Medical assistant salary in Montana

Think of the median as the midpoint of all wages. Half of medical assistants in Montana earn over $46,820, and half earn under it, based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean, which is the plain average across all workers, is nearly the same at $46,570 a year.

Among the 50 states and Washington, DC, Montana places 19th out of 51 for typical medical assistant pay. That puts Montana in the upper half of states for medical assistant pay.

These figures show how pay varies across medical assistants in Montana. In Montana, the lowest-paid 10% of medical assistants make $38,670 or less. The highest-paid 10% make $56,770 or more.

Half of Montana's medical assistants fall in the middle band, taking home somewhere from $40,900 up to $48,960 annually, according to the BLS.

Pay stays fairly close across Montana metro areas. Bozeman leads with a median of $46,980 a year. Helena is lowest at $45,760, which means the distance between the top and bottom metro is small.

Missoula has the largest number of medical assistant jobs among Montana metros, at about 400. Statewide, Montana has about 2,460 medical assistants, equal to 4.8 for every 1,000 jobs. For how common the role is, Montana ranks 29 of 51.

When you are comparing ways into health care, here are Montana medians from the BLS wage survey.

Montana's median pay for medical assistants is higher than for nursing assistants and phlebotomists, but lower than for licensed practical nurses and registered nurses. Medical assistant training takes a median of 9 months at career schools.

The state's labor agency projects medical assistant employment growing between 2024 and 2034, rising from 2,400 up to 2,750. That is growth of 14.3%, quicker than the 12.5% projected for the US, according to Projections Central.

The state is expected to have about 340 openings each year. That total covers newly created roles plus spots opened when people leave the field. For projected growth, the state places 27th out of 51.

The site lists 4 Montana schools whose medical assistant graduate numbers appear in the federal College Navigator figures. Not one of these schools offers an accredited program, but the accredited programs on our online programs page are taken by distance education with in-person clinical practice, so you can do your coursework from home.

Online study is another option. Nationwide, 30 medical assistant programs are offered through distance education, with 14 of them carrying accreditation. Coursework happens online, while supervised clinical practice, often called an externship, is done in person.

Length and price differ by program. At career schools that report completion time, the median is 9 months, using federal IPEDS data. Career schools' median published price for a complete program comes to $17,257 with tuition, fees and books included. Public colleges charge a median of about $4,346 in tuition and fees for one year of full-time, in-district study. With 340 openings expected in Montana each year, now is a good time to choose an accredited program and send its short form.