According to numbers from Bureau of Labor Statistics for Medical Records and Health Information Technicians where all these figures are provided, nationwide there are 182,370 employees working in this field, earning an average annual salary of $36,770. That means that out of a workforce total of about 243.7 million Americans, one out of every 1,429 people is a medical billing and coding professional. If that number seems insignificant, just consider that in 2012 when these statistics were compiled, those employed in this field earned a combined total of over $6.7 trillion. Medical billing and coding professionals should be well informed when considering their future career options.
Sponsored School(s)
Employer
To start with, the following employer categories pay medical billing and coding professionals the highest average wages:
- $66,060: Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing
- $51,840: Insurance and Employee Benefit Funds
- $48,060: Scientific Research and Development Services
- $46,840: Grant-making and Giving Services
- $46,280: Federal Executive Branch
As for the largest employers of medical billing and coding professionals, these are as follows along with the total number of employed professionals:
- 68,440 (37.5% of the total workforce): General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
- 40,230 (22.1 % of the total workforce): Offices of Physicians
- 12,980 (7.1 % of the total workforce): Skilled Nursing Centers
- 7,180 (3.9 % of the total workforce): Outpatient Care Centers
- 6,240 (3.4 % of the total workforce): Home Health Care Services
Geography
When it comes to the states, as would be expected the number of professionals working in the medical billing and coding industry mirrors total state populations, with the exception of Florida ranking above New York:
- 17,650: California
- 16,830: Texas
- 10,480: Florida
- 9,200: New York
- 7,860: Illinois
More telling is the location quotient for this field, with the following showing the states with the highest ratio of billing and coding professionals per every thousand jobs:
- 2.74: Montana
- 2.51: South Dakota
- 2.20: Arizona
- 2.12: Oklahoma
- 1.92: Washington
The states which offer the highest average pay for professionals in this field are:
- $55,130: New Jersey
- $45,500: District of Columbia
- $42,500: Hawaii
- $42,270: California
- $42,110: Colorado
The states offering the lowest average wage for medical billing and coding professionals are:
- $26,300: Mississippi
- $27,320: Alabama
- $28,100: West Virginia
- $28,790: Utah
- $28,810: Oklahoma
The top metropolitan areas offering the highest wages to medical billing and coding professionals are:
- $58,010: Trenton, NJ
- $57,960: Newark, NJ
- $55,930: Edison, NJ
- $55,760: Camden, NJ
- $50,150: Oakland, CA
- $49,350: San Francisco, CA
- $48,460: San Jose, CA
- $46,650: New Haven, CT
- $46,520: Jackson, MI
- $46,480: Denver, CO
Conclusions
While 66.7 percent of all medical billing and coding professionals are employed in three sectors, these do not rank in the top five areas which provide the highest wages. Professionals in this field will find that although there are overall more opportunities for employment in the most populated areas, the highest percentage of medical billing and coding jobs are located in Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Washington State. When searching for the highest average wages, professionals will do well to consider the New England area as well as California.