Medical assistant salary in North Carolina
- Median pay: $45,140 annually ($21.70 hourly)
- Middle half of medical assistants earn between $38,490 and $47,500
- Roughly 23,650 medical assistant jobs statewide
- Projected job growth, 2024–2034: 15.9%
The median medical assistant salary in North Carolina is $45,140 per year, which comes to $21.70 per hour, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Half of medical assistants here earn more than that and half earn less, and with about 3,500 openings across the state every year, there's steady room to get hired. Want to start? Pick an accredited program on our North Carolina programs page and send that school the short Request information form.
- Median a year
- $45,140
- Lowest-paid tenth
- $36,010 or less
- Best-paid tenth
- $50,850 or more
- Medical assistant jobs
- 23,650
- Job growth 2024 to 2034
- +15.9%
What the lowest- and highest-paid medical assistants earn
Pay varies quite a bit. The lowest-paid 10% of medical assistants here make $36,010 or less, while the best-paid 10% bring in $50,850 or more, based on federal wage data.
Most earn somewhere in between, and the middle half of medical assistants in the state earn $38,490 to $47,500 annually. The average works out a little lower than the median, at $44,090 a year.
How does North Carolina pay stack up against the rest of the country?
North Carolina pays about the same as the rest of the country. The state median of $45,140 is just 1% below the US median of $45,690. Counting all 50 states plus Washington, DC, North Carolina places 27th of 51 when ranked by typical medical assistant pay, based on BLS figures.
Pay across Charlotte, Jacksonville and other metro areas
Pay changes by area. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia has the highest median at $46,520. It also has the biggest number of medical assistant jobs, around 6,060.
Jacksonville has the lowest metro median in the state, at $37,420.
| Metro area | Median a year | Median an hour | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $46,520 | $22.36 | 6,060 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $46,450 | $22.33 | 1,800 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $46,160 | $22.19 | 3,810 |
| Greensboro-High Point, NC | $46,090 | $22.16 | 1,730 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $45,810 | $22.03 | 1,350 |
| Greenville, NC | $44,650 | $21.47 | 600 |
| Asheville, NC | $44,420 | $21.36 | 1,470 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | $43,620 | $20.97 | 3,040 |
| Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | $43,530 | $20.93 | 310 |
| Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | $43,290 | $20.81 | 820 |
| Burlington, NC | $43,250 | $20.79 | 310 |
| Wilmington, NC | $42,000 | $20.19 | 1,150 |
| Rocky Mount, NC | $39,950 | $19.21 | 150 |
| Fayetteville, NC | $39,870 | $19.17 | 680 |
| Goldsboro, NC | $38,210 | $18.37 | 140 |
| Jacksonville, NC | $37,420 | $17.99 | 220 |
Medical assistant pay compared with other health jobs
In North Carolina, medical assistants make more than nursing assistants and phlebotomists. Licensed practical nurses and registered nurses earn higher medians. Every median in this table comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Health care role in North Carolina | Median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Nursing assistants | $38,460 |
| Phlebotomists | $43,330 |
| Medical assistants | $45,140 |
| Licensed practical/vocational nurses (LPNs/LVNs) | $63,270 |
| Registered nurses | $84,350 |
Are medical assistants in demand in North Carolina?
Around 23,650 medical assistants work in North Carolina, or about 4.8 for each 1,000 jobs statewide. This places the state 30 out of 51 for how widespread the role is.
The state's labor office projects growth from 24,300 jobs in 2024 to 28,160 in 2034, an increase of 15.9%. That beats the 12.5% projected for the US as a whole, according to Projections Central. For projected growth, North Carolina ranks 25 out of 51.
Each year, roughly 3,500 openings are expected. That figure covers both brand-new jobs and spots left by people moving on from the field.
Finding a medical assistant program in North Carolina
Based on federal data on College Navigator, we list 48 North Carolina schools that reported medical assistant graduates; 39 have a CAAHEP- or ABHES-accredited program.
With an online program, you take your classes from home and do your hands-on clinical training, called an externship, in person.
Across the country, career schools that publish a full-program price have a median of $17,257 once you add up tuition, fees and books. At public colleges, the median comes to $4,346 a year in tuition and fees for local students, according to IPEDS. Among career schools that report program length, the median is 9 months.
Jobs are growing here, so now is a good time to begin. Choose an accredited program on our North Carolina programs page and send that school the short Request information form today.
Pay: Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey, May 2025. Growth: Projections Central, from North Carolina’s labor market office. The job itself: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
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