How Much Does a Medical Assistant Make in Montana in 2026?

A typical Medical Assistant in Montana earns about $22.51 per hour ($46,820 per year), according to the latest government wage data (May 2025). Based on that annual figure, pay works out to roughly $3,902 a month and $900 a week. These figures reflect full-time pay across the state, from small clinics to large hospital systems. Montana's Medical Assistants work in a range of settings, and typical pay gives a starting point for what to expect.

Montana's typical pay sits 2% above the national figure of $45,690 for Medical Assistants, according to the same May 2025 data. That places Montana 19th among 51 states ranked by pay for this role. The state's 2,460 Medical Assistants work alongside a national workforce of 817,870, making Montana a modest-sized market for the profession.

Entry-level Medical Assistants in Montana typically start around $18.59 an hour, or about $38,670 a year, according to the same wage data. Newer hires without much clinical experience tend to land in this range. Within a few years on the job, pay commonly rises toward the state's typical figure of $46,820 a year. Certification, added responsibilities, and time in a single clinic all help pay climb toward that level.

Experienced Medical Assistants in Montana often earn upwards of $23.54 an hour ($48,960 a year), and the top 10% of earners make over $27.29 an hour, or $56,770 a year. That puts the spread between entry-level and top pay at $18,100 a year. Setting matters too: specialty clinics and larger health systems in bigger cities tend to pay more than small rural practices.

Montana Medical Assistants have seen a steady raise over the past decade. Annual pay rose from $30,580 in 2015 to $46,820 in 2025, a gain of $16,240. That amounts to a 53% increase over ten years. The rise has been consistent year over year, without any sharp drops along the way.

Nationally, Medical Assistant pay rose 49% over the same decade, so Montana's growth ran slightly ahead of the country as a whole. For someone starting out now, that history shows pay in this field has moved up steadily, though nothing guarantees the same pace continues. The trend gives a realistic sense of where pay has been, not a forecast.

Pay for Medical Assistants runs highest in Bozeman, where the typical wage is $46,980 a year ($22.59 an hour) across the full Bozeman metro area, just slightly above the statewide figure. Great Falls follows closely at $46,840 a year. The differences among Montana's higher-paying cities are small, generally a few hundred dollars a year.

At the other end, Helena pays the least among the state's tracked cities, with a typical wage of $45,760 a year. That's a spread of $1,220 between the highest- and lowest-paying cities, a narrow gap by national standards. Missoula employs the most Medical Assistants of any Montana city, at 400. Cities with higher pay generally carry higher living costs, so the gap tends to even out in practice.

Montana pay compares favorably with its immediate neighbors. North Dakota's typical wage of $45,980 sits only 2% below Montana's, the closest of the group, while Wyoming trails furthest at $40,920, about 13% lower. Idaho ($44,700) and South Dakota ($41,870) fall in between. Medical Assistant credentials generally transfer or can be endorsed across neighboring states, which makes it easier to compare pay when weighing a move.

Medical Assistants in Montana typically earn $46,820 a year ($22.51 an hour) as of May 2025, up 53% from a decade earlier. Pay has climbed steadily across the state, with Bozeman running slightly ahead and Helena slightly behind. Readers weighing a move into the field can check Montana's licensing or registry requirements and compare local figures on individual city pages for a fuller picture.