How Much Does a Medical Assistant Make in Delaware?
BLS reports that a medical assistant in Delaware earns about $16.72 an hour, which is 2.6% lower than the national average ($17.17). The same data is also reported by other reliable salary sources, which shows that the hourly salary earned by DE medical assistants falls between the range of $14 to $18. Similarly, the annual income of these professionals is reported to be around $29,000-$38,000 as per various resources.
| Resource | Hourly Salary | Annual Salary | Date Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS | $16.72 | $34,770 | March 31, 2020 |
| Indeed | $14.33 | $33,372 | January 28, 2021 |
| ZipRecruiter | $14 | $29,542 | January 19, 2021 |
| Salary.com | $18 | $38,228 | January 29, 2021 |
Medical Assistant Pay in DE at Different Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual Salary (Delaware) | Annual Salary (National) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $25,210 | $25,820 |
| 25% | $29,070 | $29,460 |
| 50% | $34,000 | $34,800 |
| 75% | $39,590 | $40,270 |
| 90% | $47,360 | $48,720 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
As depicted in the above table, the salaries of MAs in DE were almost at close parity with the annual salary at all percentiles.
Highest Paying Cities for Medical Assistants in DE
The table below shows an MA’s salary in Delaware’s top cities, as per salary.com and indeed.com.
| City | Per Hour Salary (indeed.com) | Per Hour Salary (salary.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Smyrna, DE | $16.71 | $19 |
| Milford, DE | $16.35 | $19 |
| Selbyville, DE | $15.89 | $19 |
| Middletown, DE | $15.34 | $19 |
| Newark, DE | $15.30 | $19 |
| Georgetown, DE | $14.35 | $19 |
| Dover, DE | $14.24 | $19 |
| Wilmington, DE | $14.12 | $19 |
| Lewes, DE | $13.89 | $19 |
| Seaford, DE | $13.86 | $18 |
Source: indeed.com (as of January 28, 2021) and salary.com (as of January 29, 2021)
If we look at the indeed.com column, the outright leader is Smyrna, with almost $17 an hour medical assistant wage, closely followed by Milford. The cities that stand the lowest are Lewes and Seaford, with an hourly wage of about $13.8. The same data from salary.com suggests that all the cities in the list paid $19 an hour, except Seaford, which had an average hourly salary of $18.
Highest Paying Metropolitan Areas for Delaware Medical Assistants
A medical assistant’s pay in Delaware’s various metropolitan areas at different points of a professional’s careers are given in the table below.
| Metropolitan Area | Mean Annual Wage | 10th Percentile Wage | 50th Percentile (Median) Wage | 90th Percentile Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $35,310 | $26,260 | $35,200 | $46,890 |
| Salisbury, MD-DE | $32,480 | $24,940 | $31,330 | $41,500 |
| Dover, DE | $30,770 | $24,330 | $30,530 | $38,380 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
The biggest and the most populated area in Delaware, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (PA-NJ-DE-MD), is also the one that pays the best salary to its medical assistants. The mean annual wage here stood at about $35,000. The other two areas, Salisbury and Dover, paid between $30,000 and $32,500.
Top 3 Cities/Areas with Highest Employment
The table that follows shows the metropolitan areas of Delaware and the number of medical assistants they employ.
| Metropolitan Area | Number of Employed Medical Assistants |
|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 15,360 |
| Salisbury, MD-DE | 1,050 |
| Dover, DE | 410 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
As mentioned, Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (PA-NJ-DE-MD) is the biggest area in Delaware, and it also employs the most number of medical assistants in the state, more than 90%. Salisbury employed 6.2%, and Dover had 2.4% of the medical assistants working in the state.
Top 10 Paying Employers for Medical Assistants in Delaware
How much do certified medical assistants make in Delaware working at the top healthcare institutions? The table below has the answer, according to the data extracted from indeed.com.
| Employer | Per Hour Salary |
|---|---|
| Kaiser Permanente | $23.56 |
| UCLA Health | $23.41 |
| NYU Langone Health | $20.74 |
| Virginia Mason | $20.00 |
| Scripps Health | $19.76 |
| Atrius Health | $19.54 |
| Massachusetts General Hospital | $18.15 |
| Providence | $18.06 |
| Maxim Healthcare Group | $17.50 |
| Action Urgent CareAction Urgent Care | $17.42 |
Source: indeed.com (as of January 28, 2021)
With an hourly salary of around $23.5, Kaiser Permanente tops the charts in Delaware and many other states for 2021. The second spot is closely followed again by UCLA health, which pays almost the same as Kaiser Permanente. Other noteworthy employers in Delaware because of their salary are NYU Langone Health, Virginia Mason, Scripps Health, and Atrius Health, with an hourly wage above $17 and below $21.
Benefits for Delaware Medical Assistants other than Salaries
A certified medical assistant’s salary in Delaware, along with the yearly bonus, is about $38,271, which is 67.7% of their yearly compensation of $56,523(base salary + benefits.) The benefits received by them have a monetary value of about $18,252 a year, which is almost 32.3% of their total remuneration.
