Medical Assistant vs. Physician Assistant: What’s the Difference?

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Written and reported by:
All Allied Health Schools Staff

Just because a health care career has the word “assistant” in its job title, it doesn’t necessarily mean your education will be less strenuous or a less of a commitment to time and effort than other roles—or that your duties will be confined to that of an aide and helper. A good example of two health care careers that could not be more different—but might be confusing due to assistant being in the title—are Medical Assistant and Physician Assistant.

Short and sweet, a medical assistant is more of an entry- to-mid level career while as a physician assistant you will assist and perform advanced duties with a practicing physician.

So, while these two in-demand health care professions sound an awful lot alike, they actually share very little in common when it comes to day-to-day tasks, education requirements, and salary. There are vastly different time and commitment levels needed for you to earn your degree, and the job duties and expertise required are also at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Medical assistants handle a wide variety of entry-level administrative and clinical tasks, whereas physician assistants are licensed health care providers who diagnose and treat patients under the supervision of a physician.

If you’re just entering the health care field, you’ll want to consider a medical assistant career. If you’ve been in the field, have your bachelor’s degree, and are looking to move up the ladder, earning your master’s degree and pursuing your national certification from an accredited PA training program may be the course for you.

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Main Differences Between Medical and Physician Assistants

Here are all of the key differences for both careers side-by-side:

Job Duties

Medical Assistant

Physician Assistant

Perform administrative tasks, such as updating medical records and arranging for lab services, and clinical duties, such as taking medical histories and recording vital signs.
Practice medicine under a physician’s supervision, often serving as the principal health care provider in rural or inner-city clinics.

Education

Medical Assistant

Physician Assistant

Many medical assistants start out with a certificate, which usually takes about one year to complete, or an associate’s degree, which typically takes two years.
Most physician assistants earn a master’s degree (MA-PA: takes about two years, including classroom study and clinical rotation).
Other options: bachelor’s degree (BA-PA: usually four years, including two-year PA phase), combined bachelor’s/master’s degree (usually five years).

Licensing and Certification

Medical Assistant

Physician Assistant

To become a certified medical assistant, you must graduate from an accredited medical assistant training program and pass a certifying exam. You can work as an MA without being certified, but most employers and some states require certification for MAs to do things like draw blood.
You must be licensed by a state board to practice as a physician assistant. To be eligible for a PA license, you have to pass a national certifying exam, which requires that you graduate from an accredited physician assistant training program.

Median Annual Salaries

The difference in salary between medical assistants and physician assistant roles is notable. Take a look at median annual salaries, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Medical Assistants

National data

Median Salary: $38,270

Projected job growth: 13.9%

10th Percentile: $30,390

25th Percentile: $35,330

75th Percentile: $45,360

90th Percentile: $51,710

Projected job growth: 13.9%

State data

State	Median Salary	Bottom 10%	Top 10%
Alabama	$31,800	$25,310	$39,180
Alaska	$47,350	$38,580	$59,110
Arizona	$38,930	$33,080	$46,450
Arkansas	$32,970	$28,380	$39,650
California	$44,650	$35,370	$68,670
Colorado	$43,240	$36,190	$53,090
Connecticut	$43,060	$37,040	$52,860
Delaware	$37,890	$29,900	$45,250
District of Columbia	$49,110	$40,140	$61,730
Florida	$36,930	$30,570	$45,460
Georgia	$36,480	$28,790	$46,790
Hawaii	$43,750	$35,960	$54,010
Idaho	$38,450	$32,170	$46,990
Illinois	$39,020	$31,540	$48,530
Indiana	$38,770	$31,130	$47,530
Iowa	$39,360	$31,820	$48,360
Kansas	$36,550	$28,810	$45,920
Kentucky	$35,450	$28,010	$43,350
Louisiana	$31,150	$22,580	$40,760
Maine	$40,750	$35,190	$48,690
Maryland	$39,900	$31,750	$48,920
Massachusetts	$45,690	$36,510	$59,440
Michigan	$36,790	$29,570	$45,060
Minnesota	$47,680	$37,380	$55,890
Mississippi	$30,930	$23,480	$41,400
Missouri	$36,320	$29,670	$45,330
Montana	$40,130	$32,220	$49,420
Nebraska	$37,740	$30,750	$48,460
Nevada	$37,290	$31,240	$48,750
New Hampshire	$42,620	$35,650	$49,860
New Jersey	$40,380	$32,780	$50,210
New Mexico	$36,220	$29,760	$44,990
New York	$43,830	$35,360	$54,450
North Carolina	$37,660	$30,680	$45,730
North Dakota	$38,840	$26,920	$47,850
Ohio	$36,900	$29,910	$45,700
Oklahoma	$34,320	$28,810	$42,950
Oregon	$46,050	$37,370	$57,060
Pennsylvania	$37,230	$30,870	$47,030
Rhode Island	$39,490	$32,780	$47,340
South Carolina	$35,800	$27,950	$44,630
South Dakota	$35,230	$28,650	$44,440
Tennessee	$35,940	$29,140	$46,600
Texas	$36,830	$28,320	$45,880
Utah	$37,530	$29,890	$46,180
Vermont	$41,160	$36,130	$48,340
Virginia	$37,500	$30,280	$50,850
Washington	$48,810	$39,120	$61,890
West Virginia	$30,850	$26,860	$37,120
Wisconsin	$42,190	$34,290	$48,270
Wyoming	$37,090	$29,700	$49,870

