Medical Assistant Salary in Washington 2026,
$59,290 Median | BLS Data by City

The published figure is $59,290 a year, or $28.50 an hour, per BLS OEWS May 2025 for SOC 31-9092, with a band from $46,540 at the 10th percentile to $74,200 at the 90th. That is 29.8% above the national median of $45,690. Washington's 10th percentile alone exceeds the national median for the occupation, which is rare and reflects both a high wage floor and a state credential requirement.

Mount Vernon-Anacortes, at $61,870, narrowly ahead of Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue $61,500 and Longview-Kelso $61,480, with Bellingham $57,410 and Walla Walla $56,020 behind. The top three sitting within a few hundred dollars of each other is the notable result — smaller western Washington markets have to match Seattle to recruit credentialled assistants at all.

Yes, and that sets it apart from most states. The Washington State Department of Health issues the Medical Assistant-Certified (MA-C) credential along with Medical Assistant-Registered and Medical Assistant-Phlebotomist categories, and what a medical assistant may legally do in a clinic depends on which one they hold. Employers cannot simply train someone into the full clinical scope the way they can in an unregulated state.

The Medical Assistant-Certified credential authorises the broadest clinical scope of the Washington medical assistant categories, including tasks such as administering injections and performing specified diagnostic procedures under supervision. It requires completion of an approved training programme and a recognised national certification examination. It is also the practical gate to the upper half of the state's wage band, because the roles that pay above the $59,290 median are the ones that need that scope.

Unusually well. The peer states on this row are Alaska $52,560, the District of Columbia $51,050, Minnesota $50,480, Oregon $50,410 and California $49,660 — all well below Washington's $59,290. Combined with no state income tax, the gap in take-home is wider still than the gross figures suggest.

Three mechanisms, stacked. First, the wage floor: Washington has the highest statewide minimum wage of any state, and Seattle and SeaTac set higher local minimums, which lifts the entire bottom of the distribution — hence a $46,540 tenth percentile above the national median. Second, the credential: Department of Health regulation means the pool of people who can legally perform full-scope medical assisting is defined by a state process rather than by employer training, which constrains supply. Third, demand structure: Washington's large integrated health systems have moved care into ambulatory settings faster than most states, and the medical assistant is the role that model runs on.

Cost of living, principally in the Puget Sound region. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue at $61,500 is a genuinely expensive housing market, and a nominal premium over the national median does not translate one-for-one into purchasing power there. The more useful comparison is against the other Washington metros: Longview-Kelso at $61,480 and Mount Vernon-Anacortes at $61,870 pay effectively the same as Seattle in a materially cheaper market. The figure is also straight-time and excludes the evening, weekend and per-diem differentials that Washington's larger systems pay.

Credential level first — moving from a registered category to the MA-C changes the tasks a clinic can assign and therefore the rate. Specialty setting second: procedural, surgical, dermatology and oncology clinics pay above primary care, and much of the ground between the $59,290 median and the $63,590 seventy-fifth percentile is that difference. Third is stepping into lead, float or supervisory work, which is what the $74,200 ninetieth percentile mostly describes. None of these require leaving direct patient contact, which is unusual among clinical support occupations.