Updated
PERM occupation, SOC 31-9092.00, #282 of 1,410 by filings
Medical Assistants
- Biggest sponsor
- Gaston Family Health Services, Inc · 21% of its filings
- Busiest state
- NC · 22% of its filings
- Major group
- Healthcare support · SOC 31
Weighing an offer for this job?
Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.
Median wage
$41,798
all PERM $103,272
Filings
117
#282 of 1,410
Approval
93.0%
field 96.8%
Median days
484
7 slower than the field
What it pays
Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.
Median offered wage
$41,798above 25%
Approval rate
93.0%ahead of 27%
Median days to decision
484 daysahead of 24%
Each bar counts occupations at that value. More
- 5th to 95th
- 25th to 75th
- Median
- 10th and 90th
FY2025
$38,740 median · 50 certified cases
FY2026
$42,994 median · 52 certified cases
- 10th
- $38,438
- +14.7% since FY2025
- Median
- $42,994
- +11.0% since FY2025
- 90th
- $58,635
- +32.2% since FY2025
- 95th
- $58,635
- +30.3% since FY2025
Each row is that fiscal year's certified filings, counted on their own. A percentile is over the year, so a year with far fewer cases behind it is a thinner measurement than one with more.
| Fiscal year | Cases | 5th | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th | 95th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | 50 | $31,903 | $33,504 | $35,110 | $38,740 | $42,994 | $44,360 | $45,000 |
| FY2026 | 52 | $35,903 | $38,438 | $39,156 | $42,994 | $46,982 | $58,635 | $58,635 |
A median answers whether pay moved. More
Who files it
The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.
Sponsors filing it
- Gaston Family Health Services, Inc 25 filings
- CELEBRITY SPINE & JOINT, LLC 10 filings
- San Francisco Health Care and Rehab Inc 10 filings
- SYNERGY DIALYSIS OF PEMBROKE PINES, LLC 4 filings
- JK Health Care Group Inc 3 filings
- Hanmi Medical Associates PA 2 filings
How this is counted
The employers with the most applications under this code. 54 of 117 filings, 46% of the total.
Firms filing it
- Law Offices of Jonelle Ocloo, LLC 25 filings
- Law Ofc of Andrew Y Jin Asc PC 10 filings
- The Calehr Law Firm 10 filings
- Law Office of Shayne J. Epstein, P.A. 4 filings
- ATTY. ORLAND S. SEBALLOS 3 filings
- GRAPE LAW FIRM PLLC 3 filings
How this is counted
The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 55 of 117 filings, 47% of the total.
Where the jobs are
- North Carolina 26
- California 21
- Florida 18
- Texas 14
- New York 12
- Illinois 5
How this is counted
The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 96 of 117 filings.
Where the work is
- Gastonia, NC 25
- Houston, TX 10
- San Francisco, CA 10
- Chicago, IL 4
- Pembroke Pines, FL 4
- Duluth, GA 3
How this is counted
The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 56 of 117 filings.
- Every sponsor that files it, by state, approval rate, offered wage and time to a decision
- Every filing for it, PERM, wage requests and H-1B, case by case
Newspapers it advertised in
- 25 cases
The Gaston Gazette
- 10 cases
Houston Chronicle
- 10 cases
San Francisco Chronicle
- 7 cases
Miami Herald
- 4 cases
Los Angeles Times
- 4 cases
New York Post
How this is counted
The newspaper or professional journal named for each case's two print ads, one count per paper per case, however the filer spelled it.
Additional steps it used
- 10 cases
Job search websites
- 8 cases
The employer's website
- 7 cases
Local or ethnic newspapers
- 2 cases
Radio or TV ads
- 1 cases
Employee referral programs
- 1 cases
On-campus recruiting
How this is counted
The steps a professional job needs beyond the job order and the ads, by the number of cases that name each.
How long before filing it began
- 0.0%
Under 30 days
- 0.0%
30 to 59 days
- 46%
60 to 89 days
- 9.9%
90 to 119 days
- 14%
120 to 149 days
- 28%
150 to 180 days
- 2.7%
Over 180 days
How this is counted
Days from the first recruitment step to the filing. 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e) puts the job order and ads 30 to 180 days before filing.
