Pursuing a career in healthcare support and assistance has grown increasingly popular in the United States over the last couple of decades. For instance, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH), the employment outlook for medical assistants is projected to grow by 16% — which is much faster than average — over the 10 years from 2021 to 2031. The trend for dental assistants, while not as fast, is still one of faster-than-average growth, with employment projected to increase by 8% from 2021 to 2031.
What’s less well known, however, is which types of healthcare support jobs earn the most money. In order to identify the highest paying healthcare assistant jobs, we analyzed data from the BLS’s Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), and zeroed in on occupations that fall into the category denoted as “Healthcare Support Occupations.”
Read on to find out the highest paying healthcare support and assistance jobs in 2023.
10 Highest Paying Healthcare Assistant and Support Jobs in 2023
Looking at the highest paying healthcare assistant jobs of 2023, only two jobs have average annual salaries in excess of the average for all occupations, $61,900 per year. The other 15 healthcare support jobs tracked by the BLS have average annual salaries of less than $58,000. What’s interesting, though, is which healthcare support jobs experienced the most robust growth in wages over the last three years. For example, the highest paying healthcare support job — Occupational Therapy Assistants — saw its mean annual wage grow by only 7.1% from 2019 to 2022, one of the lowest rates of growth in our study. On the other hand, the healthcare assistance job that experienced the largest growth was Occupational Therapy Aides, with its average annual wage increasing by an impressive 25.6% over the same period.
Below is a breakdown of the top 10 highest paying healthcare support jobs in the United States:
1. Occupational Therapy Assistants
2022 Average Annual Occupational Therapy Assistants Salary: $66,280
2019 Average Annual Occupational Therapy Assistants Salary: $61,880
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 7.1%
2. Physical Therapist Assistants
2022 Average Annual Physical Therapist Assistants Salary: $64,510
2019 Average Annual Physical Therapist Assistants Salary: $58,520
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 10.2%
3. Massage Therapists
2022 Average Annual Massage Therapists Salary: $57,060
2019 Average Annual Massage Therapists Salary: $47,180
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 20.9%
4. Medical Equipment Preparers
2022 Average Annual Medical Equipment Preparers Salary: $44,940
2019 Average Annual Medical Equipment Preparers Salary: $39,530
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 13.7%
5. Dental Assistants
2022 Average Annual Dental Assistants Salary: $44,710
2019 Average Annual Dental Assistants Salary: $41,170
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 8.6%
6. Healthcare Support Workers, All Other
2022 Average Annual Healthcare Support Workers, All Other Salary: $43,490
2019 Average Annual Healthcare Support Workers, All Other Salary: $40,010
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 8.7%
7. Occupational Therapy Aides
2022 Average Annual Occupational Therapy Aides Salary: $43,090
2019 Average Annual Occupational Therapy Aides Salary: $34,310
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 25.6%
8. Medical Assistants
2022 Average Annual Medical Assistants Salary: $40,700
2019 Average Annual Medical Assistants Salary: $35,720
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 13.9%
9. Phlebotomists
2022 Average Annual Phlebotomists Salary: $40,580
2019 Average Annual Phlebotomists Salary: $36,480
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 11.2%
10. Psychiatric Aides
2022 Average Annual Psychiatric Aides Salary: $38,620
2019 Average Annual Psychiatric Aides Salary: $32,590
3-Year Growth in Average Annual Salary: 18.5%
Table of the Highest Paying Healthcare Support Jobs
Below you’ll find a table of all highest paying healthcare assistance jobs in the U.S. that the BLS has wage data for. Included in the table are the occupation titles, average annual wages, and change over the last three years:
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