Medical Assistants in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,826
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$9,584
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,748
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$48,410
Kept after tax
$38,826
Worth in national money
$35,748
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii is one of the better-paying states for medical assistants. The middle earner takes $48,410, which ranks 9 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 5.95% above the national middle.
- Against 437 occupations Hawaii publishes, medical assistants lands at 335. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $48,410 the take-home is $38,826. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,748 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $49,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 9 of 51 states publishing a median for medical assistants, at $48,410 — about 5.95% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Within Hawaii, this work ranks 335 of 437 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $38,826 for medical assistants, from $48,410. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,748. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $49,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Medical Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,030 |
| This salary | $48,410 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Hawaii | $38,826 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,077 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,524 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $45,607 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,890 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $48,410. The published range is $38,580 up to $60,030, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $38,826, from $48,410, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 335 of 437 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Hawaii, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,748, the adjusted value of that $48,410 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 335 of 437 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for medical assistants in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,580 to $60,030. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,826 from $48,410. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 335 of 437 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Hawaii, so $35,748 — the adjusted value of that $48,410 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 335 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,580 and the top tenth $60,030, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Hawaii run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,748 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Hawaii's own levy, $38,826 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,580 to $60,030) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,748 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,826 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.