Medical administrative assistant salary

Medical administrative assistant salary by percentile

A medical administrative assistant at the national median earns $45,930, and the middle half of the 961,610 workers in the occupation earn $38,570 to $50,580.^{[onet_medsec][oews][oews_api2]} The take-home column applies 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer.^[irs][ssa]

*Single filer, 2026 federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare; before state tax.

A $50,000 offer sits at about the 72nd percentile nationally. Pay is fairly compressed in the middle: the 75th percentile ($50,580) is only $4,650 above the median, so the bigger jumps come from moving into billing and coding or office management.

Medical secretary salary: what the BLS figure covers

Medical secretary salary and medical administrative assistant salary are the same government figure. BLS counts these workers as medical secretaries and administrative assistants (SOC 43-6013), and O*NET's sample of reported job titles includes "Medical Secretary", "Medical Receptionist", "Clinic Office Assistant", "Medical Office Specialist", "Front Desk Receptionist" and "Unit Clerk".^[sum_medsec] According to BLS, they may transcribe dictation, prepare reports, take simple medical histories, arrange hospital admissions and process insurance payments, and they need to know medical terminology, codes and records.^[ooh_sec]

The typical entry route is a high school diploma, and BLS notes that medical secretaries may train for several months to learn industry terms and practices.^[ooh_sec] BLS projects employment of medical secretaries to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, about 47,100 jobs, while secretaries outside health care are projected to decline.^[ooh_sec]

Medical administrative assistant vs medical assistant

A medical administrative assistant earns $240 more than a clinical medical assistant at the median ($45,930 against $45,690). BLS treats them as two occupations: medical assistants (SOC 31-9092) take vital signs and help with exams, while medical administrative assistants work the front desk, schedule and handle records and billing.^{[onet_ma][onet_medsec][ooh_ma]}

Clinical pay and credentials are on medical assistant salary and medical assistant certification. Coding pays $5,210 more at the median; the route is on how to become a medical coder.^[onet_coder]

Medical office assistant salary per hour

Medical office assistant salary per hour is $22.08 at the median, $17.27 at the 10th percentile and $29.10 at the 90th.^{[onet_medsec]} BLS divides annual pay by 2,080 hours to get these rates; overtime and bonuses are not included.^[oews_faq]

Medical administrative assistant salary by state

Washington pays medical administrative assistants the most ($58,100 median), followed by California ($54,490) and Massachusetts ($50,290); Mississippi is lowest at $36,290.^{[onet_medsec]}

Highest-paying metro areas

The best-paying metro area for medical secretaries and administrative assistants is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, at a $69,350 median.^{[onet_medsec]}

Where the career goes next

The front desk is a common first step toward billing, coding and practice management. Medical and health services managers, who run practices and departments, earn a $123,860 median, but BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry route; see healthcare administration salary.^{[onet_hsm][ooh_hsm]}