Salary Information for Certified Medical Coders
The American Association of Professional Coders (AAPC) has conducted medical coder salary surveys each year since 2006. Their latest survey indicated that, despite a rocky economy, average medical coding salaries increased in 2010. This was especially true for credentialed medical coders. The survey was conducted online and reached out to over 10,000 coders across the country.
The average salary for:
- Credentialed coders rose by 1.5% from 2009 to 2010 – up to $45,404.
- Non-credentialed coders rose by 1.2% from 2009 to 2010 – up to $37,746.
- Medical coding instructors that have CPC-I certification rose to $69,207.
These figures follow a trend that was established years ago: average credentialed and non-credentialed medical coders salaries rise a little each year, but the salary gap between them continues to grow as well. For example:
- In 2008, credentialed coders earned $43,100 while non-credentialed coders earned $36,500. This represents a gap of $6,600.
- In 2009, credentialed coders earned $44,740 while non-credentialed coders earned $37,290. This represents a gap of $7,450.
- In 2010, credentialed coders earned $45,404 while non-credentialed coders earned $37,746. This represents a gap of $7,658.
How Does Experience Improve a Medical Coder Salary?
Experience drastically affects a medical coding salary, though increases become quite marginal after a medical coder has obtained 15 or more years of experience. It’s interesting to note that a non-credentialed medical coder with four years of experience makes roughly the same average salary as a credentialed medical coder with only two years of experience. In addition, average credentialed medical billing and coding salaries rise on a mostly linear scale for each additional year of experience. Strangely, the AAPC’s survey found some bizarre statistical anomalies in their salary findings for non-credentialed medical coders. For example, those with nine years of experience reported having lower average salaries than those with four years of experience.
How Does Education Improve a Medical Coder Salary?
The answer to this question, again, is drastically – but not until a bachelor’s degree is obtained. Although most individuals seeking entry level employment in medical billing and coding only possess an associates degree, completing additional education can provide leverage when negotiating a salary and making your resume more appealing to employers. The AAPC 2010 survey indicated that more individuals are obtaining associates and bachelors degrees before entering the professional workforce. It also indicates that medical coders who have only partly completed high school can achieve a salary similar to a non-credentialed associate’s degree holder by getting credentialed.
The following is a list of average credentialed and non-credentialed medical coder salary, respectively, depending on level of completed education.
- Doctorate: $74,205, $62,500
- Master’s: $64,807, $50,929
- Bachelor’s: $51,389, $47,421
- Associate’s: $43,868, $35,807
- Some Post-Secondary: $45,038, $36,409
- Technical School: $41,017, $33,413
- High School/GED: $41,272, $36,764
- Some High School: $39,167, $27,500
How Does Credentialing Improve a Medical Coder Salary?
There are a wide variety of credentials available to medical coders, each indicating different specializations and areas of expertise. The most common is CPC, or Certified Professional Coder. Other common credentials include Certified Professional Coder – Hospital Outpatient (CPC-H) and Certified Professional Coder – Payer (CPC-P). By obtaining these types of credentials, you can significantly increase your medical billing and coding salary.
The following is a list of average annual salaries for those with the job title of “coder,” according to credentials:
- CPC-I: $50,543
- CEDC: $50,000
- CPC-P: $45,750
- CIRCC: $45,595
- CEMC: $45,000
- COBGC: $43,690
- CPMA: $42,937
- CPC-H: $42,930
- CGSC: $42,500
- COSC: $41,912
- CASCC: $41,591
- CANPC: $41,574
- CCC: $40,250
- CPC: $39,953
- CHONC: $35,357
- CPC-A: $32,792
How Does a Job Definition Affect a Medical Coder Salary?
Medical coders are often more than just medical office assistants – in fact, medical coders serving as consultants make almost double that of office staff medical coders. As such, your exact job definition could have a large impact on your medical coding and billing salary. The following is a list of average credentialed and non-credentialed medical coder salary, respectively, depending on job definition:
- Consulting: $78,026, $58,636
- Product Development: $70,000, $47,500
- Clinical: $60,321, $44,833
- Educator: $53,733, $40,395
- Manager: $53,707, $46,408
- Auditor: $49,708, $45,000
- Office Staff: $39,103, $32,944
How do Workplaces Affect a Medical Coder Salary?
