Medical Assistants Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 31-9092 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$45,698
$21.97/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
Get notified when this number updates
Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Medical Assistants is $45,698 per year ($21.97/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $38,480 and $49,192 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $59,322 per year. There are approximately 817,870 medical assistants employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
+12.5%
Much faster than average
Annual openings
112K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
811K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
9% from new growth91% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Postsecondary nondegree award
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Offices of Physicians
NAICS 621100
452K
$45,520
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
NAICS 622100
133K
$46,890
Outpatient Care Centers
NAICS 621400
86K
$48,560
Offices of Other Health Practitioners
NAICS 621300
63K
$38,400
Employment Services
NAICS 561300
12K
$46,350
Wage range across top 5 industries: $38,400 to $48,560 (26% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$17.33
$36,046
P25
$18.50
$38,480
P50MEDIAN
$21.97
$45,698
P75
$23.65
$49,192
P90
$28.52
$59,322
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · health sector
Hot
Openings Rate
5.4%
Quits Rate
1.9%
Health Care & Social Assistance openings rebounded to 1.36M (+87K) in March with rate at 5.4%. Hires rose to 700K (+75K). The sector remains structurally tight; compensation pressure persists for clinical roles.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average medical assistants salary?
The national median salary for Medical Assistants is $45,698 per year ($21.97/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $38,480 and $49,192 annually.
How much do top-earning medical assistants make?
The 90th percentile salary for Medical Assistants is $59,322 per year ($28.52/hr). The 75th percentile is $49,192 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for medical assistants?
Entry-level Medical Assistants (10th percentile) earn approximately $36,046 per year ($17.33/hr). The 25th percentile is $38,480 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.