Medical assistant jobs in Oregon

In Oregon, medical assistants earn a median of $50,410 a year, which comes to $24.24 an hour. Half of workers earn more than this middle figure, and half earn less. Nationally, the median sits at $45,690. That makes Oregon the 5th best-paying place for medical assistants among all 50 states and Washington, DC.

In Oregon, the middle half of medical assistants earn between $47,170 and $59,160 a year. One in ten at the lower end earns $43,760 or less. At the top, the highest-paid tenth make $62,160 or more.

Of the metro areas listed here, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro has the most jobs and the highest median pay. These job counts and pay figures come from federal wage data.

Portland's numbers apply to the entire metro area, so Vancouver, Washington is included.

Job prospects in the state look strong. Oregon's labor agency expects the field to grow from 12,340 positions in 2024 to 14,680 by 2034. That equals growth of 19.0%, while the US rate is 12.5%. Oregon comes in at 15 of 51 for that growth.

Those 1,840 yearly openings include brand-new roles as well as positions vacated by workers who move on. For openings, Oregon ranks 22 of 51; for total medical assistant jobs, it ranks 26 of 51. Medical assistant roles account for roughly 6.0 out of every 1,000 jobs across the state.

Oregon has no medical assistant law, so the state does not require certification. Its main guide to what you may do on the job is the Oregon Medical Board's Statement of Philosophy.

That guide sets out these guidelines:

• Before you give any medicine, have the physician or physician assistant check both the medicine and the dose.
• While you work, the physician or physician assistant should be present in the building.
• Evaluating patients, diagnosing them, and performing invasive procedures are outside your scope.
• Patients should be told your title, medical assistant.

If you want to take x-rays, you'll need a separate limited x-ray machine operator permit from the Oregon Board of Medical Imaging. If you want to take x-rays at work, it helps to know about this permit before you choose a program.

Our list covers 18 Oregon schools that report their medical assistant graduates to the federal government. Eight of those schools offer accredited programs. An outside organization, either CAAHEP or ABHES, has checked each accredited program against its standards.

Across the country, students at career schools take a median of 9 months to finish. For a whole program, the median published price is $17,257, and that covers tuition, fees and books. For full-time study, public colleges charge district residents a median of $4,346 a year in tuition and fees.

Some programs teach classes by distance education, but the supervised clinical practice, usually called an externship, is in person at a clinic or office.

Ready to ask about training? Choose an accredited program on the Oregon program page, then use the short "Request information" form after the program list to contact that school.

The table shows US median figures from May 2025, which help you see where medical assisting stands.

In Oregon, medical assistants earn above the US median for their job. Oregon pays medical assistants more than most states, and a short accredited program can get you into the field. Pick a program on the Oregon program page and send its short form today to reach that school.