Medical assistant jobs in Arizona

Roughly 21,460 people work in this field throughout Arizona, which works out to 6.6 out of every 1,000 jobs in the state. That ranks Arizona 10th among the 50 states and Washington, DC, for medical assistant job counts, based on federal labor statistics.

A large share of those positions are in the Phoenix area. Phoenix has the most jobs and the highest pay of the metro areas listed, with about 15,410 of the state's 21,460 medical assistant jobs.

Median pay here is $45,940 per year, or $22.09 per hour. Think of the median as the halfway mark: half of medical assistants make more than that figure and half make less. This is a little higher than the US median of $45,690. Arizona places 23rd of 51 for pay, right in the middle of the rankings.

For the middle half of Arizona medical assistants, annual earnings fall between $40,370 and $48,450. About one in ten workers at the lower end earn no more than $38,100, while the best-paid tenth make $51,310 or more. These figures come from May 2025 wage data.

By comparison, the median for nursing assistants nationwide is $42,260, while phlebotomists earn $45,230. Licensed practical nurses make $64,400 and registered nurses $97,550.

Job counts and median pay differ across Arizona metro areas. Smaller metro areas offer fewer positions. Pay in Lake Havasu City and Kingman is noticeably lower.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provided the metro pay and job counts for May 2025.

State labor officials predict around 3,760 medical assistant openings each year. The count includes new positions and openings created when workers retire or move on to something else. It makes Arizona 6th among the states for yearly openings, according to state projections.

Total employment is expected to climb to 29,750 by 2034, up from 23,990 in 2024. That works out to 24.0% growth, well ahead of the 12.5% projected for the nation as a whole, and it puts Arizona 7th of 51 for growth.

You do not need one. The state does not license medical assistants, though state law does describe the role and place boundaries on the work. Injections and specimen collection, including blood or urine samples, may be performed only when a doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner is present in the same room or office suite. Beginning in 2025, trained medical assistants may also insert and take out urinary catheters under general supervision, according to Arizona law.

X-ray work is handled differently. Taking x-rays requires a certificate issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services, so completing a standard medical assistant program by itself is not enough.

You don't need a license, but you do need training before you're hired. Arizona accepts three options: completion of an approved program, completion of an unapproved program followed by a nationally accredited exam, or completion of a physician-designed program. Meeting the standards of a recognized accrediting body is one clear way to complete an approved program.

On this site you will find 27 Arizona schools that report graduate data to the federal college survey. Thirteen of those schools have a program accredited by CAAHEP or ABHES. If accreditation matters to you, you can compare the 13 Arizona schools listed here with a CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited program.

Nationally, students in career school programs complete their studies in a median of 9 months, and the median published cost for the entire program is $17,257, covering tuition, fees and books. At public colleges, the median in-district tuition and fees for one year of full-time study come to $4,346, according to federal college data. Choose one accredited program in the Arizona program table and send the short Request information form to that school. Your name, email, phone, ZIP code and preferred start time go only to the school you select.

Some schools offer distance education for classes, which can be useful if a campus is far away or your schedule includes daytime work. The supervised clinical practice at the end, usually called an externship, always takes place in person at a clinic or office. Nationwide, 30 of the listed programs can be finished through distance education for the classroom portion, and 14 of those hold accreditation.

If studying from home suits you better, the online programs page includes these schools, and it also has the same request information form following its tables.