How Much Does a Medical Assistant Make in Utah?
Medical assistants enjoy many healthcare services apart from their salary, but the question is, how much do medical assistants make in Utah? BLS reported, as of March 31, 2020, the average hourly wage of medical assistants in Utah was $16.39, and the annual average wage was $34,090. Many other sources reported salaries, and we have mentioned the most reliable and popular ones in the table below.
| Resource | Hourly Salary | Annual Salary | Date Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| BLS | $16.39 | $34,090 | March 31, 2020 |
| Indeed | $15.18 | $35,120 | November 19, 2020 |
| Ziprecruiter | $13 | $27,197 | November 3, 2020 |
| Salary.com | $16 | $34,313 | October 28, 2020 |
Average Medical Assistant Salaries in Utah
MAs of UT earn an average hourly pay of $14.85 (as of July 7, 2020) as per indeed.com. According to the BLS (May 2019) estimates, Utah medical assistants drew mean hourly wages of $16.39. Their annual salary on an average as per BLS was $34,090.
| Percentile | Annual Salary (Utah) | Annual Salary (National) |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $26,670 | $25,820 |
| 25% | $29,600 | $29,460 |
| 50% | $33,880 | $34,800 |
| 75% | $38,280 | $40,270 |
| 90% | $42,010 | $48,720 |
Source: BLS (as of May 2019)
As can be seen above, MAs in Utah drew annual salaries higher than the national figures at all percentiles.
Highest Paying Cities for Medical Assistants in UT
Medical assistant salary in Utah’s top cities is provided in the table below. The data is collected from the two most prominent sources indeed.com and salary.com, as of October 28, 2020.
| City | Per Hour Salary (indeed.com) | Per Hour Salary (salary.com) |
|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City | $16.48 | $17 |
| Riverton | $15.34 | $16 |
| Bountiful | $14.96 | $17 |
| Murray | $14.86 | – |
| Layton | $14.78 | $16 |
| West Jordan | $14.75 | $16 |
| Lehi | $14.67 | $16 |
| Ogden | $14.27 | $16 |
A medical assistant’s salary is the highest in Salt Lake City at $16.48 an hour and lowest in Ogden at $14.27 an hour in the list of top 10 cities. The other cities in between, like Riverton, Bountiful, Murray, Layton, West Jordan, and Lehi, paid between $15.34 to $14.67 hourly to their medical assistants.
Highest Paying Metropolitan Areas for Utah Medical Assistants
The below table shows various metropolitan areas in Utah and the salary medical assistants earn there. Apart from the mean annual wage, it also gives an idea of 10th, 50th, and 90th percentile wage to know what salary do medical assistants earn at different stages in their career.
| Metropolitan Area | Mean Annual Wage | 10th Percentile Wage | 50th Percentile (Median) Wage | 90th Percentile Wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt Lake City, UT | $35,360 | $27,320 | $34,990 | $43,970 |
| St. George, UT | $34,870 | $27,610 | $34,480 | $42,140 |
| Ogden-Clearfield, UT | $34,020 | $27,270 | $33,900 | $41,420 |
| Logan, UT-ID | $32,360 | $21,040 | $34,100 | $41,090 |
| Provo-Orem, UT | $31,800 | $26,030 | $31,360 | $39,800 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
Medical assistants in Salt Lake City earn the highest when it comes to medical assistant pay in Utah’s various metropolitan areas, with a mean annual wage of $35,360. Other areas like St. George, Ogden-Clearfield, Logan, and Provo-Orem paid between $34,870 and $31,800.
Top 5 Cities/Areas with Highest Employment
The table below shows various metropolitan areas of Utah and the number of medical assistants working there.
| Metropolitan Area | Number of Employed Medical Assistants |
|---|---|
| Salt Lake City, UT | 3,510 |
| Ogden-Clearfield, UT | 1,860 |
| Provo-Orem, UT | 1,270 |
| St. George, UT | 410 |
| Logan, UT-ID | 400 |
Source: BLS (as of March 31, 2020)
With medical assistant jobs in Utah rising with the rise in population, Salt Lake City was the metropolitan area with the highest number of medical assistants employed at 3,510. Other places on the list are Ogden-Clearfield, Provo-Orem, St. George, and Logan, which employed 1,860 to 400 medical assistants.
Top 10 Paying Employers for Medical Assistants in Utah
To get an idea of various top employers for medical assistants in Utah and the salary they pay, have a look at the table below.
| Employer | Per Hour Salary |
|---|---|
| Sutter Health | $27.32 |
| Jefferson Healthcare | $24.33 |
| UT Southwestern Medical Center | $24.07 |
| Virginia Mason Medical Center | $23.34 |
| Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System | $21.52 |
| Oregon Health & Science University | $21.50 |
| Emory Health | $20.45 |
| HealthPartners | $20.39 |
| SSM | $19.78 |
| Alaska Heart and Vascular Institute | $19.46 |
Source: indeed.com (as of November 13, 2020)
With MA salary in Utah being an average of $16.39 according to the BLS, Sutter Health remained the top employer paying $27.32 an hour to its medical assistants. A number that is far from the second-ranked Jefferson Healthcare paying $24.33 an hour. UT Southwestern Medical Center paid $24.07 an hour. Virginia Mason Medical Center paid $23.34 hourly, while the lowest on the list is Alaska Heart and Vascular Institute, paying $19.46 to its medical assistants.
