There were nearly 180,600 medical records specialists working in the U.S. as of May 2021 according to reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Medical records specialists work in a variety of healthcare settings, including with hospitals, individual family services providers, and outpatient care centers.  The BLS estimated the national mean salary for medical records specialists to be $48,310 per year as of May 2021.  There is, however, much variation from state to state in how much medical records specialists earn.  Per BLS data, as of May 2021 these were the ten best and worst states for medical records specialist pay:

The Best and Worst States for Medical Records Specialist Pay

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
NJ	1,090	$67,130	1st
DC	270	$63,270	2nd
MA	3,160	$58,950	3rd
CA	18,580	$57,950	4th
CT	1,230	$57,480	5th
NY	7,340	$55,350	6th
MD	2,960	$55,170	7th
HI	510	$55,010	8th
WA	3,520	$54,980	9th
MN	4,290	$54,860	10th
U.S.	180,570	$48,310	-------
MI	3,290	$43,610	42nd
NM	1,330	$43,530	43rd
KY	4,260	$43,390	44th
LA	2,150	$43,020	45th
NV	1,470	$41,790	46th
WV	1,450	$41,250	47th
ME	1,010	$41,120	48th
AL	2,510	$40,020	49th
AR	1,770	$39,190	50th
MS	2,060	$37,990	51st

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on August 31, 2022