Medical Assistants Salary: $54,270 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 793,460 medical assistants nationally earn a mean of $54,270. Projections imply about 2.5% annual growth; CA accounts for about 102,020 jobs in our geographic extract.
Key Statistics
Medical Assistants: what the data shows
Common questions about medical assistants careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a medical assistants?
Medical Assistants is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-9092.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 793,460 workers.
What does a medical assistants do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Assisting and Caring for Others, Processing Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a medical assistants make?
BLS national median annual wage: $44,200 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $54,270 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,679 |
| 25th percentile | $44,634 |
| Median (50th) | $49,416 |
| 75th percentile | $62,426 |
| 90th percentile | $77,317 |
What education do you need?
For Medical Assistants, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, and knowledge areas including English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is medical assistants in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 12.9%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 27.6%.
Current U.S. headcount: 793,460.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do medical assistantss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 793,460 | 18.2% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 756,380 | 17.3% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 750,930 | 17.2% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 599,670 | 13.8% |
| Offices of Physicians | 448,400 | 10.3% |
| Hospitals | 262,760 | 6.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Medical Assistants in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Physician Assistants | 155,540 | $133,260 |
| Nurse Practitioners | 307,390 | $129,210 |
| Pharmacy Technicians | 487,920 | $43,460 |
| Registered Nurses | 3,282,010 | $93,600 |
| Dental Hygienists | 200,000 | — |
| Occupational Therapists | 152,280 | $98,340 |
| Licensed Practical Nurses | 632,430 | $62,340 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Medical Assistants workforce.
Employment Over Time
793,460 Workforce in 2023
The Medical Assistants workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Medical Assistants.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$54,270 Average Wage
In 2023, Medical Assistants earned an average of $54,270.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Medical Assistants.
Salary distribution for Medical Assistants.
Employment Growth Projections
2.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
492,942 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 12.9%
556,760 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 27.6%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Medical Assistants.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Medical Assistants and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Medical Assistants employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Medical Assistants.
Wage Trends by Industry
-0.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Medical Assistants.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Medical Assistants.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 102,020 employees, $54,513 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Medical Assistants.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 24,130 employees, $50,434 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 11,180 employees, $46,989 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 10,450 employees, $49,159 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 8,810 employees, $64,697 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 8,590 employees, $51,864 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 7,610 employees, $63,125 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 6,060 employees, $65,326 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 5,300 employees, $63,563 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 3,410 employees, $49,262 avg wage
- Bakersfield-Delano MSA: 2,650 employees, $47,256 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Medical Assistants.
Diversity
Demographic information on Medical Assistants in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Medical Assistants in 2023 was 793,460 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Medical Assistants.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Medical Assistants.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Medical Assistants.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Medical Assistants in 2023 were Health Sciences, Medical Assisting, Biology.
Common majors for Medical Assistants.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Medical Assistants workers.
Education level distribution for Medical Assistants.
Skills
Medical Assistants need many skills, but most especially Social Perceptiveness, Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Medical Assistants.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Medical Assistants.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Medical Assistants include English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Medicine and Dentistry, Administrative, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Medical Assistants.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Medical Assistants include Written Comprehension, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Speech Recognition, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Medical Assistants.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Medical Assistants.
Daily Activities
Medical Assistants spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Assisting and Caring for Others.
Most important work activities for Medical Assistants.
About
Medical Assistants
The average yearly wage for Medical Assistants was $54,270 in 2023.
SOC Code
31-9092 - Medical Assistants
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Medical Assistants reports an average salary of $54,270.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 793,460 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.