The job itself
What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.
- United States817,870 jobs
- Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCGastonia
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TXHouston
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CASan Francisco
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-INChicago
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLPembroke Pines
- middle half of pay (BLS)
- median
- 10th to 90th percentile
- DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
- median PERM offer
| Area | BLS median | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $45,690 | ||||
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $46,520 | $37,898 | $41,995 | $46,072 | $50,170 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $42,110 | $33,738 | $37,648 | $41,538 | $45,448 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $59,790 | $48,402 | $55,827 | $63,253 | $70,678 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $47,270 | $38,397 | $42,723 | $47,029 | $51,355 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $44,930 | $35,880 | $39,998 | $44,096 | $48,214 |
How these figures fit together
BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.
The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More
DOL's levels for this job in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC, year by year
Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.
| Wage year | Level I | Level II | Level III | Level IV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | $37,898 | $41,995 | $46,072 | $50,170 |
| 2025-26 | $37,419 | $41,309 | $45,219 | $49,109 |
| 2024-25 | $35,859 | $39,229 | $42,619 | $45,989 |
| 2023-24 | $33,862 | $36,899 | $39,957 | $42,994 |
| 2022-23 | $30,555 | $33,946 | $37,357 | $40,747 |
| 2021-22 | $29,307 | $32,677 | $36,067 | $39,437 |
What the job is
Perform administrative and certain clinical duties under the direction of a physician. Administrative duties may include scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, billing, and coding information for insurance purposes. Clinical duties may include taking and recording vital signs and medical histories, preparing patients for examination, drawing blood, and administering medications as directed by physician.
- Preparation
- Medium Preparation Needed
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- DOL's education basis
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Wage year 2026-27
- Jobs, 2025 to 2035
- +12.9%
- About 109,700 openings a year (BLS)
- Typical entry
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- BLS
Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth and numerous job openings.
The work, most important first
- Interview patients to obtain medical information and measure their vital signs, weight, and height.
- Clean and sterilize instruments and dispose of contaminated supplies.
- Record patients' medical history, vital statistics, or information such as test results in medical records.
- Explain treatment procedures, medications, diets, or physicians' instructions to patients.
- Prepare treatment rooms for patient examinations, keeping the rooms neat and clean.
- Collect blood, tissue, or other laboratory specimens, log the specimens, and prepare them for testing.
The education workers in it report
- 21%
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
- 17%
Some College Courses
- 17%
Bachelor's Degree
Titles people use for it
Certified Medical Assistant (CMA), Chiropractor Assistant, Doctor's Assistant, Registered Medical Assistant (RMA), Clinical Medical Assistant, Health Assistant, Ophthalmic Assistant, Ophthalmological Assistant.
Related jobs: Surgical Assistants, Ophthalmic Medical Technicians, Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses, Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians, Physical Therapist Aides.
This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Against other jobs
Where this sits in the ranking
Ranked 282 of 1,410 by volume: 281 filed at least as many filings, and 1,128 filed no more.
- Just above
- Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers 118 filings
- Just below
- Commercial and Industrial Designers 113 filings
Other healthcare support roles
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More
Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.
The same job on H-1B
15 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $51,605 a year; the middle half ran $33,280 to $57,200. By state and year in the salary explorer.
Notes on these numbers
Reading the wage
A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.
What the median is
The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.
What these numbers don't say
4 notes
- The code is the identity
- This one is SOC 31-9092.00. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
- A median isn’t an offer
- It's the middle of all 117 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
- Approval isn’t about the occupation
- The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Medical Assistants. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
- Nothing here is pending
- All 117 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is Gaston Family Health Services, Inc. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.
The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built
Weighing an offer?
Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.
Setting one?
All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.
Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.
Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly
Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load
O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year
BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring
BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn
DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july
What each source includes
Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.
Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.
O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.
BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.
BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.
DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.
Cite this page
Waiting on a PERM case?
- When it'll likely be decided
- An email when DOL moves it