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Healthcare
Delaware medical assistants receive the biggest chunk of the benefits through healthcare, which costs about $6,371 to the employees, making up about 11.3% of the total yearly compensation.
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Time Off
Taking time off is essential for every professional to maintain productivity. Medical assistants of Delaware receive time offs, with a monetary value of approximately $4,858 a year, about 8.6% of their total remuneration for a year.
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Social Security
Employees also take care of the social security payments of their employees for about $2,928 a year. It amounts to about 5.2% of the compensation they receive in a year.
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401K/403B
There is a government set-up fund to help employees stay healthy and abundant after retirement, which receives about $1,875 a year from employers. This amount is roughly 3.3% of the entire year’s compensation.
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Pension
A medical assistant is also entitled to a pension after retiring. It is accumulated by the employers, with a contribution of about $1,607 a year, about 2.8% of the yearly compensation.
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Disability
This fund helps the employees in case they go through an unfortunate accident causing permanent disability. This partial-replacement of income is contributed to by the employees for about $612 every year, making up 1.1% of the total compensation.
(Source: salary.com as of January 29, 2021)
Salaries of Similar Professions in Delaware
Healthcare jobs see varying salaries depending on the duties, education, caliber, budget, and many other factors on the same line. A medical assistant certification in Delaware will help you get ahead of the competition, but how do other similar professions fare in terms of salaries? Let’s find out.
| Related Professions | Average Hourly Salary |
|---|---|
| Clinical Assistant | $17.72 |
| Dermatology Assistant | $14.99 |
| Certified Medical Assistant | $14.81 |
| Medical Office Assistant | $14.65 |
| Medical Receptionist | $14.01 |
| Medical Scribe | $13.82 |
Source: indeed.com (as of January 28, 2021)
Clinical Assistants take the cake with an average hourly salary of $17.72, followed by 2 other close to $15, Dermatology Assistants and CMAs. It is noteworthy here that certified medical assistants make a little more in Delaware than non-certified MAs. The least paid occupation is Medical Scribe, which is the same as other states in the US, as per indeed data.
| Related Professions | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Physician Assistant- Specialty | $124,278 |
| Physician Assistant- Medical | $114,429 |
| Medical Billing Specialist | $44,217 |
| Medical Secretary | $43,820 |
| Medical Librarian Assistant | $39,945 |
| Medical Scribe | $36,734 |
Source: salary.com (as of January 29, 2021)
Starting with the bottom, it can be seen that Medical Scribes make the lowest per year, just like indeed’s data. Medical Secretaries and Medical Billing Specialists have a very close competition, earning a yearly salary of about $44,000. The top 2 spots have Physician Assistants, Medical and Specialty, who make more than $110,000 a year, which is way more than medical assistants or any other jobs in this list. It should be pointed out that Physician Assistants have to get a master’s degree, and only Medical Librarian Assistants need a bachelor’s degree. The remaining jobs only need a certificate after high school.
Projected Employment and Hiring Trends for DE Medical Assistants (2018-2028)
Job Outlook
The table below has projections from Projections Central, which shows the employment in 2018 as 2,590. It was projected to reach 3,180 in 2028, which is an increase of 590 jobs at a rate of 22.8% over 10 years. It will happen with an average of 380 job openings every year. These figures indicate that a medical assistant’s scope of practice in Delaware, which includes medical, clinical, and administrative duties, will be in high demand in the state.
| Estimated Employment and Projected Growth (Medical Assistants) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projected Area | Base Year Employment
(2018) |
Projected Employment
(2028) |
Numeric Change | Percentage Change | Annual Job Openings |
|
Delaware |
2,590 | 3,180 | 590 | +22.8% | 380 |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor-Sponsored resource, Projections Central (2018-2028 report)
Hiring Trends
- Medical assistance was projected to be the 29th fastest-growing job in Delaware between 2016 and 2026, according to CareerOneStop. It was estimated to add 390 jobs in this period making the total number of jobs 2,400 by the end of 2026, a growth rate of 19%.
- As of May 17, 2019, medical assistance was projected to grow at a 114.1% rate until 2024, adding 2,180 jobs to the profession. The average annual salary of medical assistants in Delaware was also mentioned in this report by Zippia, which was $31,630.
- USA Wage’s list of most popular jobs in Delaware put medical assistance at the 38th spot, with an average annual income of $34,000. The employment was 2,700, which was 0.60% of the state’s total employment, which sounds like a small number, but it is 38th on the list of 200 professions.
- A list of the best healthcare employers from Zippia can help you decide which medical assistant job in Delaware you want to apply for. Here are the top 5 from the list: Beebe Healthcare, Psychotherapeutic Services, Prelude Therapeutics, Intervet, and Nanticoke Memorial Hospital.
Written by : Casey Gardner
Casey Gardner is both a healthcare support professional and an accomplished content creator. She has been working as a certified health care professional with marketable skills as a physician assistant, and a qualified medical assistant for last two decades. She has dedicated her nursing career to produce over hundreds of content pieces since 2001, and her work has been published both online as well as offline.
