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Salary · Medical Coder · United States

Medical Coder salary: $51,140 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$51,140median ($24.59/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for medical records specialists in the United States was $51,140 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $37,000 and the top 10% earned more than $81,150. That median is 1.0 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($72,040).

Data Government data groups this job as Medical Records Specialists (O*NET-SOC 29-2072.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$37,000
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$43,490
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$64,820
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$81,150
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Medical Coder salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$72,040
  2. Rhode Island$63,960
  3. Hawaii$63,180
  4. Washington$62,270
  5. California$61,810
Most people employed
  1. Florida21,490
  2. California18,700
  3. Texas17,210
  4. New York9,080
  5. Ohio7,440
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$72,040$46,300–$128,010270
Rhode Island$63,960$44,650–$84,540650
Hawaii$63,180$45,700–$91,650400
Washington$62,270$45,500–$98,1305,010
California$61,810$43,800–$102,47018,700
New York$61,720$40,730–$101,9409,080
Minnesota$61,530$48,120–$83,0203,150
Alaska$61,090$46,390–$90,5301,070
Connecticut$60,940$40,490–$88,9001,120
Massachusetts$60,350$43,960–$81,6203,500
Wisconsin$60,280$46,750–$79,7202,870
Colorado$59,020$45,280–$82,9801,780
Oregon$59,000$44,260–$81,1202,560
Vermont$57,560$42,130–$77,580n/a
New Mexico$57,470$36,600–$76,4601,400
Illinois$56,440$38,890–$77,5205,740
Delaware$56,060$36,870–$77,500610
South Carolina$54,280$37,240–$71,2802,750
Maryland$54,220$35,400–$82,0902,440
Wyoming$54,210$37,930–$79,530280
Idaho$53,460$39,930–$77,8401,490
Oklahoma$53,460$36,610–$74,7102,480
Virginia$53,290$37,630–$78,6804,630
Utah$52,870$35,720–$82,6401,910
Maine$52,090$42,210–$76,6601,000
Nebraska$51,670$38,620–$74,9901,640
South Dakota$51,610$36,920–$76,950900
Georgia$51,550$36,260–$81,5805,930
Ohio$50,990$38,060–$79,2907,440
Missouri$50,750$38,880–$77,0103,890
Iowa$50,640$38,910–$66,3902,250
Nevada$50,300$36,990–$81,1402,350
New Jersey$50,240$33,280–$83,6504,450
Montana$50,190$40,460–$64,540820
North Carolina$49,620$36,840–$79,6706,760
New Hampshire$49,210$39,120–$68,980930
Texas$48,860$34,440–$78,39017,210
Tennessee$48,780$37,320–$79,9604,440
Kentucky$48,410$36,290–$74,5204,210
Kansas$48,160$36,680–$77,9102,030
Michigan$48,120$37,180–$77,0804,890
Indiana$47,670$38,270–$79,2705,860
Arizona$47,630$36,530–$75,4303,750
West Virginia$47,360$31,610–$75,0001,260
Pennsylvania$46,840$37,490–$77,8806,970
North Dakota$46,280$39,580–$79,800520
Florida$45,760$36,330–$76,85021,490
Louisiana$44,610$32,900–$77,0802,600
Alabama$43,810$30,250–$64,7302,330
Arkansas$41,740$33,920–$65,0901,920
Mississippi$41,500$31,010–$61,5802,310
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$86,890
  2. Vallejo, CA$82,230
  3. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$75,150
  4. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$74,400
  5. New Haven, CT$67,290
  6. Iowa City, IA$66,340
  7. Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI$65,730
  8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$65,530
  9. Urban Honolulu, HI$65,220
  10. Corvallis, OR$64,450
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Physician Assistant$135,880
  2. Nurse Practitioner$132,300
  3. Registered Nurse$97,550
  4. Medical Coder$51,140
  5. Pharmacy Technician$45,750
  6. Medical Assistant$45,690
  7. Phlebotomist$45,230
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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