Medical Assistants salary in Merced, CA

Median pay for medical assistants in Merced, CA: $37,650/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $35,020 – $47,910 · about 560 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($39,165) by −$1,515 (-4%).

What it's really worth in Merced

With Merced's cost of living at 100 (US=100), that $37,650 has the buying power of about $37,794 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $64,772 · median home $419,171 · median rent $1,975/mo.

Full Merced cost of living & taxes →

How Merced ranks for this job

On raw pay, Merced, CA is 121st of the 186 metros we hold medical assistants wages for. Once Merced's cost of living is applied, it ranks 167th.

The headline number flatters Merced. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, medical assistants here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in Merced

A median home in Merced, CA costs $419,171 — about 11.1× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,975/mo works out at 63% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where medical assistants earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Merced.

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
Vallejo, CA	$74,750	+99%	1.2×
San Jose, CA	$60,500	+61%	1.8×
San Francisco, CA	$59,770	+59%	1.6×
Sacramento, CA	$59,520	+58%	1.2×

Same job elsewhere in CA

Metro	Median pay	vs Merced	Rent vs Merced
Vallejo, CA	$74,750	+99%	1.2×
San Jose, CA	$60,500	+61%	1.8×
San Francisco, CA	$59,770	+59%	1.6×
Sacramento, CA	$59,520	+58%	1.2×

Staying in CA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

Other jobs in Merced