Salary AI Book a Demo

Patient Assistant Salary in the United States

How much does a Patient Assistant make in the United States?

As of September 01, 2026, the average salary for a Patient Assistant in the United States is $73,720 per year, which breaks down to an hourly rate of $35.

However, a Patient Assistant's salary can vary significantly. Here’s a look at the typical salary range:

  • Top Earners (90th percentile): $84,738
  • Majority Range (25th-75th percentile): $69,548 to $79,487
  • Entry-Level (10th percentile): $65,750
Salary Factors Salary-Boosting Skills Salary by Experience Related Job Salaries Top Paying Cities Explore Related Jobs

Key Factors That Influence Patient Assistant Salaries

A Patient Assistant's salary isn't a fixed number. It's shaped by several important factors. Below, we'll explore how your years of experience, geographic location, education and company size can directly affect your earning potential.

How Experience Level Affects Patient Assistant Salaries?

Experience is a primary driver of a Patient Assistant's salary. As you build your skills and take on more complex tasks, your compensation generally increases. Here's how the average salary grows at different career stages:

  • Entry-Level (less than 1 year): $72,735
  • Early Career (1-2 years): $72,851
  • Mid-Level (2-4 years): $74,482
  • Senior-Level (5-8 years): $77,126
  • Expert (over 8 years): $77,315
Levels Salary
Entry Level Patient Assistant$72,735
Intermediate Level Patient Assistant$72,851
Senior Level Patient Assistant$74,482
Specialist Level Patient Assistant$77,126
Expert Level Patient Assistant$77,315
View as Graph

How Do Patient Assistant Salaries Vary from State to State?

Your salary can change significantly depending on where you work. States with a higher cost of living and strong industrial sectors often pay more to attract Patient Assistants. For example, consider the average annual salaries in these key locations:
  • District of Columbia: $81,622.
  • California: $81,313.
  • Massachusetts: $80,229.

Top Paying Cities for Patient Assistants

Salaries can also vary between different cities. Major metropolitan areas or cities with a high demand for technicians often offer more competitive pay. Here are a few examples of average annual salaries in different U.S. cities:

  • San Jose: $92,983
  • San Francisco: $91,964
  • Oakland: $90,026

What Skills Can Increase a Patient Assistant's Salary?

Demanded Skills for the Role:

  • Leadership (Mentioned in 5.05% Job Postings): Knowledge of and ability to employ effective strategies that motivate and guide other members within our business to achieve optimum results.
  • Acute Care (Mentioned in 2.99% Job Postings): Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery. In medical terms, care for acute health conditions is the opposite from chronic care, or longer term care. Acute care services are generally delivered by teams of health care professionals from a range of medical and surgical specialties. Acute care may require a stay in a hospital emergency department, ambulatory surgery center, urgent care centre or other short-term stay facility, along with the assistance of diagnostic services, surgery, or follow-up outpatient care in the community. Hospital-based acute inpatient care typically has the goal of discharging patients as soon as they are deemed healthy and stable. Acute care settings include emergency department, intensive care, coronary care, cardiology, neonatal intensive care, and many general areas where the patient could become acutely unwell and require stabilization and transfer to another higher dependency unit for further treatment.
  • Home Care (Mentioned in 2.08% Job Postings): Homecare is health care or supportive care provided by a professional caregiver in the individual home where the patient or client is living, as opposed to care provided in group accommodations like clinics or nursing home.
Skills Demand Percentage
Leadership 5.05%
Acute Care 2.99%
Home Care 2.08%
See More Skills

What skills can make your compensation higher?

Mastering certain specialized skills can lead to a significant increase in pay. Here are examples of skills and the potential impact they can have on a Patient Assistant's salary.

  • Delegation: Can increase your salary by up to 30%.
  • Nursing Practice: Can increase your salary by up to 18%.
  • Clinical Nursing: Can increase your salary by up to 16%.
Skill Salary Salary % Increase
Delegation $95,835
30%
Nursing Practice $86,989
18%
Clinical Nursing $85,515
16%
Get Latest Data

Patient Assistant Salary by Industry: Top Paying Sectors

For Patient Assistant roles, the industry you choose can impact your earning potential by as much as 40% (the gap between the highest and lowest paying industries). Data shows that the highest-paying industry, Healthcare, offers compensation 20% above the average. Conversely, Patient Assistant positions in Edu., Government & Nonprofit typically offer lower base pay, as this sector often view Patient Assistant as a support function rather than a direct revenue driver.

The top paying industry for a Patient Assistant

Industry Sector Average Annual Salary Average Hourly Rate Pay vs.Avg
Healthcare$88,464$43.020%

How Education impacts a Patient Assistant's Salary?

Your level of education can impact your salary potential. While many Patient Assistants enter the field with a Associate's Degree degree, higher education can lead to more specialized and higher-paying roles.

According to our 100% employer-reported salary data, the median salary for a Patient Assistant with a Associate's Degree is between $68,495 and $70,786).

Patient Assistant Salaries by Degree Level

Typical Education for Patient Assistant
Degree Level % of user with this level of education
No Diploma 1.0%
High School 1.0%
Associates 58.2%
Bachelors 39.8%
Masters 1.0%
Doctorate 0.0%
View as Graph

Patient Assistant Salary: Hourly Rate, Weekly Pay, and Monthly Pay

Understanding how a Patient Assistant's annual salary breaks down can help with budgeting. Below, you can see the average hourly rate, weekly pay, and monthly pay for this role. Use the buttons to switch between different pay periods.

Last Updated on September 01, 2026
$69,548
Average $73,720/year
$79,487
$5,796
Average $6,143/month
$6,624
$1,337
Average $1,418/week
$1,529
$33
Average $35/hour
$38
Annual Salary Monthly Pay Weekly Pay Hourly Wage
75th Percentile $79,487 $6,624 $1,529 $38
Average $73,720 $6,143 $1,418 $35
25th Percentile $69,548 $5,796 $1,337 $33

Most common benefits for Patient Assistant

  • Social Security
  • 401 (k)
  • Disability
  • Healthcare
  • Pension
  • Time Off (days)

Common company salaries for Patient Assistant

Here are companies hiring for Patient Assistant and their salaries, click below for more details.

Find Your Next Patient Assistant Job

Ready to take the next step in your career? Browse thousands of current Patient Assistant job openings on our job board. Use the search bar below to find your perfect match.

For Employees

Analyze the market and your qualifications to negotiate your salary with confidence.

Get a Salary Increase

Search thousands of open positions to find your next opportunity.

Search Job Openings

For Employers

Individualize employee pay based on unique job requirements and personal qualifications.

Adjust Employee Salary

Get the latest market price for benchmark jobs and jobs in your industry.

Price My Industry Jobs

FAQ about Patient Assistant

1. What industry pays the highest salary for Patient Assistant?

The Healthcare industry offers the highest average compensation for Patient Assistant roles, with salaries approximately 20% above the market median.

Where Does Our Salary Data Come From?

Salary.com provides salary estimates, histograms, trends, and comparisons using data from employer job postings and third-party sources.

We offer detailed salary information across multiple percentiles for your reference. (Click here to learn Why the Salary Midpoint Formula Is Crucial for Achieving Pay Equity.)

With the most extensive online, real-time compensation data available, Salary.com helps you pinpoint your exact pay target.

Are you an HR manager or compensation specialist?

Salary.com's CompAnalyst platform offers:

  • Detailed skills and competency reports for specific positions
  • Job and employee pricing reports
  • Compensation data tools, salary structures, surveys and benchmarks.
Learn about CompAnalyst