How Much Does a Medical Assistant Make in New Jersey?
Medical assistant salary in New Jersey depends on many things like medical aptitude, experience, certifications, etc. It can be seen that according to BLS, as of May 2019, a medical assistant’s pay in New Jersey was about $17.95 an hour, or $37,330 a year. If you’re wondering about a certified medical assistant’s salary in New Jersey, you will be pleased to know that the certifications pay off, and you get to earn more and progress faster after being certified.
| Resource | Hourly Salary | Annual Salary | Date Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS | $17.95 | $37,330 | March 31, 2020 |
| Indeed | $16.33 | $37,784 | October 31, 2020 |
| Salary.com | $19 | $40,041 | October 28, 2020 |
| ZipRecruiter | $14 | $28,599 | October 27, 2020 |
A medical assistant’s salary in New Jersey, according to different sources, is given in the table above. You can see that medical assistants make between $28,599-$40,041 per year.
Average Medical Assistant Salaries in New Jersey
According to indeed.com the average per hour medical assistant salary in New Jersey was $15.68, as of 8 May 2020, which is the same as the national average.
In New Jersey, the mean hourly and annual salary of a medical assistant, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), as of May 2019, was $17.95 and $37,330, respectively.
| Percentile | Annual Salary (New Jersey) | Annual Salary (National) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $27,620 | $25,820 |
| 25% | $31,970 | $29,460 |
| 50% | $36, 690 | $34,800 |
| 75% | $42,220 | $40,270 |
| 90% | $49,390 | $48,720 |
Source: BLS
The above table represents that the annual salary of medical assistants in New Jersey was higher than the national average wage, at different percentiles.
Highest Paying Cities for Medical Assistants in NJ
| City | Per Hour Salary (indeed.com) | Per Hour Salary (salary.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Newark | $17.69 | $20 |
| Morristown | $17.01 | $20 |
| Mount Laurel | $16.94 | $19 |
| Sparta | $16.76 | $20 |
| Princeton | $16.64 | $19 |
| Jersey City | $16.16 | $21 |
| Lakewood | $15.85 | $20 |
| Township Of Brick | $15.79 | $20 |
Source: indeed.com (as of October 31, 2020) and salary.com (as of September 28, 2020)
We hope that your question of how much do medical assistants make in New Jersey’s different cities is answered by the table above. According to indeed.com, Newark is the highest paying city at $17.69/hour, and according to salary.com, Jersey City is the highest paying city at $21/hour.
Highest Paying Metropolitan Areas for NJ Medical Assistants
| Metropolitan Area | Mean Annual Wage | 10th Percentile Wage | 50th Percentile (Median) Wage | 90th Percentile Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $38,940 | $28,820 | $37,910 | $51,050 |
| Trenton, NJ | $38,360 | $27,840 | $37,490 | $51,380 |
| Ocean City, NJ | $35,580 | $26,740 | $34,020 | $46,140 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | $35,480 | $26,630 | $34,720 | $46,380 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $35,310 | $26,260 | $35,200 | $46,890 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | $34,810 | $26,950 | $34,030 | $45,440 |
| Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ | $32,680 | $25,730 | $33,150 | $40,150 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
The above table indicates that New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA is the top area for medical assistant salary in New Jersey in 2020 with a mean annual wage of $38,940.
Top 10 Cities/Areas with Highest Employment
According to BLS, as of March 31, 2020, New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA area is not only the highest employer for medical assistants in New Jersey but in the whole country.
| Area | Number of Employed Medical Assistants |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 35,380 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 15,360 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 2,610 |
| Trenton, NJ | 890 |
| Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ | 830 |
| Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ | 170 |
| Ocean City, NJ | 140 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
Top 10 Paying Employers for Medical Assistants in New Jersey
A medical assistant’s scope of practice depends on the employer, the kind of certification, and the amount of experience. The top employers paying the highest salary to medical assistants in New Jersey are listed below.
| Employer | Per Hour Salary |
|---|---|
| Sutter Health | $27.32 |
| Duke University | $24.55 |
| Jefferson Healthcare | $24.16 |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center | $22.89 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center | $22.11 |
| Oregon Health & Science University | $21.50 |
| Emory Healthcare | $20.45 |
| HealthPartners | $20.02 |
| SSM Health | $19.78 |
| Alaska Heart and Vascular Institute | $19.37 |
Source: indeed.com (as of October 31, 2020)
It is seen that Sutter Health remains the highest salary payer in New Jersey, like many other states, for medical assistants at $27.32 an hour. Other high-paying employers are Duke University, Jefferson Healthcare, and Virginia Mason Medical Center, paying between $24.55 to $22.89 hourly.
Benefits for New Jersey Medical Assistants other than Salaries
Medical assistant jobs in New Jersey not only pay a dignified salary, but they also offer a lot of other benefits presented in monetary terms below.
