How Much Do Medical Assistants Make?

Being a medical assistant is a rewarding job. It opens the doors to so many opportunities, and it also allows you to help patients who are in need.

Medical assistants are not only responsible for tending to a patient’s needs. They also provide assistance to medical doctors and professionals. 

If you are thinking about this career, one key consideration is salary. Before you go to school and put in the time and money to get a degree to be a medical assistant, you want to have an idea of how much you can make when you’re done. 

Below you’ll learn about how much do medical assistants make. And you’ll get some data on average salaries in different parts of the country.

How Much Do Medical Assistants Make?

Here’s what you need to know about medical assistant salaries. We will also make a comparison of how much they make in 2019, before the pandemic began, and 2020, wherein the cases of the covid19 virus were rising. 

The average salary of a medical assistant per hour in 2020 is $17.75. In 2019 they made 16.73 per hour. That is a one-dollar difference even though they put twice as much effort during the pandemic. The data is provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or also known as BLS. 

But if we are going to look at their salaries per year, then the average salary that a medical assistant makes in 2020 is $36,930. On the other hand, their average salary in 2019 was $34,800. But the highest-paid medical assistants in the top 10 percent can potentially make $50,580 per year on average in 2020, and more than $48,720 in 2019.

Medical Assistant Salaries in Key States

One important factor that can tell you how much a medical assistant makes per hour is the state where he/she is working. So here are the average annual salaries of medical assistants both in 2019 and 2020 in some states:

Another thing that may affect the costs of a medical assistant’s salary is their years of experience. In 2021, medical assistants with less than a year’s experience averagely make $15.03 while those with 1-2 years of experience make $15.67. Medical assistants with over 10 years of experience make $18.95 hourly.

Most of the time, medical assistants tend to continue their learning in order to get better pay and more experience in the field. Education and certifications also affect a medical assistant’s salary.

Aside from the salary, medical assistants are also entitled to benefits such as Social Security, which can add up to $2,813 per year. 401K/403B are also some of the benefits which entitles medical assistants to gain $1,802 per year on average. They are also entitled to a Disability benefit, Healthcare, Pension, and Time Off. 

So keep in mind that the salary is just the starting point. Adding in the benefits you will receive will make the total compensation quite a bit higher.