (a certificate or license program) as the typical entry route for Medical Records Specialists.

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for medical records specialists is a postsecondary nondegree award. O*NET classes the work as needing medium preparation.

Yes, strongly. Employment is projected to grow 7.8% over 2025–2035, more than double the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 14,000 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Medical records specialists compile, process, and maintain patient files. A core O*NET task: protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained. Employers most often ask for Analytical or scientific software, Business intelligence and data analysis software, Data base management system software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 19% of medical records specialists usually work more than 40 hours a week, 79% work exactly 40 and 3% work fewer. 100% say their schedule is regular and 0% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Medical Records Specialists highest on the Conventional, Investigative and Social interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISTJ, ISFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 92.3% of medical records specialists, against 47.1% of all employed people: a female-dominated occupation. 35.5% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 49.8 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.