We have considered the base salary and bonus as $40,085/year, and the total value of benefits comes to about $18,814/year. Adding these two, you can see that a medical assistant’s total compensation in New Jersey is around $58,899 per year. (Source: salary.com as of October 28, 2020)
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Healthcare
Medical assistants in New Jersey get healthcare insurance contributions from their employers that come to about 10.8% of their total remuneration at $6,371 a year.
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Time Off
Working in healthcare means working a lot because healing and saving lives is the most essential job in the world. The time off that medical assistants get in New Jersey amounts to 8.6% of their total compensation, or about $5,088/year.
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Social Security
Employers of medical assistants also contribute about $3,066 a year to their social security payments that make up about 5.2% of their compensation.
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401K/403B
Whether you work for an NGO or a for-profit organization, you will have your employer contributing about $1,964 a year to your 401K/403B to help you with retirement planning. This amount is about 3.3% of the total remuneration.
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Pension
Your pension planning will be backed by your employer if you’re a medical assistant in New Jersey, as they will contribute about $1,684 a year to your pension fund. It comes to about 2.9% of the total compensation received by you as a medical assistant in New Jersey.
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Disability
In case of an accident, medical assistants can use this partial income replacement program to which the employers contribute about $641 a year.
Salaries of Similar Professions in New Jersey
| Related Professions | Average Hourly Salary |
|---|---|
| Clinical Assistant | $17.23 |
| Medical Scribe | $15.82 |
| Medical Office Assistant | $15.13 |
| Medical Receptionist | $14.63 |
| Back Office Medical Assistant | $13.68 |
Source: indeed.com (as of October 31, 2020)
The above list shows all the professions similar to medical assistants in New Jersey, with clinical assistants topping the list with an hourly wage of $17.23. Other job roles, like a medical scribe, medical office assistant, medical receptionist, and back-office medical assistant, are paid $15.82-$13.68 per hour.
| Related Professions | Average Annual Salary |
|---|---|
| Associate Medical Director | $297,684 |
| Physician Assistant- Specialty | $130,127 |
| Physician Assistant- Medical | $119,853 |
| Medical Billing Specialist | $46,298 |
| Medical Librarian Assistant | $41,839 |
| Medical Secretary | $45,894 |
Source: salary.com (as of October 28, 2020)
According to the data provided by salary.com, Associate Medical Directors in New jersey earned about $297,684/year. Apart from them, Physician Assistants, Medical Billing Specialists, Medical Librarian Assistants, and Medical Secretaries earn between $130,127-$45,894 per year.
Projected Employment and Hiring Trends for NJ Medical Assistants (2018-2028)
Job Outlook
As shown in the below table, the 20.7% growth of medical assistants in New Jersey will create around 2,790 jobs every year until 2028. If you are worried about your medical assistant certification in New Jersey, below are the two accredited certification programs recommended by the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners.
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)
- Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES)
After one of the above certifications, you will have to go for one of the nationally recognized certification exams mentioned below.
- American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) – Certified Medical Assistant (CMA)
- American Medical Technologists (AMT) – Registered Medical Assistant (RMA)
These medical assistant programs are recognized in New Jersey and many other states in the US. It will make it easier for you to move to another state if need be.
You must be wondering how much do certified medical assistants make in New Jersey after all these certifications? The answer is that while there is some value to these certifications in monetary terms, there is a lot more to it. Getting certified increases your chances of getting a great job, helps you grow your career faster, and learn from the best while working from them.
| Estimated Employment and Projected Growth (Medical Assistants) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projected Area | Base Year Employment
(2018) |
Projected Employment
(2028) |
Numeric Change | Percentage Change | Annual Job Openings |
| New Jersey | 19,600 | 23,660 | 4,060 | +20.7% | 2,790 |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor-Sponsored Resource, Projections Central (2018-2028 report)
Hiring Trends
- The healthcare industry has been a continually growing sector in the last 30 years in NJ, i.e., it has always seen more jobs compared to the previous year. The following graph will help you understand how. The trend is upwards, and there will only be more jobs created, according to nj.gov.
- Healthcare support is the fastest growing industry in New Jersey, according to the NJ govt’s 2014-2024 projections report. Look at the graph below to see the gap between healthcare support and other industries.
- The medical assistant was among the top 30 fastest-growing jobs at #29 last year (2019), according to zippia.com. It grew at a rate of 117.4% with an average yearly wage of $35,250 and will have 18,510 jobs by 2024.
- Medical assistance takes 5th spot for its 3.7% share in the healthcare industry, according to nj.gov as of 2019. It required a minimum education of postsecondary non-degree award to secure this job, which employed 18,060 medical assistants in 2018, earning an average of $35,842 a year.
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.