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2022 median salary; projected job growth through 2032. Actual salaries may vary depending on location, level of education, years of experience, work environment, and other factors. Salaries may differ even more for those who are self-employed or work part time.

Physician Assistants

National data

Median Salary: $126,010

Projected job growth: 26.5%

10th Percentile: $83,820

25th Percentile: $104,240

75th Percentile: $140,660

90th Percentile: $168,120

Projected job growth: 26.5%

State data

State	Median Salary	Bottom 10%	Top 10%
Alabama	$91,580	$66,310	$123,120
Alaska	$136,400	$47,530	$172,370
Arizona	$126,240	$76,490	$160,220
Arkansas	$49,780	$29,850	$123,990
California	$142,520	$85,050	$200,710
Colorado	$122,640	$91,040	$164,480
Connecticut	$135,310	$107,250	$181,000
Delaware	$126,320	$99,830	$159,380
District of Columbia	$127,140	$68,090	$174,630
Florida	$109,160	$42,980	$162,630
Georgia	$108,490	$52,080	$171,840
Hawaii	$121,740	$47,940	$154,850
Idaho	$121,590	$57,870	$146,010
Illinois	$126,460	$98,950	$158,160
Indiana	$119,610	$94,720	$175,570
Iowa	$125,240	$93,000	$165,710
Kansas	$108,090	$88,490	$147,120
Kentucky	$105,840	$74,570	$131,540
Louisiana	$115,400	$92,050	$162,350
Maine	$126,930	$101,070	$157,370
Maryland	$118,390	$70,130	$155,000
Massachusetts	$132,210	$90,350	$177,800
Michigan	$115,520	$89,980	$139,260
Minnesota	$124,440	$102,010	$153,620
Mississippi	$58,910	$40,190	$120,600
Missouri	$109,540	$81,360	$149,500
Montana	$128,120	$102,470	$141,970
Nebraska	$120,260	$95,950	$162,600
Nevada	$142,240	$64,730	$176,120
New Hampshire	$132,280	$100,730	$165,540
New Jersey	$128,960	$102,010	$164,430
New Mexico	$127,880	$87,340	$180,150
New York	$134,360	$103,200	$170,510
North Carolina	$121,980	$97,490	$146,120
North Dakota	$125,750	$88,370	$159,660
Ohio	$114,250	$71,480	$163,560
Oklahoma	$126,050	$37,820	$162,580
Oregon	$132,660	$107,490	$169,220
Pennsylvania	$109,100	$76,960	$137,740
Rhode Island	$128,170	$80,650	$162,910
South Carolina	$104,260	$61,420	$139,120
South Dakota	$122,550	$98,610	$139,050
Tennessee	$104,400	$79,950	$138,310
Texas	$127,330	$96,340	$204,040
Utah	$123,320	$96,010	$168,610
Vermont	$127,650	$102,260	$171,770
Virginia	$119,440	$86,310	$152,810
Washington	$139,030	$111,810	$175,070
West Virginia	$109,100	$85,160	$147,850
Wisconsin	$123,030	$101,040	$148,420
Wyoming	$131,720	$103,900	$156,270

Job Growth

Job growth national average for all careers through 2032 is 5% says the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Here’s how medical assistants and PAs compare:

Medical Assistant projected job growth through 2032: 13.9%

Physician Assistant projected job growth through 2032: 26.5%

What’s Next?

Medical assistant: Many medical assistants move on to positions with more specialized responsibilities such as office managers or nurses.
Physician assistant: With some additional education and on-the-job training, PAs can specialize in areas such as internal medicine, oncology, emergency medicine, pediatrics and neonatology.