Medical Assistants in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,121
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$7,799
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,048
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$43,920
Kept after tax
$36,121
Worth in national money
$37,048
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 32 of 51 states for medical assistants, with a middle wage of $43,920. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, medical assistants ranks 393. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $43,920, take-home of $36,121 is worth roughly $37,048 in national money. The average lands at $43,500, below the middle of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 32 of 51 for medical assistants at $43,920. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, medical assistants ranks 393 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for medical assistants, whose median is $43,920, the adjusted figure of $37,048 differs little from $36,121 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $43,500 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,500 |
| This salary | $43,920 |
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 Pennsylvania | $36,121 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,470 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,511 |
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 | $42,242 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,828 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of medical assistants in Pennsylvania earn under $43,920 and half over. The published range runs $36,810 at the tenth percentile to $48,500 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $36,121 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $43,920. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 393 of 492.
- Two cautions on $37,048, the adjusted value of that $43,920 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 393 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical assistants in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,810 to $48,500; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $36,121, from $43,920, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 393 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- This $37,048 adjusted figure, worked from $43,920, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 393 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 393 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,810 at the bottom tenth to $48,500 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $37,048 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,121 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($36,810 to $48,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,048 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,121 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.