Medical Administrative Assistant salary in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA

Pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines against Iowa and the US

The middle half of medical administrative assistants in Des Moines-West Des Moines earns $38,380–$46,840. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $49,140, only 1.3 times the bottom tenth, against 1.7 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $8,460 wide, against $9,420 across Iowa and $12,010 nationally: employers in Des Moines-West Des Moines pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a medical administrative assistant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $4,680 a year in pay and about $6,039 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $3,780 in pay. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $45,930 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Des Moines-West Des Moines, and the Iowa statewide median of $40,980 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Des Moines-West Des Moines

At the $42,160 median, a local hire costs about $54,400 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $12,240 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for medical administrative assistants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Des Moines-West Des Moines

Of the 17 roles we track in Des Moines-West Des Moines, this one ranks #16 by median pay, between data entry specialists ($42,580) and virtual receptionists ($37,910). Project Coordinator is the highest at $101,150.

Measured against the US median, medical administrative assistants rank #16 of the 17 roles we track in Des Moines-West Des Moines (-8.2%), between e-commerce order specialists (-6.8%) and executive assistants (-15.1%). The typical role here is at -1.1%, so, measured against the US, medical administrative assistants cost less in Des Moines-West Des Moines than the area's general pay level would suggest. Medical administrative assistants hold 5.2% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Des Moines-West Des Moines, 7.7% across Iowa and 6.1% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Iowa

Across the 12 areas of Iowa with data for this job, the median runs from $38,290 in the Southeast Iowa nonmetro area to $50,130 in Iowa City, a gap of $11,840 a year. No other area in Iowa has as many medical administrative assistants, and 10 of the other 11 pay less.

Des Moines-West Des Moines against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Des Moines-West Des Moines is #71 of 514 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside Iowa, Traverse City and Erie pay just above Des Moines-West Des Moines and Columbus and Provo-Orem just below. All four are within $210 a year of the median in Des Moines-West Des Moines. Of the three markets with about as many medical administrative assistants, two pay more.

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How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.