Medical Transcriptionists Salary: $44,901 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 43,070 medical transcriptionists nationally earn a mean of $44,901. Employment in the series shown fell about 14% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 0.7% annual decline.
Key Statistics
Medical Transcriptionists: what the data shows
Common questions about medical transcriptionists careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a medical transcriptionists?
Medical Transcriptionists is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 31-9094.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 43,070 workers.
What does a medical transcriptionists do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Processing Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a medical transcriptionists make?
BLS national median annual wage: $37,550 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $44,901 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35,964 |
| 25th percentile | $38,227 |
| Median (50th) | $40,201 |
| 75th percentile | $48,131 |
| 90th percentile | $59,124 |
What education do you need?
For Medical Transcriptionists, 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 Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making, Time Management, and knowledge areas including English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Medicine and Dentistry. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is medical transcriptionists in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.7% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -3.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -6.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 43,070.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do medical transcriptionistss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 43,070 | 19.0% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 41,960 | 18.5% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 25,110 | 11.1% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 20,350 | 9.0% |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 15,990 | 7.0% |
| Administrative and Support Services | 15,990 | 7.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Medical Transcriptionists in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Medical Transcriptionists workforce.
Employment Over Time
43,070 Workforce in 2023
The Medical Transcriptionists workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Medical Transcriptionists.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$44,901 Average Wage
In 2023, Medical Transcriptionists earned an average of $44,901.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Medical Transcriptionists.
Salary distribution for Medical Transcriptionists.
Employment Growth Projections
-0.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
20,357 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -3.2%
19,697 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -6.4%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Medical Transcriptionists.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Medical Transcriptionists and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Medical Transcriptionists employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Medical Transcriptionists.
Wage Trends by Industry
5.9% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Medical Transcriptionists.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Medical Transcriptionists.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 5,630 employees, $43,660 avg wage
- TX: 4,480 employees, $32,450 avg wage
- NY: 3,990 employees, $43,090 avg wage
- FL: 2,000 employees, $40,020 avg wage
- GA: 1,830 employees, $33,170 avg wage
- NC: 1,630 employees, $31,320 avg wage
- NJ: 1,500 employees, $43,010 avg wage
- IL: 1,500 employees, $38,670 avg wage
- TN: 1,420 employees, $40,040 avg wage
- PA: 1,380 employees, $38,310 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Medical Transcriptionists.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 3,790 employees, $44,780 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 2,450 employees, $40,570 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 1,390 employees, $36,490 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,290 employees, $32,490 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,190 employees, $32,800 avg wage
- San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX: 760 employees, $27,130 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 680 employees, $38,050 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA: 660 employees, $44,850 avg wage
- Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX: 570 employees, $35,990 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 520 employees, $51,360 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Medical Transcriptionists.
Diversity
Demographic information on Medical Transcriptionists in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Medical Transcriptionists in 2023 was 43,070 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Medical Transcriptionists.
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 Transcriptionists.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Medical Transcriptionists.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Medical Transcriptionists in 2023 were Business Administration, Health Sciences, Business.
Common majors for Medical Transcriptionists.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Medical Transcriptionists workers.
Education level distribution for Medical Transcriptionists.
Skills
Medical Transcriptionists need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Monitoring, Judgment and Decision Making.
Required skills for Medical Transcriptionists.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Medical Transcriptionists.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Medical Transcriptionists include English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service.
Knowledge areas required for Medical Transcriptionists.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Medical Transcriptionists include Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Speech Recognition, Written Expression, Near Vision.
Required abilities for Medical Transcriptionists.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Medical Transcriptionists.
Daily Activities
Medical Transcriptionists spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Documenting/Recording Information, Getting Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Processing Information.
Most important work activities for Medical Transcriptionists.
About
Medical Transcriptionists
The average yearly wage for Medical Transcriptionists was $44,901 in 2023.
SOC Code
31-9094 - Medical Transcriptionists
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Medical Transcriptionists reports an average salary of $44,901.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 43,070 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -0.7%, 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.