How much do medical assistants make in 2026?
Medical assistants earn a national median of $45,690 a year ($21.97 an hour) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 31-9092). The bottom 10% earn about $36,050 and the top 10% reach $59,310, a narrow band by clinical standards because the role is hourly and largely standardised across employers. Certification is the first real lever: a certified medical assistant (CMA through the AAMA, or RMA through AMT) is what specialty practices and hospital outpatient departments hire for, and lead or float-pool assistants who cover multiple clinics sit near the $49,180 P75. Employment is projected to grow 12.5% through 2034, one of the largest openings pools in healthcare at roughly 112,300 openings a year. → Full medical assistant career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $45,690 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Medical Assistants earn a national median $45,690/yr ($21.97/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-9092); the P10 to P90 range is $36,050 to $59,310.
- The pay band is tight — $36,050 to $59,310 — so within a single market the realistic gains come from certification, specialty clinics and lead roles rather than from switching employers.
- Certification (AAMA CMA or AMT RMA) is what hospital outpatient departments and specialty practices screen for, and it is the cheapest available step up from the entry tier.
- BLS projects 12.5% growth through 2034 with roughly 112,300 openings a year, which makes this one of the largest hiring pools in healthcare and keeps entry competition low.
US Medical Assistant Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do medical assistants earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 31-9092; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-9092, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a medical assistant earn at each career stage?
There is no licence ladder for medical assisting, so the stages below track certification, specialty and supervisory scope. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS percentile distribution for SOC 31-9092.
By State
Which states pay medical assistants the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — rather than BLS state observations. Medical assisting is not licensed in most states, so geography acts on this role purely through local wage levels and hospital-system pay grids, not through credential portability.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($52,540), the highest-paying state shown. See all 51 state salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay medical assistants the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay levels, not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a medical assistant’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does medical assistant pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Medical Assistants sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify medical assistant wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a medical assistant actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Medical Assistant Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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