In a September commentary, we discussed Medical Assistant Pay in the Top 20 Metropolitan Areas. Without question, U.S. metro areas with the biggest populations employ far more medical assistants than do smaller metropolitan markets. However, medical assistants employed in smaller metro markets frequently realize better compensation levels than their larger market counterparts. In fact, May 2021 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that only four of the 20 largest metro markets in the U.S. were among the 20 best metropolitan areas for medical assistant pay:
20 Best Metropolitan Areas for Medical Assistant Pay
| Metropolitan Area | # Employed | Annual Mean Wages | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vallejo-Fairfield, CA | 1,240 | $58,670 | ||
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#) | 13,670 | $54,930 | ||
| 3 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara | 5,060 | $53,870 | ||
| 4 | Santa Rosa, CA | 1,610 | $53,530 | ||
| 5 | Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade | 6,180 | $51,530 | ||
| 6 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue (#) | 9,720 | $50,820 | ||
| 7 | Napa, CA | 380 | $50,480 | ||
| 8 | Alaska non-metro | 350 | $49,190 | ||
| 9 | Fairbanks, AK | 160 | $47,060 | ||
| 10 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 6,300 | $46,620 | ||
| 11 | Olympia-Tumwater, WA | 650 | $45,650 | ||
| 12 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 880 | $ 45,520 | ||
| 13 | Anchorage, AK | 1,190 | $45,500 | ||
| 14 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington (#) | 6,980 | $45,440 | ||
| 15 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua (#) | 9,640 | $45,280 | ||
| 16 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | 300 | $44,620 | ||
| 17 | Bremerton-Silverdale, WA | 550 | $44,090 | ||
| 18 | Barnstable Town, MA | 340 | $43,950 | ||
| 19 | Modesto, CA | 1,360 | $43,630 | ||
| 20 | Rochester, MN | 1,560 | $43,540 | ||
| National | 727,760 | $38,190 | |||
(#) a top 20 U.S metro population area
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on November 12, 2022
