BLS OEWS May 2025 · SOC 31-9092 · 28,780 GA workers
Medical Assistant Salary in Georgia 2026, $41,600 Median | BLS Data by City
Georgia has one of the sharpest Atlanta-versus-everywhere-else divides for medical assistants in the country. The metro pays above the national median; Augusta, Savannah and Athens pay under thirty-nine thousand dollars for the same work, and the gap is nearly eight thousand dollars wide.
Updated July 2026 · BLS OEWS May 2025
Compiled by GlobalCybers Labor Market Research · Reviewed by Karen Osei, RN, BSN, Clinical Recruitment Lead · See methodology & sources →
GA Median
$41,600
$20.00/hr
vs National
−$4,090
9.0% below US median
GA P90
$51,430
$24.73/hr · top earners
GA Job Growth
+12.5%
2024–2034 · national BLS EP 2024–34
🤑Georgia's flat 5.39% state income tax in 2026 is the entire state and local tax picture for a medical assistant, since no Georgia city levies a municipal income tax. At the state median of $41,600 a flat rate is less generous than a progressive schedule with a low opening bracket would be, and Georgia's lack of a substantial standard deduction advantage at this income level means the effective rate is close to the headline. Against that, the Atlanta metro premium of over four thousand dollars above the state median arrives without any offsetting city tax.
Direct Answer
How much do medical assistants make in Georgia in 2026?
Georgia medical assistants earn a median $41,600 a year, or exactly $20.00 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025, 9.0% below the $45,690 national median. The state range runs $34,270 at the 10th percentile to $51,430 at the 90th. The metro table is unusually spread for this occupation: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at $46,060 clears the national median of $45,690, Gainesville follows at $41,910, and then there is a steep fall to Savannah at $38,780, Athens-Clarke County at $38,620 and Augusta-Richmond County at $38,470. → Full medical assistant career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $41,600 blends every experience level, apprentice through master. For pay by license level alone, see pay by level below.
Key takeaways
Georgia medical assistants earn a median $41,600/yr ($20.00/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 31-9092), 9.0% below the $45,690 national median; the state P10–P90 range is $34,270 to $51,430.
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at $46,060 pays over seven thousand dollars more than Augusta-Richmond County at $38,470 — an enormous gradient for an occupation whose national metro spread is usually a couple of thousand dollars.
Georgia's location quotient of 1.12 shows the state employs medical assistants above the US average concentration, which reflects how heavily Georgia's ambulatory networks and rural clinics rely on the role in place of licensed staff.
Georgia does not license, register or define a scope of practice for medical assistants; duties are delegated by the supervising physician and employers screen on national certification such as the CMA or RMA.
Georgia Medical Assistant Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
$34,270
P10
$36,910
P25
$41,600
Median
$46,870
P75
$51,430
P90
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025
Methodology & Sources
How the Georgia medical assistant pay figures on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-9092, Georgia statewide 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. OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation in Georgia; it does not break pay out by credential or licence level.
Pay by level: the level and career-stage tables on this page distribute Georgia's own published BLS pay range across the tiers employers actually hire at. They are GlobalCybers estimates aligned to published percentiles, not separate BLS publications.
Placement sample: GlobalCybers holds no Georgia placement sample for this occupation, so this page shows published and percentile-aligned figures only — no placement-based median is claimed anywhere on it.
How to become a licensed medical assistant in Georgia, step by step
1
Complete a medical assisting programme and get certified
Finish an accredited programme and earn a national certification such as the CMA or RMA — Georgia does not require it, but the state's health systems screen on it.
2
Move into the metro Atlanta market
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell at $46,060 pays over seven thousand dollars more than Georgia's eastern and coastal metros, and with no local income tax the difference is entirely take-home.
3
Take a specialty or procedural practice role
Dermatology, orthopaedics, cardiology and infusion settings pay above general primary care and reach the state 75th percentile of $46,870.
4
Step into clinical coordination or bridge to a licensed role
A clinical coordinator or lead MA post reaches the state 90th percentile of $51,430; beyond that, bridging to practical nursing or radiologic technology through Georgia's technical college system is the realistic route.
CMA License Levels
What do Georgia medical assistants earn by certification and market?
Georgia licenses issued by No Georgia licence — Georgia does not license, register or define a scope of practice for medical assistants. Duties are delegated by the supervising physician, and employers screen on national certification such as the CMA or RMA.. Each level's median pay in Georgia markets.
