Medical Records Specialist Salary by State (2026)

Medical Records Specialists earn the most in District of Columbia at $72,040 a year and the least in Puerto Rico at $27,990 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $51,140. All 53 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$72,040

District of Columbia

National median
$51,140

BLS OEWS, May 2025

Lowest median
$27,990

Puerto Rico

States reporting
53

of 54 OEWS areas

Top 5 states for Medical Records Specialists

  1. 1. District of Columbia$72,040 median · $65,550 adjusted · 270 employed
  2. 2. Rhode Island$63,960 median · $62,534 adjusted · 650 employed
  3. 3. Hawaii$63,180 median · $57,462 adjusted · 400 employed
  4. 4. Washington$62,270 median · $58,189 adjusted · 5,010 employed
  5. 5. California$61,810 median · $55,826 adjusted · 18,700 employed

Lowest-paying states for Medical Records Specialists

  1. 53. Puerto Rico$27,990 median · no price parity · 1,850 employed
  2. 52. Guam$38,470 median · no price parity · 70 employed
  3. 51. Mississippi$41,500 median · $47,727 adjusted · 2,310 employed
  4. 50. Arkansas$41,740 median · $48,012 adjusted · 1,920 employed
  5. 49. Alabama$43,810 median · $49,323 adjusted · 2,330 employed

Medical Records Specialist salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of medical records specialists OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1District of Columbia$72,040$55,750$99,060270$65,550
2Rhode Island$63,960$51,040$70,910650$62,534
3Hawaii$63,180$50,670$77,970400$57,462
4Washington$62,270$50,250$79,6805,010$58,189
5California$61,810$49,000$80,63018,700$55,826
6New York$61,720$49,010$79,1209,080$57,190
7Minnesota$61,530$49,690$70,0703,150$62,390
8Alaska$61,090$51,050$72,8001,070$59,682
9Connecticut$60,940$48,750$76,1601,120$58,817
10Massachusetts$60,350$48,170$74,7003,500$57,065
11Wisconsin$60,280$49,510$66,1402,870$64,063
12Colorado$59,020$49,280$68,1401,780$57,272
13Oregon$59,000$49,180$70,6102,560$57,081
14Vermont$57,560$47,340$62,590N/A$58,760
15New Mexico$57,470$43,470$66,2401,400$62,324
16Illinois$56,440$46,290$64,3605,740$56,464
17Delaware$56,060$42,690$67,160610$56,168
18South Carolina$54,280$45,180$62,6502,750$57,899
19Maryland$54,220$44,210$65,7702,440$51,658
20Wyoming$54,210$42,770$65,800280$58,485
21Idaho$53,460$46,450$64,4701,490$55,983
22Oklahoma$53,460$41,200$61,1102,480$60,859
23Virginia$53,290$45,200$64,9504,630$52,708
24Utah$52,870$42,040$65,3601,910$53,478
25Maine$52,090$46,330$61,7901,000$53,673
26Nebraska$51,670$44,610$62,9601,640$57,345
27South Dakota$51,610$44,860$63,130900$58,260
28Georgia$51,550$43,810$64,8405,930$53,535
29Ohio$50,990$45,500$63,5107,440$54,962
30Missouri$50,750$46,000$63,1503,890$55,882
31Iowa$50,640$44,500$61,9202,250$57,702
32Nevada$50,300$40,370$65,1602,350$50,311
33New Jersey$50,240$35,640$64,7004,450$46,174
34Montana$50,190$43,970$59,770820$53,030
35North Carolina$49,620$41,490$64,8006,760$52,605
36New Hampshire$49,210$44,090$61,050930$47,242
37Texas$48,860$39,470$63,97017,210$50,342
38Tennessee$48,780$40,840$62,9304,440$53,097
39Kentucky$48,410$40,570$61,7204,210$53,694
40Kansas$48,160$40,860$59,1302,030$53,471
41Michigan$48,120$41,370$61,4704,890$50,012
42Indiana$47,670$40,060$60,8205,860$51,077
43Arizona$47,630$40,150$61,3503,750$47,310
44West Virginia$47,360$38,090$59,9501,260$52,918
45Pennsylvania$46,840$42,690$60,5106,970$48,006
46North Dakota$46,280$40,330$60,860520$52,024
47Florida$45,760$37,390$59,23021,490$44,249
48Louisiana$44,610$36,830$61,1502,600$50,574
49Alabama$43,810$36,160$52,0402,330$49,323
50Arkansas$41,740$36,550$51,4401,920$48,012
51Mississippi$41,500$34,730$50,5002,310$47,727
52Guam$38,470$35,330$44,81070N/A
53Puerto Rico$27,990$23,020$39,6801,850N/A

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Medical Records Specialists, that changes the ranking: District of Columbia leads on raw pay at $72,040, while District of Columbia leads once prices are taken into account at $65,550.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Medical Records Specialist pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Medical Records Specialists the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for Medical Records Specialists at $72,040 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by Rhode Island ($63,960) and Hawaii ($63,180).

Which state pays Medical Records Specialists the least?

Puerto Rico reports the lowest median for Medical Records Specialists at $27,990 a year, $44,050 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Medical Records Specialists earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts District of Columbia first at $65,550 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $72,040. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.

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