Medical assistant jobs in Wisconsin

A typical Wisconsin medical assistant earns $48,680 a year, which works out to about $23.41 an hour. Half of Wisconsin medical assistants earn more than that, and half earn less. Nationally, the median is $45,690. Wisconsin places 8 of 51 when it comes to pay, looking at the 50 states plus DC.

Earnings tend to cluster fairly closely together. Half of medical assistants in Wisconsin earn somewhere between $46,370 and $55,000 annually.

Roughly 13,810 people hold medical assistant jobs in Wisconsin. That works out to 4.7 for every 1,000 jobs statewide, putting Wisconsin at 19 of 51 for total medical assistant employment.

Wisconsin's labor agency projects about 1,830 openings each year. That count includes new jobs and jobs that open up when people leave. The agency also sees employment growing from 13,120 jobs in 2024 to a projected 14,860 by 2034. That is a 13.3% increase, slightly higher than the 12.5% national rate.

Of the metro areas listed here, Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington has the most medical assistant jobs and the highest median pay, and its figures include its Minnesota communities. In Wisconsin itself, Milwaukee-Waukesha has the most jobs (4,170), followed by Madison (2,080).

• Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI: 7,390 jobs, median yearly earnings $52,570
• Milwaukee-Waukesha: 4,170 jobs, median yearly earnings $49,590
• Madison: 2,080 jobs, median yearly earnings $48,750
• Green Bay: 800 jobs, median yearly earnings $47,910
• Duluth, MN-WI: 750 jobs, median yearly earnings $47,990

The federal wage survey provides these figures.

Not in Wisconsin. The state has no medical assistant license. A physician can have you deliver patient care, provided that physician gives direction, oversees your work and reviews what you do. The doctor must also have good reason to believe you are capable, and state law treats inadequate supervision as unprofessional conduct.

Finishing an accredited program is one way to show the doctor you work for that you are competent.

Taking X-rays comes with a separate requirement. For that work, the state asks for either a limited X-ray machine operator permit or a radiographer license.

On this site you can find 22 Wisconsin schools that report medical assistant graduates, and 17 of them run accredited programs. An outside organization, either CAAHEP or ABHES, reviews and approves a program for accreditation.

Nationally, most career school programs take 7 to 9 months, with a median of 9 months. Public colleges charge a national median of $4,346 a year in full-time tuition and fees. Career schools that bundle the entire program into one price show a median of $17,257, books included.

Some programs offer online classes. The externship, which is the name for clinical training, means supervised hands-on practice at a clinic and takes place in person.

If you're ready to explore training, Wisconsin's projected 1,830 openings a year give you a reason to take the next step. On the Wisconsin program page, choose one accredited program, then send the short Request information form after the program tables with your name, email, phone, ZIP code and preferred start time. The request goes to the one school you pick, so you can ask them about start dates and costs.

Nationally, the median yearly pay for medical assistants is $45,690. These national figures show how medical assistant pay compares with pay in other health care jobs.

• Nursing assistant: $42,260 a year
• Phlebotomist: $45,230 a year
• Medical assistant: $45,690 a year
• Licensed practical nurse: $64,400 a year
• Registered nurse: $97,550 a year