Benefits for Utah Medical Assistants other than Salaries
A medical assistant’s salary in Utah is just 66.8% of their total compensation, which comes to about $51,384. The monetary value of other benefits and perks is $17,034, salary + bonus stand at a combined $34,350. This data is as per salary.com, as of October 28, 2020.
-
Healthcare
Healthcare makes up 12.4% of a medical assistant’s total remuneration in Utah because of working in the same industry. The monetary value of this benefit is about $6,371.
-
Time Off
The monetary value of the total time a medical assistant gets in a year is about $2,628, which makes up 8.5% of the total compensation.
-
Social Security
Employers of medical assistants in Utah contribute to their social security with about $2,268 a year, or 5.1% of total remuneration.
-
401K/403B
These retirement funds are also paid for by employers if you work as a medical assistant in Utah. The contribution is about $1,683 a year, or 3.3% of the entire remuneration.
-
Pension
This retirement fund makes up 2.8% of the employee’s total cost to the company and amounts to about $1,443 a year.
-
Disability
The disability fund is used in case the employee goes through an accident. The employer’s contribution to it is $550 a year, making up just about 1.1% of the total remuneration.
Salaries of Similar Professions in Utah
| Related Professions | Average Hourly Salary |
|---|---|
| Clinical Assistant | $15.28 |
| Back-Office Medical Assistant | $15.00 |
| Medical Office Assistant | $14.10 |
| Medical Scribe | $14.02 |
| Medical Receptionist | $13.60 |
Source: indeed.com (as of November 19, 2020)
There are many similar professions like medical assistance, and some of them are listed in the table above. Clinical Assistants earned the highest at $15.28 an hour, followed by Back-Office Medical Assistants earning $15.00 an hour, and Medical Office Assistants earning $14.10 an hour according to indeed.com.
| Related Professions | Average Yearly Salary |
|---|---|
| Physician Assistant- Specialty | $111,510 |
| Physician Assistant- Medical | $102,706 |
| Medical Billing Specialist | $39,675 |
| Medical Secretary | $39,329 |
| Medical Librarian Assistant | $35,853 |
Source: salary.com (as of October 28, 2020)
Apart from medical assistance, there are some other healthcare professions you might be interested in, like the ones mentioned in the table above curated from data provided by salary.com. Physician Assistants (Specialty) earned $1,11,510, and Physician Assistants (medical) earned $102,706 a year. These two professions require more education, which is the reason behind such a high salary.
Other similar professions are Medical Billing Specialists, Medical Secretary, and Medical Librarian Assistant earning $39,675, $39,329, and $35,853 a year, respectively.
Projected Employment and Hiring Trends for UT Medical Assistants (2018-2028)
Job Outlook
A medical assistant’s scope of practice in Utah depends on experience, trust by the physician, organization, and certification/registration. While medical assistant certification is not necessary for Utah, it is always preferred by employers. Furthermore, a certified medical assistant’s salary in Utah is a little more than someone who has no certification.
Medical assistants in Utah will increase at a rate of 23.6%, with 1,140 jobs created every year until 2028, according to the 2018-2028 report of Projections Central, US Department of Labor’s resource. The number of medical assistants in the state, which was 7,770 in 2018, will increase to 9,600 in 2028, according to the same report.
| Estimated Employment and Projected Growth (Medical Assistants) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Projected Area | Base Year Employment
(2018) |
Projected Employment
(2028) |
Numeric Change | Percentage Change | Annual Job Openings |
| Utah | 7,770 | 9,600 | 1,830 | +23.6% | 1,140 |
Source: U.S. Department of Labor-Sponsored resource, Projections Central (2018-2028 report)
Hiring Trends
- According to the Utah government, as of 2018, health services have seen 4,200 new jobs because of the increasing population due to in-migration.
- Empire Resume reported on January 7, 2020 that health sciences are the second-fastest growing job in Utah, growing at a rate of 3.8% after manufacturing and IT, which is growing at 4.7%.
- In the list of Zippia’s fastest-growing jobs of 2019, medical assistance was among the top 100 at the 85th spot. It grew at a rate of 131.5% and is projected to have 9,610 jobs by 2024 with an average wage of $31,350 a year.
- Medical assistants stood at 41st with 7,660 jobs in the list of salary.guide’s 2016 report of jobs with the most employment. It also mentioned that the annual job openings for this job would be 1,340 a year, which saw it take 37th place on the yearly job openings list.
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.
