Washington leads all states in this comparison with an average annual salary of $58,590 and a median of $59,290. California and Massachusetts follow at $55,100 and $51,850 respectively, so if you are competing for talent in any of these states, your offers will need to clear the national average of $46,120 by a meaningful margin.
Medical assistant salary in the US (2026)
The average medical assistant salary in the US is $46,120. The median of $45,690 sits close to that average and gives you a more reliable anchor for setting offers, since it reflects what most medical assistants actually earn rather than being pulled by outliers at either end. Washington and California pay well above the national median, so your budget will depend heavily on where you are hiring.
Metric / Value
Metric | Value |
Average annual salary | $46,120 |
Median annual salary | $45,690 |
Data comes from the BLS OEWS and covers 817,870 employed medical assistants across the US.
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Medical assistant salary percentiles
Percentile | Annual salary |
10th percentile | $36,050 |
25th percentile | $38,470 |
75th percentile | $49,180 |
90th percentile | $59,310 |
To attract a medical assistant with solid experience, plan to offer somewhere between $49,180 and $59,310, since candidates in the upper half of the market will expect compensation above the $45,690 median. The full range from $36,050 at the 10th percentile to $59,310 at the 90th gives you clear guardrails for structuring offers at different experience levels.
How Medical Assistant salaries compare across states
State | Average annual salary | Median annual salary |
Washington | $58,590 | $59,290 |
California | $55,100 | $49,660 |
Massachusetts | $51,850 | $49,460 |
Colorado | $49,490 | $48,400 |
New York | $48,750 | $48,000 |
Illinois | $45,770 | $46,090 |
Virginia | $44,050 | $44,740 |
Florida | $43,290 | $43,680 |
Georgia | $42,590 | $41,600 |
Texas | $41,240 | $39,520 |
If you are hiring in Washington or California, budget meaningfully above the national average of $46,120, since those states post average salaries of $58,590 and $55,100 respectively. Employers in Texas and Georgia can generally hire closer to or below the national median of $45,690, which gives them more flexibility on compensation structure.
Frequently asked questions about Medical Assistant salary in the US
Which states pay the most for Medical Assistants?
What do the top-earning Medical Assistants make nationally?
Medical assistants at the 90th percentile earn $59,310 per year nationally. If you are recruiting experienced candidates or filling a senior-level medical assistant role, expect offers in the $49,180 to $59,310 range to be competitive at the upper end of the market.
What is the salary range for a Medical Assistant in the US?
The national salary range for a medical assistant runs from $36,050 at the 10th percentile to $59,310 at the 90th percentile. Most medical assistants fall between $38,470 and $49,180, which covers the 25th to 75th percentile band and is a practical starting point for setting your offer range.
What is the average Medical Assistant salary in the US?
The average medical assistant salary in the US is $46,120 per year, with a median of $45,690. The two figures are close together, which tells you the market is fairly consistent nationally, though state-level variation is wide enough that location should be your first adjustment when building a compensation offer.
More salary data
Data sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2025, for Medical Assistants (SOC 31-9092).
Disclaimer
Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
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The Rippling Team
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