Medical assistant salary in Virginia

The number people usually cite is the median, the midpoint of all wages: half of Virginia medical assistants make more, and half make less. For this state, that midpoint is $44,740 a year.

Virginia comes in just under the national figure. The US median is $45,690, leaving Virginia about 2% lower. Among the 50 states and DC, that places Virginia 29 out of 51.

The mean is not far off. On average, Virginia medical assistants earn $44,050 annually.

The lowest-paid 10% make $37,090 or less, while the highest-paid 10% make $52,000 or more.

The middle 50% earn from $38,840 to $46,570 a year.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria leads the state, with a median of $46,640. It also has the largest employment base, with roughly 13,890 medical assistants.

Roanoke has the lowest typical pay of Virginia's metro areas, at $37,780, so where you look for work can make a real difference to your paycheck.

People often compare medical assisting with nearby health care roles. In Virginia, medical assistants earn slightly more than nursing assistants and slightly less than phlebotomists. Nursing roles pay more: licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses earn a median of $64,920 in Virginia, while registered nurses earn a median of $93,600.

All of these numbers are drawn from the BLS wage survey.

Virginia has about 16,650 medical assistants, which works out to 4.1 for every 1,000 jobs statewide.

The state labor agency projects growth from 16,090 jobs in 2024 to 18,150 in 2034, or 12.8%. That is a little above the national 12.5%, and Virginia ranks 36 of 51 for growth.

Plan on roughly 2,380 openings each year across Virginia. That total covers brand-new roles plus positions that open when workers move on.

Our list includes 8 schools in Virginia that report their medical assistant completers to a national college database, and 6 of them offer an accredited program. Accredited means a national body, either CAAHEP or ABHES, has reviewed the program and judged that it meets its standards.

Nationwide, career school programs have a median length of 9 months, and most run 7 to 9 months. The median cost for a full career school program is $17,257, once you add up tuition, fees, and book costs. Public college students from the local district typically pay about $4,346 per year in tuition and fees for full-time study.

Some programs teach the classroom part by distance education. The hands-on training, known as a practicum or externship, takes place under supervision in an actual clinic, so it must be done face to face.

Wage data is drawn from the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey for May 2025. Growth projections are from Projections Central, the source for Virginia's labor market outlook. Counts of schools and what programs cost are based on federal college data covering 2023 to 2024.