More than half of medical assistants in the U.S. work in physician offices, but large numbers are also found working in hospitals, outpatient care centers, the offices of other types of healthcare practitioners, and assisted living facilities. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that, as of May 2019, more than 712,000 medical assistants were employed in the United States. According to BLS data from May 2019, the annual mean wage for medical assistants was $35,720, in comparison to a $53,490 annual mean wage for the average worker in all occupations in the USA. From region-to-region there was wide variation in medical assistant mean annual wages, with medical assistants in some regions of the country earning 50% or more than their counterparts elsewhere. This variation is readily visible in BLS data from May 2019, which shows the following about medical assistant pay in the top 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S.:
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 35,380 | $38,940 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 32,040 | $38,300 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 17,500 | $37,550 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 19,560 | $34,160 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 14,710 | $34,290 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 11,790 | $41,040 | ||
| 7 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 16,530 | $36,040 | ||
| 8 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 15,360 | $35,310 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 16,410 | $35,060 | ||
| 10 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 12,770 | $34,580 | ||
| 11 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 10,860 | $42,560 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 12,320 | $48,920 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 9,550 | $34,920 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 11,360 | $34,420 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 8,570 | $47,140 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 6,740 | $42,240 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 8,130 | $39,810 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 9,350 | $32,660 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 6,330 | $38,680 | ||
| 20 | St. Louis | 5,890 | $34,040 | ||
| National | 712,430 | $35,720 | |||
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 28, 2020