Medical Assistant.
Raleigh.
$44,000
median salary, at the national average
$38,000 to $48,000. Last updated August 2026.
Get the job.
Data points to own the conversation.
The median Medical Assistant salary in Raleigh is $44,000, right at the national average. Entry level starts near $38,000. Experienced professionals push past $48,000. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. That spread is your negotiation window. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Medical Assistant in Raleigh, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $46,160 for Medical Assistants (SOC 31-9092) in the Raleigh-Cary, NC metropolitan area, based on 3,810 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$37,720
25th percentile
$39,450
Median
$46,160
75th percentile
$47,420
90th percentile
$56,420
Workers surveyed
3,810
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Medical Assistants (SOC 31-9092) rather than Medical Assistant specifically. The Raleighrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 31-9092Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $39,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$29,000
to $35,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$37,000
to $46,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$48,000
to $57,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$55,000
to $68,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $9,000 to the total package.
Base
$44,000
Equity
$5,000
Bonus
$3,000
Signing
$1,000
Estimated total: $53,000
How Raleigh compares.
Raleigh, NC
$44,000
Cost of living: 1% below average
National Average
$44,000
Same as local rate
Medical Assistant salary by city.
Salary by role in Raleigh.
What you should know.
Before you negotiate a Medical Assistant offer in Raleigh, understand the terrain. Raleigh sits at the heart of the Research Triangle, one of America's premier tech and life sciences corridors. Cisco, Red Hat, Epic Games, and numerous biotech firms drive strong demand for engineering, research, and product roles. The combination of top tier universities and moderate living costs creates an exceptionally favorable salary to expense ratio. Certification status is the largest pay differentiator, with CMA and RMA credentials adding 10 to 15% over uncertified MAs. Specialty practices like dermatology, orthopedics, and cardiology pay more than general primary care. Urban areas and hospital-owned practices consistently offer higher wages than rural independent clinics.
Entry-level MAs start at $30,000 to $34,000 without certification. Certified MAs with three to five years of experience earn $38,000 to $44,000. Lead MAs or clinical supervisors overseeing support staff can reach $46,000 to $55,000 in larger practices or health systems. In Raleigh, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Medical assistants typically receive health insurance, paid time off, and retirement plan access. Some employers offer tuition assistance for nursing or allied health programs, which adds long-term value beyond the base salary. And on the tax side: north Carolina's flat 4.5% income tax keeps the burden low. Raleigh has no city income tax, and the Triangle's affordable housing amplifies your take home purchasing power. When someone quotes you $44,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Cite Research Triangle talent competition in your negotiation. Employers here compete directly with each other and with remote offers, creating favorable leverage for candidates. The range for Medical Assistants in Raleigh runs from $38,000 to $48,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
Considering a related role?
- A Pharmacy Technician in Raleigh earns $42,000 (5% less)
- The highest-paying role in Raleigh is CTO at $291,000
Common questions.
Medical Assistant salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Raleigh.
Related salary pages
Jump to nearby roles and cities most relevant to Medical Assistants in Raleigh.
Related tools.
Do you work as a medical assistant in Raleigh?
Your individual figure is never published. Submissions appear only as aggregate percentiles, and nothing is shown for a role and city until at least five people have reported. It is stored against your account, which is what keeps the dataset clean.
Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
Want this data on your site? Embed the salary widget. One script tag, free forever.
Related tools