Medical assistant jobs in Missouri

The typical pay for a medical assistant in Missouri is a median of $40,440 a year, which works out to $19.44 an hour. Half of Missouri's medical assistants earn more than that, and half earn less. Nationally, the median sits at $45,690. For pay, Missouri places 39 out of 51, a count that includes the 50 states plus DC.

Looking at the middle half of Missouri workers, annual pay runs from $37,380 to $46,600. At the bottom, one in ten earns $35,810 or under. At the top, the highest-paid tenth earns $48,360 or more.

Your Missouri location affects both job availability and earnings. These metro job counts and median pay figures come from the federal wage survey. St. Louis and Kansas City reach into Illinois and Kansas, so some of the positions counted there sit across the state line.

St. Louis and Kansas City have the most medical assistant jobs, and both pay above the Missouri median.

Each year, Missouri's labor agency expects roughly 1,760 openings. That total covers brand-new jobs and spots opened when someone leaves. For yearly openings, Missouri holds 25th place out of 51. It ranks 23rd for the total number of medical assistants currently employed, with 4.4 medical assistants for every 1,000 jobs statewide.

Employment is forecast to rise from 12,880 jobs in 2024 to 14,370 by 2034. That works out to 11.6% growth, slightly less than the 12.5% projected nationwide. Out of 51, Missouri comes 40th for job growth.

There is no state certification requirement for medical assistants in Missouri, and the occupation does not appear in Missouri law. Instead, a physician decides which tasks to assign you. In practice, the doctor you work for decides what you can do, based on your training and skills.

The state also has no x-ray operator license. Each workplace and doctor therefore determines its own standards for x-ray training. Mammography is the one exception.

We list 17 Missouri schools with medical assistant graduates. 6 of those schools run accredited programs. Accreditation means an outside organization, either CAAHEP or ABHES, has reviewed and approved the program.

Nationally, career schools that report this information have a median program length of 9 months, and most take 7 to 9 months. These are the national cost figures:

• Career schools: the whole program, including tuition, fees and books, has a median cost of $17,257
• Public colleges: tuition and fees for one year of full-time study in the district come to a median of $4,346

Some programs teach their classes online. The supervised clinical practice, often called an externship, always takes place in person at a clinic or medical office.

Our Missouri program page places the "Request information" form right after the program table. Choose one accredited program, then share your name, email, phone, ZIP code and start time. Your request goes to that one school.

Ready to explore training? On our Missouri program page, choose an accredited program and send the short form today to ask that school about cost, schedules and start dates.