Healthcare Support Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages O*NET task lead SOC 31-9094

Medical Transcriptionists

O*NET task statements lead this Medical Transcriptionists card before OEWS pay; neighboring titles include Physical Therapist Assistants, Physical Therapist Aides, Dental Assistants, Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Medical Transcriptionists: Physical Therapist Assistants ($68K) , Physical Therapist Aides ($35K) , Dental Assistants ($48K) , Home Health and Personal Care Aides ($36K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Medical Transcriptionists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 31-9094 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' m…
  2. 2. Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material
  3. 3. Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information
  4. 4. Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology
  5. 5. Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operation…
  6. 6. Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and…
  7. 7. Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnost…
  8. 8. Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records
  9. 9. Perform data entry and data retrieval services, providing data for inclusion in medical records and for transmission to physicians
  10. 10. Receive patients, schedule appointments, and maintain patient records
  11. 11. Take dictation using shorthand, a stenotype machine, or headsets and transcribing machines
  12. 12. Answer inquiries concerning the progress of medical cases, within the limits of confidentiality laws

Medical Transcriptionists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 31-9094 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.1 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.1
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  3. 3. Writing 3.9
  4. 4. Monitoring 3.1
  5. 5. Speaking 3.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.0
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 3.0
  8. 8. Time Management 3.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.5
  2. 2. Administrative 4.3
  3. 3. Computers and Electronics 3.8
  4. 4. Medicine and Dentistry 3.0
  5. 5. Customer and Personal Service 2.7
  6. 6. Telecommunications 2.1
National median after O*NET task lead
$40,410
/year · 12 published task lines above
Lead task: Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' m…
$40K
National median
↓ -5%
Growth 2024-2034
7,400
Annual openings
41,550
Estimated US jobs
Physical Therapist Assistants
Highest-pay peer · $68K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Postsecondary nondegree award

Top Paying States for Medical Transcriptionists

1. Nebraska $45,880
2. Alaska $48,360
3. Oregon $46,280
4. Wisconsin $49,150
5. South Dakota $46,070
6. Minnesota $50,030
7. Illinois $45,490
8. Wyoming $48,100
9. Maine $48,600
10. Connecticut $48,190

Other Healthcare Support Occupations titles

  1. 1. Physical Therapist Assistants $68,380
  2. 2. Dental Assistants $48,070
  3. 3. Home Health and Personal Care Aides $35,800
  4. 4. Orderlies $38,290
  5. 5. Medical Equipment Preparers $47,700
  6. 6. Physical Therapist Aides $35,240

O*NET publishes 12 leading task statements for Medical Transcriptionists (SOC 31-9094). The national OEWS median is $40,410 inside Healthcare Support Occupations. Same-group neighbors: Physical Therapist Assistants, Physical Therapist Aides, Dental Assistants, Home Health and Personal Care Aides. Lead published task: Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' m….

Employment Projections expect -5% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 7,400 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Nebraska at $45,880. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Physical Therapist Assistants at $68,380. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Medical Transcriptionists pay-rank #11 in Healthcare Support Occupations

Medical Transcriptionists sits at pay-rank #11 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 31-9094 · national median $40,410 · middle third of Healthcare Support Occupations (#11/17). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Medical Transcriptionists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 31-9094

Nebraska · top state for Medical Transcriptionists

$46K published median

Alaska · #2 state pay

$48K · behind Nebraska

Physical Therapist Assistants

Highest-pay peer vs Medical Transcriptionists · $68K

Physical Therapist Aides

Lower-pay peer beside Medical Transcriptionists · $35K

Compare Medical Transcriptionists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Medical Transcriptionists with another occupation →

Role and task next reads

Medical Transcriptionists full salary map

State and metro OEWS after the task lead

Compare tasks and pay

Side-by-side with another occupation

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Medical Transcriptionists mid-table among Healthcare Support Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #11 of 17 detailed Healthcare Support Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Occupational Therapy Aides ($39K), Nursing Assistants ($42K), Psychiatric Aides ($45K), Phlebotomists ($45K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do medical transcriptionists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Medical Transcriptionists. Leading ones include: Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' m…; Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material; Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information; Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for medical transcriptionists? ▼
For SOC 31-9094, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0), Writing (3.9), Monitoring (3.1). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Medical Transcriptionists? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $40,410 as the national median for Medical Transcriptionists. The published 10th-90th range is $28,250 to $55,950. Beside Physical Therapist Assistants ($68,380), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Medical Transcriptionists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Medical Transcriptionists is -5%. Projected annual openings: about 7,400. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Medical Transcriptionists? ▼
BLS assigns Postsecondary nondegree award as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Medical Transcriptionists. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Medical Transcriptionists? ▼
Nebraska ($45,880), Alaska ($48,360), Oregon ($46,280) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Medical Transcriptionists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 31-9094. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Medical Transcriptionists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics