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, offices of other types of healthcare practitioners, and assisted living facilities. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that, as of May 2021, more than 727,700 medical assistants were employed in the United States. According to BLS data from May 2021, the annual mean wage for medical assistants was $38,190. 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 2021, which shows the following about medical assistant pay in the top 20 metropolitan areas in the U.S.:
Medical Assistant Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Areas
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Mean Annual Wage | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York-Newark-Jersey City | 36,500 | $42,390 | ||
| 2 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | 30,700 | $41,390 | ||
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin | 16,720 | $38,910 | ||
| 4 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | 19,170 | $36,690 | ||
| 5 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land | 15,660 | $36,920 | ||
| 6 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria | 12,900 | $42,620 | ||
| 7 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington | 13,360 | $39,450 | ||
| 8 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach | 15,310 | $37,950 | ||
| 9 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta | 15,810 | $36,870 | ||
| 10 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton | 9,640 | $45,280 | ||
| 11 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler | 14,480 | $38,630 | ||
| 12 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley | 13,670 | $54,930 | ||
| 13 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | 9,580 | $39,120 | ||
| 14 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn | 10,580 | $35,970 | ||
| 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue | 9,720 | $50,820 | ||
| 16 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | 6,980 | $45,440 | ||
| 17 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | 8,060 | $41,960 | ||
| 18 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | 10,310 | $34,780 | ||
| 19 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood | 5,100 | $41,870 | ||
| 20 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson | 6,430 | $39,340 | ||
| National | 727,760 | $38,190 | |||
Report Period: May 2021
Top 20 U.S. Metro areas from the 2020 Census
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Statistics
Data extracted on September 26, 2022