A medical receptionist earns a median of $39,520 a year, or $19.00 an hour, in the most recent federal wage data. Federal wage data doesn’t list a medical receptionist occupation, so the job is reported under receptionists, which spans every industry. Health care pays 4.0% above that all-industry median of $18.27 an hour. The federal figures come from the May 2025 survey, and the three salary tracker averages are dated 2026.
We compiled the federal survey against 2026 averages from Indeed, ZipRecruiter, and Payscale, each number confirmed on the publisher’s own page. Hourly rates are converted at 2,080 hours. The 39.6% benefit load comes from the June 2026 Employer Costs for Employee Compensation release. Rows marked calculated are ours: annualized spreads, state differences from the national median, benefit and total cost columns. Federal survey medians come from employer payroll records, so they differ from the trackers, which average self-reported pay and job postings.
Key Takeaways
- Health care pays receptionists a median of $19.00 an hour. The three major salary trackers put the medical receptionist average between $17.43 and $18.91.
- Health care pays its receptionists 4.0% above the $18.27 median across all industries, worth $1,518 over 2,080 hours.
- Employers pay a median of $45,930 for the same front desk work posted as a medical secretary, $6,410 above the $39,520 health care receptionist figure.
- Health care employers add 39.6% in benefits, turning a $39,520 salary into a $55,170 yearly cost.
National Medical Receptionist Pay
Federal wage data counts a medical receptionist under receptionists, an occupation spanning every industry, and publishes a separate rate for the health care employers who hire them. The three commercial trackers use the medical receptionist title directly and average self-reported pay and job postings. These are the published 2026 benchmarks:
| Pay benchmark | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median hourly wage, receptionists in health care and social assistance | $19.00 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Median annual wage at 2,080 hours (calculated) | $39,520 | Calculated |
| Median hourly wage, receptionists across all industries | $18.27 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Median annual wage, receptionists across all industries | $38,010 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Health care premium over the all-industry median (calculated) | 4.0% | Calculated |
| Lowest 10% of receptionists earn less than all industries | $13.83 an hour | BLS, May 2025 |
| Highest 10% of receptionists earn more than all industries | $24.01 an hour | BLS, May 2025 |
| Average hourly pay from job posting data, medical receptionist | $18.91 | Indeed, September 2026 |
| Average hourly pay, medical receptionist | $17.71 | ZipRecruiter, September 2026 |
| Average hourly base rate, self-reported, medical receptionist | $17.43 | Payscale, October 2026 |
| Receptionist jobs nationwide, all industries | 947,500 | BLS, 2025 |
| Spread across the three tracker averages (calculated) | $1.48 an hour | Calculated |
Key Insights:
- The federal health care rate of $19.00 is higher than all three tracker averages for the medical receptionist title. A practice budgeting from a tracker average alone underprices the seat against what health care employers actually report paying.
- The $10.18 spread between the bottom and top tenth of receptionists works out to $21,174 across 2,080 hours. Local market rates are higher than any national median.
Medical Receptionist Salary by State
Federal data publishes a receptionist median for all 50 states, and those state medians cover every industry, because the survey publishes no health care breakout by state. The four best-paying states run from $43,870 to $49,060, and the lowest published median is $31,160. Florida, Texas, and Mississippi appear at the lower end. A healthcare-adjusted column applies the premium itself, $19.00 divided by $18.27, to each state median:
| State | Median annual wage, all industries | Median hourly wage, all industries | Health care adjusted annual (calculated) | Difference from the all-industry national median (calculated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $49,060 | $23.59 | $51,020 | 29.1% higher |
| Washington | $44,710 | $21.49 | $46,496 | 17.6% higher |
| California | $44,100 | $21.20 | $45,862 | 16.0% higher |
| Massachusetts | $43,870 | $21.09 | $45,623 | 15.4% higher |
| Florida | $36,810 | $17.70 | $38,281 | 3.2% lower |
| Texas | $35,210 | $16.93 | $36,617 | 7.4% lower |
| Mississippi | $31,160 | $14.98 | $32,405 | 18.0% lower |
Key Insights:
- Adjusted for health care, the District of Columbia median runs $18,615 above the Mississippi median. The health care premium is worth $1,518 at the national median, so the state a practice hires in moves an offer much further.
