Salary for Medical Assistant in Hawaii – HI

By an allied health world contributing writer
Published: January 26th, 2010

Hawaii is one of the healthiest states in the country, but it also has an aging population and a shortage of registered nurses. More demand for medical services and not enough nurses in the state means the demand for medical assistants to work in doctors' offices, hospitals and clinics will grow rapidly over the next decade. Medical assistants who attend certified training programs learn basic and advanced medical skills, such as taking accurate patient histories and handling lab specimens. They also learn important administrative skills, including the principles of medical billing and coding, insurance procedures, and advanced computer applications.

Medical assistants in Hawaii have good career prospects and also good earnings. Nationally, the salary range for medical assistants is $21,970 to $31,210, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But according to a salary survey in 2009 of American Association of Medical Assistants members, Hawaii medical assistant salary is considerably more than the national average. Overall, medical assistants in the Pacific region, which includes Hawaii, earn on average about $31,833 a year, or about $16.45 an hour. Medical assistants with one to two years of experience earn on average about $28,200 a year, or about $14.99 an hour.