10 metros where Medical Assistants are hardest to fill

The top score was briefed as a California-style wage. Minneapolis is not that.

Minneapolis scores 8.4.

The median is $52,570, 1.15 times the national median, and the share is 0.72, about a third fewer of these workers than a typical metro.

You are light on people and only somewhat above the country.

Seattle scores 8.3 at $61,500, 1.35 times the country, share 0.93.

San Jose scores 8.3 at $61,940, share 1.07.

Omaha scores 7.7 with the thin share on this list, 0.53, at $48,010, 1.05 times the country.

December 2025 put the Minnesota all-industry openings rate at 4.3, beside a U.S. rate of 4.0.

Three shapes, three offers.

Each metro

Ranked table

Swipe the table sideways. The same figures are in the blocks above.

Takeaways

• San Francisco scores 8.1 at $59,790, share 1.15. Sacramento scores 8.1 at $61,970, share 1.30, a thick bench that is also well paid.
• Portland scores 8.1 at $56,240, share 1.01. Boston scores 8.0 at $50,740, share 0.76.
• Denver scores 7.8 at $49,700, share 0.76. New York scores 7.7 at $48,370, share 0.88.
• Metros under 500 medical assistants are not on this list. Missing is not zero.

For recruiters

• In Minneapolis, talk about the thin share before you talk about a windfall wage. $52,570 is not the Seattle number.
• In Omaha, the wage is near the country and the share is the constraint. Do not fly in a San Jose range.

FAQ

Are these posted wages or open jobs?

No. The table is a government survey or a designation file.

What should a recruiter do first?

Follow the recruiter note on this page.

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.

Related hiring pages

Methodology

Rows are the scored metro pages for Medical Assistants (31-9092) with the highest public market difficulty score, up to 10. Metros under 500 workers are not scored. A metro page is scored only when OEWS employment for that occupation is at least 500. Below that, the page stays up and is left off this ranking. Postsecondary teaching occupations and medical scientists are left off even when they are scored. Nominal weights, before a missing shortage match is rescaled, are projected openings divided by 2025 employment 18%, projected growth 22%, the metro median divided by the U.S. median 40%, how common the occupation is locally compared with the country 8% (the location-quotient column; a lower figure means a thinner local bench), a matching HRSA shortage designation 8%, and statewide all-industry JOLTS for December 2025 4%. Bands are Standard under 4, Elevated from 4 up to 7, and Hard at 7 and above. The Minnesota total-nonfarm job openings rate for December 2025 is 4.3. The U.S. rate is 4.0. Both are all-industry JOLTS rates. The article is tagged to Minnesota because that state holds the leading metro, so the publishing calendar does not stack it with another Minnesota article the same day. Rounded figures in the prose: $52,570 is stated as about $52.6K. a comparison of 1.15 is stated as 15 percent. $45,690 is stated as about $45.7K. Rounded figures in the prose: $48,370 is stated as about $48.4K. $50,740 is stated as about $50.7K. $61,500 is stated as about $61.5K.

Sources

• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics · May 2025
• BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, total nonfarm · December 2025