Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003

43-6013 Medical Secretaries

Perform secretarial duties utilizing specific knowledge of medical terminology and hospital, clinic, or laboratory procedures. Duties include scheduling appointments, billing patients, and compiling and recording medical charts, reports, and correspondence.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
349,370 2.7 % $13.08 $27,210 0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.96 $10.32 $12.50 $15.33 $18.42
Annual Wage (2) $18,640 $21,470 $26,000 $31,880 $38,310

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Offices of physicians 154,330 $13.05 $27,140 1 19
General medical and surgical hospitals 76,450 $12.60 $26,210 2 24
Offices of dentists 46,480 $15.25 $31,720 3 7
Offices of other health practitioners 26,990 $11.88 $24,700 4 36
Outpatient care centers 10,350 $11.79 $24,510 5 37

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing 60 $17.18 $35,730 30 1
State government (OES designation) 120 $17.13 $35,640 27 2
Insurance carriers (6) $16.10 $33,490 (6) 3
Computer systems design and related services (6) $15.93 $33,130 (6) 4
Religious organizations (6) $15.67 $32,590 (6) 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
New Jersey 36,050 $13.33 $27,730 0.931% 548
Massachusetts 18,480 $15.74 $32,740 0.582% 462
Oregon 8,800 $14.05 $29,230 0.571% 428
Washington 14,280 $14.23 $29,600 0.557% 543
Rhode Island 2,620 $13.90 $28,920 0.553% 373

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
Hawaii 910 $18.55 $38,580 0.165% 233
Massachusetts 18,480 $15.74 $32,740 0.582% 462
California 36,250 $15.33 $31,890 0.250% 493
Connecticut 5,790 $15.14 $31,500 0.353% 447
Alaska 470 $14.83 $30,840 0.161% 361

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Monmouth-Ocean, NJ PMSA 5,370 $12.64 $26,300 1.354%
Corvallis, OR MSA 380 $11.87 $24,700 1.283%
Newark, NJ PMSA 11,200 $13.17 $27,390 1.158%
Greenville, NC MSA 710 $11.23 $23,370 1.108%
Rochester, MN MSA 1,040 $15.28 $31,780 1.065%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Honolulu, HI MSA 730 $19.55 $40,670 0.182%
San Jose, CA PMSA 1,330 $18.37 $38,210 0.152%
Riverside-San Bernardino, CA PMSA (6) $17.84 $37,110 (6)
Stamford-Norwalk, CT PMSA 610 $17.02 $35,400 0.305%
Chicago, IL PMSA 6,350 $16.64 $34,620 0.160%

About May 2003 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(6) Estimates not released.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2003 May National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2003 May National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2003 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: May 7, 2004