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

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.

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: $42,000

Projected job growth: 13.9%

10th Percentile: $33,500

25th Percentile: $36,780

75th Percentile: $47,220

90th Percentile: $56,480

Projected job growth: 13.9%

State data

State	Median Salary	Bottom 10%	Top 10%
Alabama	$34,050	$24,960	$42,700
Alaska	$50,160	$41,390	$64,300
Arizona	$43,770	$36,360	$48,090
Arkansas	$35,050	$29,510	$43,180
California	$46,690	$36,600	$72,940
Colorado	$45,770	$36,820	$56,570
Connecticut	$45,780	$37,380	$57,110
Delaware	$40,250	$34,350	$49,150
District of Columbia	$48,710	$37,360	$58,970
Florida	$38,340	$34,090	$47,430
Georgia	$38,060	$30,620	$48,020
Hawaii	$46,930	$37,770	$58,390
Idaho	$40,670	$35,200	$49,580
Illinois	$42,850	$34,770	$50,270
Indiana	$40,680	$34,990	$49,600
Iowa	$42,980	$35,470	$50,340
Kansas	$37,670	$30,610	$48,570
Kentucky	$37,140	$28,560	$45,490
Louisiana	$34,280	$25,250	$42,610
Maine	$44,610	$37,680	$52,440
Maryland	$44,010	$36,130	$55,250
Massachusetts	$47,770	$38,790	$59,300
Michigan	$38,300	$31,550	$46,080
Minnesota	$48,890	$38,550	$57,520
Mississippi	$34,040	$27,110	$42,380
Missouri	$38,260	$31,570	$46,750
Montana	$44,040	$35,070	$49,670
Nebraska	$39,870	$31,200	$54,770
Nevada	$39,940	$31,940	$48,810
New Hampshire	$46,240	$36,950	$55,140
New Jersey	$45,340	$36,510	$54,960
New Mexico	$37,640	$30,690	$47,950
New York	$45,440	$36,570	$57,490
North Carolina	$40,190	$33,430	$48,380
North Dakota	$40,880	$28,410	$48,390
Ohio	$38,280	$31,110	$47,080
Oklahoma	$37,240	$30,000	$46,020
Oregon	$48,350	$39,350	$59,390
Pennsylvania	$39,480	$34,680	$53,650
Rhode Island	$43,980	$36,560	$49,770
South Carolina	$37,420	$30,110	$46,810
South Dakota	$36,280	$28,920	$46,040
Tennessee	$37,350	$30,340	$47,890
Texas	$37,570	$29,640	$47,010
Utah	$40,270	$33,910	$48,770
Vermont	$44,480	$38,500	$52,160
Virginia	$40,240	$34,460	$49,920
Washington	$52,600	$40,660	$66,500
West Virginia	$34,340	$28,060	$42,820
Wisconsin	$46,320	$37,490	$52,160
Wyoming	$38,730	$31,140	$48,130

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2023 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: $130,020

Projected job growth: 26.5%

10th Percentile: $86,280

25th Percentile: $108,100

75th Percentile: $151,720

90th Percentile: $170,790

Projected job growth: 26.5%

State data

State	Median Salary	Bottom 10%	Top 10%
Alabama	$97,360	$52,000	$132,680
Alaska	$141,020	$103,270	$176,900
Arizona	$130,270	$96,590	$164,460
Arkansas	$99,220	$31,730	$147,470
California	$157,490	$84,450	$209,890
Colorado	$128,800	$100,200	$168,590
Connecticut	$140,880	$113,470	$191,850
Delaware	$135,520	$107,820	$169,380
District of Columbia	$124,350	$68,460	$177,060
Florida	$125,600	$66,520	$169,040
Georgia	$113,200	$55,780	$160,740
Hawaii	$141,350	$52,240	$185,420
Idaho	$122,690	$33,380	$149,150
Illinois	$118,400	$101,370	$153,830
Indiana	$125,250	$99,960	$181,440
Iowa	$128,960	$104,080	$164,490
Kansas	$116,970	$85,000	$154,790
Kentucky	$103,490	$43,420	$133,420
Louisiana	$123,290	$88,510	$158,700
Maine	$131,540	$107,430	$165,530
Maryland	$127,810	$74,830	$159,170
Massachusetts	$135,720	$58,510	$191,840
Michigan	$126,890	$97,220	$148,470
Minnesota	$131,290	$101,520	$164,270
Mississippi	N/A	N/A	N/A
Missouri	$134,670	$94,330	$161,490
Montana	$131,340	$107,380	$157,720
Nebraska	$125,090	$99,160	$165,880
Nevada	$158,720	$81,320	$204,210
New Hampshire	$132,980	$102,480	$169,510
New Jersey	$137,100	$112,980	$178,780
New Mexico	$131,930	$90,540	$172,660
New York	$137,490	$76,290	$172,500
North Carolina	$126,480	$95,490	$157,100
North Dakota	$132,660	$98,530	$159,570
Ohio	$122,180	$93,700	$153,790
Oklahoma	$126,080	$46,850	$161,080
Oregon	$134,740	$108,670	$172,590
Pennsylvania	$119,170	$96,440	$151,240
Rhode Island	$126,920	$97,810	$173,130
South Carolina	$114,710	$84,990	$135,460
South Dakota	$121,070	$103,190	$148,510
Tennessee	$111,540	$86,120	$138,680
Texas	$131,080	$104,840	$168,010
Utah	$128,060	$97,040	$166,420
Vermont	$135,710	$108,370	$175,280
Virginia	$121,980	$77,600	$160,720
Washington	$156,930	$106,890	$201,480
West Virginia	$120,820	$83,000	$158,090
Wisconsin	$128,580	$100,630	$159,500
Wyoming	$136,940	$106,520	$164,330

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 2023 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.

Job Growth

Job growth national average for all careers through 2032 is 3% 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.