Medical Assistants
Salary, job outlook, AI risk & career information
Medical Assistants in the United States earn a median salary of $45,690 per year — about $22 per hour, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Roughly 811K people work in this occupation nationwide, with projected employment growth of +12%.
AI & Automation Risk
Medical assistants perform a hybrid of physical and digital tasks; while AI can significantly automate administrative duties like scheduling, coding, and medical record entry, it cannot perform physical clinical tasks such as drawing blood, administering injections, or taking manual vital signs. The role requires a high degree of real-time human interaction and empathy in a physical clinical setting, which serves as a natural barrier to full automation.
Salary by City — What You Actually Take Home
Real purchasing power = salary adjusted for cost of living. Higher = more money in your pocket.
| City | Local Salary | Cost of Living | Real Purchasing Power |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo, CABEST VALUE | $77,410 | Above avg (108.5) | $71,359 |
| Longview-Kelso, WA | $61,480 | Average (97.5) | $63,027 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $61,870 | Average (102.4) | $60,395 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $64,820 | Above avg (107.8) | $60,139 |
| Ponce, PR | $59,990 | Average (100.0) | $59,990 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $61,970 | Above avg (106.7) | $58,095 |
| Walla Walla, WA | $56,020 | Average (98.5) | $56,862 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $61,940 | Above avg (110.4) | $56,093 |
| Bellingham, WA | $57,410 | Above avg (103.3) | $55,558 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $61,500 | Above avg (111.1) | $55,339 |
| Napa, CA | $62,050 | Above avg (112.6) | $55,129 |
| Rochester, MN | $49,830 | Below avg (90.8) | $54,866 |
| St. Cloud, MN | $47,750 | Below avg (87.6) | $54,489 |
| Lewiston-Auburn, ME | $51,460 | Below avg (94.7) | $54,319 |
| Duluth, MN-WI | $47,990 | Below avg (88.8) | $54,062 |