Medical assistant salary in Arkansas

Medical assistants in Arkansas make 17% less than the national median of $45,690. Among the 50 states plus Washington, DC, the state comes in at 47 of 51 for median pay.

Arkansas's average wage sits slightly above its median, at $38,930 per year. A handful of bigger salaries push the average higher, so the median is a better guide to what a typical worker actually takes home.

The middle half of Arkansas medical assistants earn somewhere from $35,700 to $42,900 a year. That leaves out the bottom quarter and the top quarter of earners.

On the ends of the scale, the lowest-paid 10% make $30,840 or less, while the best-paid 10% make $46,060 or more. These statewide numbers come from the federal wage survey.

A metro area means a city plus its surrounding towns, and some of them stretch across state borders. Below are the top and bottom medians for metro areas that reach into Arkansas.

Memphis offers the highest pay and the largest number of medical assistant jobs nearby. Texarkana has the lowest median of the metro areas, at $36,160 a year.

Yes, and demand is climbing quicker than in most of the country. The state's labor agency expects medical assistant jobs to grow, rising from 5,030 positions in 2024 up to 6,080 by 2034. That works out to a 20.9% increase, compared with 12.5% across the whole US.

For projected growth in this occupation, Arkansas places 12 of 51. Roughly 760 job openings should come up each year, including brand-new positions and spots left by workers moving on.

Right now, around 5,150 medical assistants work in the state, equal to 4.0 out of every 1,000 jobs. That puts Arkansas at 39 of 51 for how widespread the role is.

Looking at similar roles can help you pick a starting point and see where you could head later. Here are the Arkansas medians.

In Arkansas, medical assistants out-earn nursing assistants and make roughly what phlebotomists make. Nursing jobs pay higher wages, but they also require more training time.

Based on federal school data, many career school programs run about 9 months. Some wrap up in 6 months or less, while a few stretch past a year. Nationwide, 354 schools have a medical assistant associate degree on offer.

At a career school, the median cost of a full program is $17,257, which includes tuition, fees and books. Public colleges charge a median in-district cost of $4,346 for one year of full-time study.

Accreditation means an outside organization, like CAAHEP or ABHES, has reviewed a program against fixed standards for medical assistant education. This site shows 1 Arkansas school reporting medical assistant graduates in the federal survey, and no Arkansas listing carries CAAHEP or ABHES accreditation.

Nationwide, 30 programs can be completed through distance education, with 14 of them holding accreditation. Coursework happens online in these programs, though the hands-on clinical training, usually known as an externship, takes place face to face at a clinic or medical office.

To weigh your options and request information from a school, visit our page of medical assistant programs in Arkansas and fill out the brief form for the accredited program that interests you.