Medical assistant salary in Kentucky
Typical medical assistant salary in Kentucky: $39,270 a year Typical hourly pay: $18.88 Top-paying metro area: Louisville, at $44,450 Job openings per year: roughly 1,950
In Kentucky, a medical assistant typically earns $39,270 per year, which works out to $18.88 per hour, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A median is the midpoint: 50% of medical assistants in Kentucky earn more, and 50% earn less. That makes it a useful snapshot of typical pay before taxes. Ready to start? Pick an accredited program on the Kentucky programs page and send the short "Request information" form, which goes straight to the school you chose.
- Median a year
- $39,270
- Lowest-paid tenth
- $32,950 or less
- Best-paid tenth
- $47,940 or more
- Medical assistant jobs
- 13,440
- Job growth 2024 to 2034
- +10.8%
Kentucky pay compared with the national median
Kentucky sits 14% under the national median of $45,690. Among the 50 states plus Washington, DC, ranked by median pay for this role, Kentucky comes in 44 of 51 (BLS).
The mean wage comes in a bit above the midpoint, at $40,940 yearly. Higher paychecks for a smaller group can lift the mean, so the median is often the steadier clue to what you might earn.
How much do the lowest- and highest-earning medical assistants make?
In Kentucky, the lowest-paid 10% make $32,950 a year or less. At the other end, the highest-paid 10% make $47,940 or more (BLS).
The middle 50% earn from $36,560 to $45,940. That range shows what the middle half of Kentucky medical assistants earn.
Pay in Kentucky's metro areas
Your location can change your paycheck. Louisville/Jefferson County leads Kentucky with a median of $44,450 a year. Owensboro sits at the bottom of the state's metro list, at $37,020 (BLS).
The Cincinnati region, which takes in northern Kentucky, employs the most medical assistants, around 5,560.
| Metro area | Median a year | Median an hour | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $44,450 | $21.37 | 4,140 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | $44,340 | $21.32 | 5,560 |
| Lexington-Fayette, KY | $40,370 | $19.41 | 2,210 |
| Paducah, KY-IL | $39,360 | $18.92 | 450 |
| Bowling Green, KY | $39,270 | $18.88 | 600 |
| Elizabethtown, KY | $38,530 | $18.53 | 240 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | $37,500 | $18.03 | 1,040 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | $37,390 | $17.98 | 670 |
| Owensboro, KY | $37,020 | $17.80 | 280 |
Medical assistant pay compared with other Kentucky healthcare jobs
In Kentucky, medical assistant pay falls between nursing assistants and phlebotomists, and well below nurses (BLS).
| Role | Kentucky median yearly pay |
|---|---|
| Nursing assistants | $38,370 |
| Medical assistants | $39,270 |
| Phlebotomists | $42,480 |
| Licensed practical and vocational nurses | $60,460 |
| Registered nurses | $81,040 |
Will medical assistants find steady work in Kentucky?
Few places rely on medical assistants as much as Kentucky does. The state has about 13,440 of them, 6.7 for every 1,000 jobs, the second-highest share among the 50 states and DC (BLS).
Kentucky's labor agency projects growth from 14,360 jobs in 2024 up to 15,920 by 2034. That works out to 10.8%, compared with 12.5% nationwide (Projections Central). Roughly 1,950 openings are expected each year, including brand-new roles and people moving out of the job.
Getting trained as a medical assistant in Kentucky
Our list includes 21 Kentucky schools that supply medical assistant graduate counts to the federal education survey (College Navigator). Fourteen of them have an accredited program. Accreditation means an outside organization, CAAHEP or ABHES, has reviewed whether the program meets set teaching standards.
Across the US, career schools report a median completion time of about 9 months, with most programs landing between 7 and 9 months (IPEDS). Price varies widely by school type.
| School type (US, 2023-24) | Typical published cost |
|---|---|
| Career school, the whole program, covering books, fees and tuition | $17,257 |
| Public college, one year studying full time, in-district rate | $4,346 |
Some programs offer online classes. The externship, supervised hands-on work in an actual clinic or office, still takes place face to face.
Reaching out to a Kentucky school
The Kentucky programs page on our site shows the state's schools and marks which programs are accredited. Pick the accredited program that suits you and send its short "Request information" form. You will share your name, email, phone, ZIP code and preferred start time, and your request goes only to the school you picked.
Pay: Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey, May 2025. Growth: Projections Central, from Kentucky’s labor market office. The job itself: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.
Medical assistant programs in Kentucky · Certification rules in Kentucky · Pay in every state