- Texas publishes a $35,210 median and Florida $36,810, both under the $38,010 national figure across all industries. All three numbers come from the same federal survey, so the comparison is direct.
Receptionist Pay Against Similar Front Office Roles
Federal data counts receptionists, medical secretaries, and medical assistants as separate occupations, and each one reports its own median. The survey defines medical secretary as the only title in this group as medical office work. A medical assistant works clinically and picks up front desk tasks in smaller practices. Here is what each role earns in the May 2025 federal survey:
| Role | Median annual wage | Median hourly wage | Employment, 2025 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionists, all industries | $38,010 | $18.27 | 947,500 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Receptionists in health care and social assistance | $39,520 (calculated) | $19.00 | Not published | BLS, May 2025 |
| Medical secretaries and administrative assistants | $45,930 | BLS publishes annually only | 979,000 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Medical assistants | $45,690 | $21.97 | 833,900 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, all | $48,310 | $23.23 | 3,515,600 | BLS, May 2025 |
Key Insights:
- A medical assistant earns a median of $45,690, within $240 of the medical secretary figure, for work that includes clinical duties no front desk job covers.
- Medical secretary employment grows 5% through 2035 while receptionist employment declines 2%. The better-paid role is the one where front office work is growing.
Receptionist Pay by Industry
Health care pays its receptionists above the national median, and the occupation shrinks even as practices keep refilling the same desk. The projections below cover all receptionists, since federal data publishes no ten-year outlook by industry. Our data indicates the industry rates and the federal projections below.
| Industry | Median hourly wage | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | $19.00 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Professional, scientific, and technical services | $18.56 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Personal care services | $16.57 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Fitness and recreational sports centers | $15.00 | BLS, May 2025 |
Key Insights:
- Health care pays $19.00 an hour against the $18.27 all-industry median. The difference adds $1,518 over 2,080 hours.
- The four published industries differ by $4.00 at the median. A receptionist moving from a fitness center to a clinic front desk gains $8,320 over 2,080 hours.
- Federal projections show 105,100 openings a year in an occupation that is shrinking. Every one of those openings replaces a worker who left.
Receptionist Job Outlook Through 2035
Federal projections cover all receptionists, since the survey publishes no ten-year outlook by industry. The occupation shrinks over the decade while employers keep posting openings:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Receptionist jobs nationwide, all industries, 2025 | 947,500 | BLS |
| Projected employment change, 2025 to 2035 | 2% decline, 16,000 fewer jobs | BLS |
| Projected employment, 2035 | 931,600 | BLS |
| Projected openings each year | 105,100 | BLS |
Key Insights:
- Federal projections show 105,100 openings a year in an occupation that will lose 16,000 jobs over the decade. Nearly every opening replaces a worker who left.
- A practice hiring at the front desk competes for candidates against roughly 105,100 other postings a year, even with total employment falling.
What One Medical Receptionist Seat Costs a Practice
An offer letter understates what a front desk hire costs a practice. Health care and social assistance employers spend $13.73 an hour on benefits for every $34.67 in wages. Both figures average every job in the sector, not receptionists alone. That 39.6% load applies to three pay levels, each adjusted to the health care rate:
| Pay level | Annual wage | Benefits at 39.6% (calculated) | Total annual cost (calculated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10% nationally, health care adjusted (calculated) | $29,917 | $11,847 | $41,764 |
| Health care median, 2,080 hours | $39,520 | $15,650 | $55,170 |
| District of Columbia, health care adjusted (calculated) | $51,022 | $20,205 | $71,227 |
Key Insights:
- Benefits add $15,650 to a median health care receptionist wage of $39,520. A budget built on the wage alone misses 28.4% of the $55,170 a practice actually spends.
Further Reading
About This Report
This report was created for DocVA.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Receptionists
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Medical Assistants
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation
- O*NET OnLine, District of Columbia Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, Washington Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, California Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, Massachusetts Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, Florida Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, Texas Wages: Receptionists
- O*NET OnLine, Mississippi Wages: Receptionists
- Indeed | Medical receptionist salary in United States
- ZipRecruiter | Medical Receptionist Salary
- Payscale | Average Medical Receptionist Hourly Pay