CMA License
GA Pay Range
GA Median
Key Note
Entry medical assistant
$32K–$37K
$34,270
Around the state 10th percentile. Newly hired, often trained on the job or straight from a certificate programme, working front-and-back office in a primary care practice.
Certified medical assistant
$37K–$47K
$41,600
The Georgia median. Holding a national certification and independently rooming patients, taking vitals, administering injections and managing clinical documentation.
Specialty or metro Atlanta medical assistant
$45K–$51K
$46,870
Around the state 75th percentile. A specialty practice such as cardiology, dermatology or orthopaedics, or a metro Atlanta ambulatory network post at $46,060.
Clinical coordinator or lead MA
$49K–$63K
$51,430
The state 90th percentile. Coordinating clinical operations across a practice or several sites, which is the practical ceiling for this occupation in Georgia.
Beyond Base Pay
What's a Georgia medical assistant's total compensation, not just base wage?
BLS and verified-placement medians above are base wage only. Total comp for a GA medical assistant typically adds the following on top.
Georgia Medical Assistant Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
How much do medical assistants make in Georgia?
Georgia medical assistants earn a median $41,600 a year, $20.00 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025, with the middle half between $36,910 and $46,870 and a full range of $34,270 to $51,430. The range is short, so the main lever a Georgia medical assistant has is which market and which specialty they work in rather than how long they stay.
Which Georgia city pays medical assistants the most?
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell pays the most at $46,060, then Gainesville at $41,910, Savannah at $38,780, Athens-Clarke County at $38,620 and Augusta-Richmond County at $38,470. The drop from Atlanta to the coastal and eastern metros is over seven thousand dollars, which is unusually steep for this occupation anywhere in the country.
Does Georgia license medical assistants?
No. Georgia has no licence, registration or state-defined scope of practice for medical assistants. What a Georgia medical assistant may do is delegated by the supervising physician within the limits of the state's medical practice and nursing statutes. Employers use national certification — most commonly the CMA or RMA — as the hiring credential in place of any state requirement.
Is certification worth it in Georgia?
It is worth it for access rather than for rate. Georgia's large health systems and specialty practices increasingly require national certification to be considered, and certification is what separates the state median of $41,600 from the entry band near $34,270. It will not carry you far past the 75th percentile of $46,870, because the occupation's ceiling in Georgia is structural rather than credential-limited.
What is the realistic next step in Georgia?
Bridging into a licensed role, or moving to Atlanta. Georgia's technical college system runs practical nursing, radiologic technology and surgical technology programmes that medical assistants commonly enter. Within the occupation, the Atlanta market at $46,060 and specialty practice are what get you to the top, and clinical coordinator roles reach the state 90th percentile of $51,430.
Why is Georgia's metro gradient so steep for this role?
Because metro Atlanta's ambulatory sector competes for medical assistants against a large and well-paid service and logistics labour market, while Augusta, Savannah and Athens do not to the same degree. Medical assistant pay is benchmarked against general entry-level wages in the local economy rather than against clinical value, so a market with a hot general labour market pays more for the same clinical work.
Does the absence of licensure hold Georgia medical assistants back?
Yes, at the top end. Without a state-defined scope, a Georgia medical assistant cannot claim protected tasks the way a licensed practical nurse or a radiologic technologist can, which is exactly what keeps the ceiling near $51,430. The flip side is that entry is easy and Georgia practices hire and train readily, which makes the role a genuine on-ramp into healthcare for people without prior credentials.
Which Georgia settings pay above the practice rate?
Specialty practices with procedural volume — dermatology, orthopaedics, cardiology, ophthalmology — plus surgical and infusion centres and urgent care with evening and weekend coverage. Those roles sit near the state 75th percentile of $46,870. Rural federally qualified health centres, despite relying heavily on medical assistants, are funded on a fixed basis and generally pay toward the lower end of the Georgia range.
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Outlook & openings: BLS projects 12.5% national growth for medical assistants through 2034, one of the stronger rates in healthcare support, and Georgia's 3.5% share of national employment works out to roughly 3,950 openings a year, pro-rated from the national average annual openings figure. In Georgia the growth is concentrated in metro Atlanta's ambulatory networks and in rural federally qualified health centres, which rely heavily on medical assistants precisely because licensed clinical staff are hardest to recruit there.
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