Occupations · Healthcare Practitioners and Technical

Medical Records Specialists

Compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. Classify medical and healthcare concepts, including diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment, into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system. Includes medical coders.

O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 29-2072.00

$50,250median annual wage, May 2024

187,910people employed, United States

▲ 7.1%projected change, 2024→2034

14,200openings a year, incl. replacements

What it pays

A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage

Pay over time

Median up 8% between 2021 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.

BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.

Where the jobs are

Metro area	Median wage	Employed
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$53,930	7,820
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	$60,610	7,370
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$50,360	6,140
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$47,100	4,430
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	$48,940	4,100
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	$49,790	3,220
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$67,790	3,210
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$47,930	3,170
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$57,520	2,510
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$57,730	2,370
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	$68,680	2,300
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$51,930	2,290

BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation

Typical education to enter: Postsecondary nondegree award · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34

Software and tools

A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.

Epic Systems●Henry Schein Dentrix●IBM SPSS Statistics●MEDITECH software●Microsoft Access●Microsoft Excel●Microsoft Office software●Microsoft Outlook●Microsoft PowerPoint●Microsoft Project●Microsoft SQL Server●Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS●Microsoft SharePoint●Microsoft Visio●Microsoft Visual Basic●Microsoft Windows●Microsoft Word●R●SAS●Structured query language SQL●Tableau●Teradata Database●eClinicalWorks EHR software●3M EncoderAllscripts EHRAmazing ChartsAmerican Medical Association CodeManagerAzalea Health Azalea EHR

O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag

What this work is actually like

Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.

3 / 5Medium preparation — vocational training or an associate degree, plus 1–2 years of work.

O*NET 30.3 Job Zones

What kind of person the work suits

Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.

Conventional7.0

Investigative4.3

Social3.4

O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)

How this job is advertised

The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.

CoderFee CoderMedical CoderMedical BillerMedical ScribeInpatient CoderInsurance CoderDisability RaterOutpatient CoderCoding ConsultantCoding SpecialistMedical Bill CoderMedical Biller CoderMedical Record Coder

O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation

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What changed since 2020

Comparing O*NET release 25.1 (2020-11-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 1 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.

Now listed 10

+Microsoft Exchange+Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS+Microsoft SharePoint+Allscripts EHR+Eko+Entity Management Software+Quest Erwin Data Modeler+eClinicalWorks EHR software+Corel WordPerfect Office Suite+Henry Schein Dentrix

No longer listed 9

−CA Erwin Data Modeler−Entity software−Presentation software−Data entry software−Allscripts HER−Word processing software−Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services−Corel WordPerfect−eClinicalWorks

Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.

O*NET 30.3 related occupations

Also called

CoderFee CoderMedical CoderMedical ScribeMedical BillerInpatient CoderInsurance CoderOutpatient CoderDisability RaterCoding SpecialistCoding ConsultantMedical Bill Coder

O*NET 30.3 alternative titles

The same work in Europe

ESCO occupation	ISCO	Match
picture archiving and communication systems administrator	3252.3	close
medical administrative assistant	3344.2	close
clinical coder	3252.1.1	broader
medical transcriptionist	3344.4	broader
medical records clerk	3252.1	broader

Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)

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