Medical Transcriptionists salary

SOC 31-9094 · BLS OEWS May 2025

Median

$40,410

per year, nationally

Middle half

$34,150–$48,000

25th to 75th percentile

Employed

41,550

in the U.S.

Growth 2024–34

-4.9%

7,400 openings/yr

What the range looks like

A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.

$28,250$55,950

10th: $28,250
25th: $34,150
Median: $40,410
75th: $48,000
90th: $55,950

Getting in

Typical education to enter: Postsecondary nondegree award
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.

Where medical transcriptionists earn the most

Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	State	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	Minnesota	$50,030	98.6	270	0.34×
2	Wisconsin	$49,150	94.1	590	0.75×
3	Maine	$48,600	97.0	80	0.49×
4	Alaska	$48,360	102.4	110	1.25×
5	Connecticut	$48,190	103.6	390	0.86×
6	Wyoming	$48,100	92.7	40	0.47×
7	Oregon	$46,280	103.4	510	0.97×
8	South Dakota	$46,070	88.6	240	2.00×
9	Nebraska	$45,880	90.1	230	0.83×
10	Illinois	$45,490	100.0	970	0.60×
11	District of Columbia	$45,110	109.9	70	0.38×
12	California	$45,050	110.7	5,860	1.20×
13	Iowa	$45,010	87.8	180	0.43×
14	Tennessee	$44,720	91.9	1,450	1.65×
15	North Dakota	$44,660	89.0	120	1.04×
16	Hawaii	$44,310	110.0	—	—
17	New York	$43,260	107.9	2,710	1.05×
18	Colorado	$43,080	103.1	610	0.80×
19	Texas	$42,900	97.1	7,520	2.00×
20	Florida	$42,050	103.4	2,650	1.00×
21	Pennsylvania	$41,510	97.6	1,130	0.70×
22	Indiana	$41,400	93.3	790	0.92×
23	Montana	$41,340	94.6	80	0.61×
24	Maryland	$39,900	105.0	230	0.32×
25	Utah	$39,630	98.9	210	0.45×
26	Nevada	$39,350	100.0	210	0.50×
27	North Carolina	$39,300	94.3	1,020	0.78×
28	New Jersey	$39,020	108.8	1,710	1.49×
29	Kentucky	$39,000	90.2	690	1.29×
30	Washington	$38,690	107.0	620	0.66×
31	Mississippi	$38,600	87.0	300	0.96×
32	Idaho	$38,140	95.5	400	1.76×
33	Louisiana	$38,040	88.2	420	0.81×
34	New Mexico	$37,480	92.2	210	0.89×
35	Missouri	$37,480	90.8	310	0.40×
36	West Virginia	$37,440	89.5	90	0.47×
37	Michigan	$37,280	96.2	1,130	0.96×
38	Ohio	$37,060	92.8	680	0.46×
39	Massachusetts	$36,910	105.8	400	0.41×
40	Arizona	$36,550	100.7	700	0.81×
41	Kansas	$35,390	90.1	420	1.08×
42	Alabama	$35,340	88.8	410	0.73×
43	Virginia	$35,130	101.1	—	—
44	Arkansas	$35,100	86.9	280	0.82×
45	Rhode Island	$34,790	102.3	80	0.62×
46	Delaware	$34,070	99.8	—	—
47	South Carolina	$33,870	93.7	390	0.63×
48	Vermont	$33,030	98.0	—	—
49	Georgia	$28,330	96.3	950	0.73×
50	Oklahoma	$27,740	87.8	560	1.22×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where medical transcriptionists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Best paying metro areas for medical transcriptionists

The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.

The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.

#	Metro area	Median	Cost of living	Employed	Concentrationvs. national
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$58,240	115.6	680	1.07×
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$57,420	110.4	200	0.66×
3	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$55,890	100.4	30	0.94×
4	Portland-South Portland, ME	$55,320	101.9	30	0.40×
5	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	$54,830	102.7	100	0.59×
6	Rapid City, SD	$53,840	89.2	30	1.74×
7	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$53,330	107.8	50	0.86×
8	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN	$50,400	96.3	310	1.07×
9	Madison, WI	$50,310	97.3	80	0.73×
10	Chico, CA	$50,020	101.2	120	5.94×
11	Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI	$49,780	96.9	190	0.86×
12	Wilmington, NC	$49,590	96.4	30	0.62×
13	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$49,560	106.9	110	1.02×
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$48,960	104.8	130	0.25×
15	Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV	$48,890	100.2	140	0.47×
16	Evansville, IN	$48,840	91.5	70	1.91×
17	Modesto, CA	$48,490	104.1	50	0.87×
18	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$48,440	106.7	170	0.59×
19	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$48,270	110.5	70	0.76×
20	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$48,260	108.8	100	1.77×
21	Peoria, IL	$48,160	91.2	60	1.28×
22	Appleton, WI	$48,010	92.4	40	1.06×
23	Chattanooga, TN-GA	$47,680	91.5	120	1.64×
24	Redding, CA	$47,550	100.7	90	4.68×
25	Pittsburgh, PA	$47,530	94.7	190	0.65×
26	Memphis, TN-MS-AR	$47,470	92.2	330	2.04×
27	Gainesville, FL	$47,420	96.7	160	4.00×
28	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$47,370	105.4	320	1.00×
29	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$47,310	105.1	40	0.55×
30	New Haven, CT	$47,270	104.6	60	0.76×
31	Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA	$46,960	98.7	40	0.50×
32	Sioux Falls, SD-MN	$46,930	90.6	140	2.83×
33	Omaha, NE-IA	$46,870	91.9	100	0.77×
34	Trenton-Princeton, NJ	$46,810	103.2	60	0.91×
35	Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN	$46,790	95.7	200	0.67×
36	Jackson, TN	$46,680	85.5	60	2.77×
37	Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN	$46,560	95.4	120	0.39×
38	Green Bay, WI	$46,470	93.1	30	0.66×
39	Greensboro-High Point, NC	$46,440	92.9	80	0.80×
40	Traverse City, MI	$46,400	93.4	30	1.74×

Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where medical transcriptionists wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.

Similar occupations

Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.

Medical Assistants$45,690
Dental Assistants$48,070
Phlebotomists$45,230
Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers$38,150
Healthcare Support Workers, All Other$48,430
Massage Therapists$58,450
Medical Equipment Preparers$47,700
Pharmacy Aides$37,680