Median pay for medical assistants runs from $29,490 in Eagle Pass to $77,410 in Vallejo — a 2.62× range across 520 metropolitan areas. The national median of $45,690 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
From $36,050 at the 10th percentile to $59,310 at the 90th is only 1.65×, which is narrow. Pay for medical assistants is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
6 of the ten best-paying metros for medical assistants are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo CA | $77,410 | $37.22 | 1.8 | 1,360 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $64,820 | $31.16 | 1.44 | 1,550 |
| Napa CA | $62,050 | $29.83 | 0.78 | 320 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $61,970 | $29.79 | 1.3 | 7,410 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $61,940 | $29.78 | 1.07 | 6,400 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $61,870 | $29.74 | 0.76 | 210 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $61,500 | $29.57 | 0.93 | 10,210 |
| Longview-Kelso WA | $61,480 | $29.56 | 1.14 | 250 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $59,790 | $28.75 | 1.15 | 14,320 |
| Bellingham WA | $57,410 | $27.60 | 1.06 | 510 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $56,240 | $27.04 | 1.01 | 6,390 |
| Walla Walla WA | $56,020 | $26.93 | 1.02 | 140 |
| Western Washington nonmetropolitan area | $55,920 | $26.89 | 1.12 | 760 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $55,700 | $26.78 | 0.84 | 580 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $55,680 | $26.77 | 1.23 | 610 |
| Alaska nonmetropolitan area | $53,830 | $25.88 | 1.03 | 590 |
| Ithaca NY | $53,760 | $25.85 | 1.54 | 390 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $52,570 | $25.28 | 0.72 | 7,390 |
| Fairbanks-College AK | $52,140 | $25.07 | 0.94 | 180 |
| Anchorage AK | $51,930 | $24.97 | 1.47 | 1,370 |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley WA | $51,720 | $24.87 | 1.56 | 2,090 |
| Lewiston-Auburn ME | $51,460 | $24.74 | 1.5 | 380 |
| Kahului-Wailuku HI | $51,200 | $24.62 | 1.06 | 410 |
| Kennewick-Richland WA | $50,820 | $24.43 | 1.24 | 850 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $50,740 | $24.39 | 0.76 | 10,750 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Pass TX | $29,490 | $14.18 | 1.08 | 110 |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $30,100 | $14.47 | 1.02 | 420 |
| Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $31,130 | $14.96 | 0.57 | 370 |
| Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $31,680 | $15.23 | 0.92 | 390 |
| West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $32,700 | $15.72 | 0.37 | 180 |
| Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $33,530 | $16.12 | 0.45 | 150 |
| Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $33,630 | $16.17 | 0.78 | 260 |
| Northwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $34,210 | $16.45 | 0.92 | 330 |
| Lower West Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $34,230 | $16.46 | 0.61 | 260 |
| Gadsden AL | $34,250 | $16.47 | 2.57 | 450 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Charles LA | $38,550 | $18.53 | 2.83 | 1,510 |
| Gadsden AL | $34,250 | $16.47 | 2.57 | 450 |
| Wildwood-The Villages FL | $40,910 | $19.67 | 2.4 | 520 |
| Homosassa Springs FL | $37,780 | $18.16 | 2.2 | 410 |
| Ann Arbor MI | $43,180 | $20.76 | 2.11 | 2,440 |
| Sebring FL | $37,750 | $18.15 | 2.05 | 300 |
| East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area | $37,120 | $17.85 | 2.05 | 990 |
| Pocatello ID | $37,610 | $18.08 | 2.01 | 400 |
| Macon-Bibb County GA | $38,400 | $18.46 | 2 | 1,000 |
| Wichita Falls TX | $40,240 | $19.35 | 1.94 | 570 |
| Medford OR | $48,820 | $23.47 | 1.93 | 900 |
| Punta Gorda FL | $44,830 | $21.55 | 1.92 | 580 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $48,370 | $23.26 | 0.88 | 44,060 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $47,760 | $22.96 | 1.21 | 39,770 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $43,100 | $20.72 | 0.97 | 20,560 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $44,930 | $21.60 | 1.26 | 18,670 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $42,110 | $20.25 | 1.06 | 18,280 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $46,060 | $22.15 | 1.11 | 16,910 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $47,270 | $22.73 | 0.66 | 15,640 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $46,830 | $22.51 | 1.23 | 15,410 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $59,790 | $28.75 | 1.15 | 14,320 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $46,640 | $22.42 | 0.84 | 13,890 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $45,890 | $22.06 | 0.86 | 13,150 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MI | $39,410 | $18.95 | 1.24 | 12,400 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 31-9092. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 520 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.