Medical Assistant Salary in Texas 2026, $39,520 Median | BLS Data by City
Texas is the largest medical assistant employer in the country after California and one of the lowest-paying, and the gap between its metros is far wider than in most states — Austin pays a sixth more than the rest of the state for the same certificate.
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 →
TX Median
$39,520
$19.00/hr
vs National
−$6,170
13.5% below US median
TX P90
$49,260
$23.68/hr · top earners
TX Job Growth
+12.5%
2024–2034 · national BLS EP 2024–34
🤑Texas levies no state income tax, which matters more proportionally at this income than at higher ones and recovers part of the gap between the Texas median and the national figure. It does not recover all of it: at this wage level the more consequential differences are whether the employer provides health cover at an affordable employee contribution, and whether hours are guaranteed. Texas's high property taxes are a smaller factor here than in higher-income occupations because fewer medical assistants at the state median own homes in the expensive metros.
Direct Answer
How much do medical assistants make in Texas in 2026?
Texas medical assistants earn a median $39,520 a year, or $19.00 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025, 13.5% below the national median of $45,690, though Texas levies no state income tax. The range runs $31,200 to $49,260, and the metro spread is unusually wide for this occupation: Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos pays $45,820 while Killeen-Temple pays $40,270. Midland at $44,010, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at $43,100 and Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands at $42,110 sit in between. → Full medical assistant career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $39,520 blends every experience level, apprentice through master. For pay by license level alone, see pay by level below.
Key takeaways
Texas medical assistants earn a median $39,520/yr ($19.00/hr) per BLS OEWS May 2025 (SOC 31-9092), 13.5% below the $45,690 national median; the state P10–P90 range is $31,200 to $49,260.
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos at $45,820 pays about six thousand dollars more than Killeen-Temple at $40,270 for identical work, the widest metro spread of any medical assistant page on this site.
Midland at $44,010 is the surprise: west Texas energy-market wage pressure lifts clinic pay in a way that has nothing to do with healthcare economics.
Texas issues no medical assistant licence, so national certification and documented delegated skills are the only credentials that change an offer.
Texas Medical Assistant Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
$31,200
P10
$36,520
P25
$39,520
Median
$46,180
P75
$49,260
P90
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025
Methodology & Sources
How the Texas medical assistant pay figures on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 31-9092, Texas 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 Texas; it does not break pay out by credential or licence level.
Pay by level: the level and career-stage tables on this page distribute Texas'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 Texas 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 Texas, step by step
1
Complete a medical assisting programme
Finish a certificate or associate programme in medical assisting at a Texas community college or accredited school.
2
Get nationally certified
Earn a CMA, RMA or CCMA credential, the only portable qualification in a state that issues no medical assistant licence.
3
Document delegated clinical skills
Build documented competence in injections, phlebotomy and EKG so a procedure-heavy specialty practice can deploy you fully.
4
Move into a hospital-affiliated clinic network
Take a post inside a large Texas health system's clinic network, then a lead MA or coordinator role, which is the path to the state 75th percentile of $46,180 and the 90th of $49,260.
TX License Levels
How much do the medical assistant credential levels pay in Texas?
Texas licenses issued by TX certification levels — Texas issues no medical assistant licence; employers hire on national certification such as the CMA, RMA or CCMA, and clinical tasks are delegated under the supervising physician's licence. Each level's median pay in Texas markets.
TX License
TX Pay Range
TX Median
Key Note
Entry medical assistant
$29K–$37K
$31,200
Around the state 10th percentile. First clinic role in a small independent practice, usually before national certification.
Certified medical assistant
$37K–$46K
$39,520
The Texas median. Nationally certified, working a full clinic schedule in primary care or a specialty office across clinical and administrative duties.
Specialty or hospital-network MA
$44K–$49K
$46,180
The state 75th percentile. Employed by a hospital-affiliated clinic network or a procedure-heavy specialty practice, on a structured scale with benefits.
Lead MA or clinic coordinator
$47K–$60K
$49,260
The state 90th percentile. Lead medical assistant, float pool or clinic coordinator within a large Texas health system.
Beyond Base Pay
What's a Texas medical assistant's total compensation, not just base wage?
BLS and verified-placement medians above are base wage only. Total comp for a TX medical assistant typically adds the following on top.
Texas Medical Assistant Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
How much do medical assistants make in Texas?
Texas medical assistants earn a median $39,520 a year, $19.00 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025. The middle half earns between $36,520 and $46,180, and the full range is $31,200 to $49,260. Texas withholds no state income tax, which narrows but does not close the gap against the national figure.
Which Texas city pays medical assistants the most?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos pays the most at $45,820, then Midland at $44,010, Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at $43,100, Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands at $42,110 and Killeen-Temple at $40,270. The Austin premium is the largest metro gap for this occupation anywhere on this site, and Midland's position reflects west Texas energy-market wage pressure rather than healthcare economics.
Do medical assistants need a licence in Texas?
No. Texas does not license or certify medical assistants. Clinical tasks are delegated by the supervising physician under their own licence, subject to Texas Medical Board delegation rules. Employers screen on national certification — CMA, RMA or CCMA — and on documented training for injections, phlebotomy and EKG.
How do I earn more as a medical assistant in Texas?
Get certified, then get hired by a hospital-affiliated clinic network rather than an independent practice. Texas health systems pay on structured scales with benefits and internal transfer rights that small offices cannot match, and that move is worth more than several years of experience. Procedure-heavy specialties are the other reliable step toward the state 75th percentile of $46,180.
Is it worth relocating within Texas for this job?
More than in most states. The Austin-to-Killeen gap of about six thousand dollars is real money at this income level, and Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth both have deep hospital-network hiring. Weigh it against housing: the metros that pay best are also the ones where rent has risen fastest, which can absorb the whole difference.
Why is Texas medical assistant pay below the national median?
Supply and employer mix. Texas has a very large pipeline of certificate-trained candidates and a large independent-practice sector that competes on price rather than on staff pay. Unlike California, Texas has no healthcare-specific wage floor pushing the bottom of the range up, so the 10th percentile sits at $31,200 — the lowest figure of any medical assistant page on this site.
What explains the Midland anomaly?
Wage competition from outside healthcare. In west Texas energy markets, employers in every sector must pay above the regional norm to retain staff who could otherwise take oilfield-adjacent work, and clinic employers are no exception. It is a genuine effect and a volatile one: Midland's premium moves with the energy cycle in a way that Austin's does not.
Where does this role actually lead in Texas?
Into the hospital systems. The most common successful pattern is certification, a year or two in a clinic, then a post inside a hospital-affiliated network that offers tuition assistance and internal transfer rights toward nursing, imaging, surgical technology or laboratory roles. Texas's large systems fund a lot of that movement, which makes the low starting figure more tolerable than it looks in isolation.
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Outlook & openings: BLS projects 12.5% national growth for medical assistants through 2034, and Texas's share of national employment works out to roughly 10,340 openings a year, pro-rated from the national average annual openings figure — the largest of any state on this site. Texas demand tracks population growth in the metro suburbs and the continuing shift of care into outpatient settings, and the state's large hospital systems are increasingly hiring medical assistants directly into clinic networks rather than leaving them to independent practices.
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