Medical coders can work in a variety of settings, ranging from small private practices to large inpatient hospitals and long term care facilities. The following list shows average salaries for credentialed and non-credentialed medical coders, respectively, according to where they work.
- Long Term Care: $39,881, $37,500
- Home Health: $37,965, $24,167
- Inpatient Hospitals: $47,848, $37,644
- Outpatient Hospitals: $45,005, $37,206
- Other Outpatient Facilities: $41,242, $33,306
- Ambulatory Surgical Centers: $43,509, $46,250
- Payer: $54,100, $48,750
- Large Private Practices: $45,480, $39,682
- Medium Private Practices: $41,985, $33,780
- Small Private Practices: $42,043, $37,910
- Solo Private Practices: $40,430, $35,990
How do Geographical Locations Affect a Medical Coder Salary?
Your medical coder salary can vary greatly depending on the state in which you live. By region, average salaries are as follows:
- West: $48,150
- Northeast: $46,643
- South: $41,863
- Midwest: $41,235
We can also examine average medical billing and coding salary figures for each individual state in the US.
- Alabama: $39,500
- Alaska: $51,447
- Arizona: $45,303
- Arkansas: $36,856
- California: $55,164
- Colorado: $48,333
- Connecticut: $48,506
- Delaware: $48,269
- Florida: $41,483
- Georgia: $42,906
- Hawaii: $51,071
- Idaho: $41,675
- Illinois: $42,298
- Indiana: $40,845
- Iowa: $38,316
- Kansas: $38,845
- Kentucky: $37,430
- Louisiana: $41,080
- Maine: $39,953
- Maryland: $54,133
- Massachusetts: $51,159
- Michigan: $40,347
- Minnesota: $46,021
- Mississippi: $37,576
- Missouri: $40,637
- Montana: $38,500
- Nebraska: $41,775
- Nevada: $44,386
- New Hampshire: $43,322
- New Jersey: $53,725
- New Mexico: $46,250
- New York: $46,596
- North Carolina: $41,285
- North Dakota: $40,240
- Ohio: $40,890
- Oklahoma: $39,485
- Oregon: $43,589
- Pennsylvania: $43,944
- Rhode Island: $47,353
- South Carolina: $41,596
- South Dakota: $39,136
- Tennessee: $41,598
- Texas: $44,319
- Utah: $42,083
- Vermont: $44,123
- Virginia: $41,392
- Washington: $48,941
- Washington DC: $50,625
- West Virginia: $38,380
- Wisconsin: $42,993
- Wyoming: $37,870
Fast Fact: How are Medical Coders Surviving in the Current Economy?
According to the US BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics), the national unemployment rate was 9.0% as of May 6th, 2011. Unemployment among credentialed medical coders was fortunately much lower. Approximately 6.8% of those with the CPC certification and 5.6% of those with the CPC-I certification were unemployed. CPCs spent an average of 5.4 months unemployed, while CPC-I holders only spent around 4.5 months unemployed.
Quick Stats Regarding Medical Coder Employment
Considering a job in the world of medical billing and coding? These statistics provide additional insight into the profession. In 2010…
- 38% of medical coders who started new jobs said they found their careers through networking.
- 58% of medical coders work between 31 and 40 hours per week, while 38% of them work between 41 and 71 hours each week.
- 91% of medical coders receive health insurance.
- 89% of medical coders receive paid sick leave.
- 78% of medical coders receive dental insurance.
- Over 50% of medical coders have the three aforementioned benefits paid in part by their employers.
About our expert. Jan Jacobs has worked in medical offices since the early 1980's. Ms. Jacobs has worked for M.D.'s and D.O.'s in primary care and specialty care. She is employed as a senior medical biller and has been at her current job for nearly 10 years, where she uses three different billing systems.
