2022 Medical Coding and Billing Salary Report

How Much Money Do Medical Coders Make?

On average, medical coders (certified and non-certified) make $54,797 annually. Medical billers and coders without certification earn approximately $47,200 per year while certified coding and billing specialists make an average annual salary of $60,097 — 27% more than their non-certified colleagues.

The Medical Coding and Billing Salary Survey demonstrates once again that certification pays. The average salary for professional coders with two credentials rises to $64,712. Billing and coding specialists with three or more credentials earn approximately $69,942 per year.

In addition to competitive salaries and standard employment benefits, many employers also offer paid professional association dues and paid continuing education. Full or partial coverage of continuing education is particularly valuable, given the correlation between salary and medical coding credentials.

Other variables that weigh into the salary equation include experience, specialty/medical field, employer type, and location.

What State Pays the Most for Medical Coders?

Salary averages across the 50 states and territories differ by 53%, with the highest average wages received in the District of Columbia and the lowest wages in Mississippi, according to the 2022 salary survey. A health information technician, or medical records technician, makes $11.82 more per hour in D.C than their counterpart in Mississippi.

This disparity in average state salaries for coding and billing professionals reflects differing state economies. D.C., for instance, has higher employment cost and consumer price indices than Mississippi.

Salary for Medical Coders vs Household Incomes

We see a sharp distinction in state economies when we look at median household incomes. The variance between the highest and lowest household income is 88% (Maryland at $74,551 and Mississippi at $39,665).

This 88% gap, significantly exceeding the 53% gap we see in medical coding salaries by state, is worth noting if you’re considering a career in this industry. We see less variance in medical coding salaries because medical coding and billing professionals, for the most part, earn above their state’s median household income.

In Mississippi, for example, coders and billers earn on average 16.60% higher salaries than Mississippi’s median household income. This trend holds for most states but does not apply to all states.

Three patterns become clear when comparing average medical coding salary and median household income by state, which you’ll see reflected in the table below.

• 1.
  The average annual salary in 34 states exceed the state’s median household income.
• 2.
  Coding salaries in 29 states are more than 5% above the median household income. This trend tends to occur in states with low median household incomes.
• 3.
  Coding salaries in 10 states are more than 5% below the median household income. This trend tends to occur in states with high median household incomes.

Bigger Employer, Higher Salary

The average medical coding salary varies by type of employer, with larger healthcare provider organizations able to offer better wages. This trend, similar to salary variations by state economies, has proved consistent in 10+ years of surveying salary by workplace.

A typical health system comprises 3 to 10 hospitals, as well as physician groups, urgent care clinics, and rehabilitation centers. As the largest employer type, the health system pays approximately 19% higher salaries than the medical office of a solo physician. 

Coders and billers employed by hospitals earn the second highest salary, followed by professionals employed by large physician group practices.

In year-over-year comparisons, we see the least salary gains among smaller employer types, which likely represents financial constraints. But professional coders and billers have many workplaces to choose from.

Where Can a Certified Coder Find a Medical Coding Job?

A medical biller or coder will find job opportunities at an array of companies. Some of these potential employers fall to the category of provider organizations and some are part of the larger healthcare ecosystem.

Besides physician offices, hospitals, and health systems, other types of provider organizations relying on billing and coding staff include ambulatory surgery centers, walk-in clinics, assisted living and long-term care facilities, home health agencies, hospices, telehealth companies, labs, and imaging centers.

Companies outside of direct patient care include software and durable medical equipment vendors, insurance companies, government agencies, educational institutions, billing companies, risk adjustment vendors, healthcare consulting firms, and some law offices.

Experience Makes a Difference

It’s not surprising that certification is the No. 1 factor influencing medical coding and billing salaries. After all, professional certification is the litmus test of a job candidate’s value. Nothing gives hiring managers more confidence in a coder or biller’s proficiency than passing the certification exam. The next best vote of confidence — also the second biggest influence on salary — comes with experience.

Every year on the job reinforces the medical billing specialist’s skills. The more time in the trenches of real-world reporting broadens the certified coder’s areas of expertise.

Experience tells the employer that you know the ropes, can handle the day-to-day realities, and are prepared to succeed in the workplace. This is true for all occupations, but it carries extra weight in the healthcare industry. Employers are willing to pay for experience because experience means both accurate and optimal coding.

The starting salary for a CPC is approximately $45,456 per year. Experience, as an isolated influence on compensation, adds upwards of 60% to salary over the course of the CPC’s career. The biggest gains occur in the first ten years.

2022 survey respondents report a median 10 years in the industry. And with medical coding experience comes career advancement opportunities into high-paying healthcare business roles, such as practice management, medical auditing, compliance, and clinical documentation improvement.

Pay Trends for 2022

In 2022, the AAPC Salary Survey showed an average 3.83% pay increase over the previous year — almost double the 2.7% increase across all industries, according to the General Industry Salary Budget Survey.

Medical Coding Salary Trends Based on Location

During the height of the pandemic, 15 states and U.S. territories reported salary loss. Among these, the District of Columbia had been hardest hit. D.C. businesses had begun curtailing operations as early as March 7, 2020 — including Metro — and unsurprisingly, medical billing and coding salaries in D.C. fell by 17.24%.

Fast-forward to today. D.C. has come back strong with a whopping 29.59% lift in average salary. Five additional states that saw coding salary reductions greater than 5% — Utah, North Dakota, Idaho, California, and Kansas — have all rebounded.

Four states did not see salary gains this year. These are Iowa, Wyoming, Mississippi, and Vermont. Interestingly, Vermont was among the states least affected by the pandemic and averaged a 2021 salary increase of 6.17%, the second highest of the country.

Medical Coding Salary Trends Based on Credential

Certified professionals have established a reputation of excellence within the healthcare industry, one that is attributed to quality training and on-the-job experience. Underscoring the value placed on medical coding certification as a measure of proficiency, salaries have increased year over year.

In 2022, the biggest salary increases go to CICs, CPBs, and CDEOs. This news is especially welcomed by CICs, as they were most affected by the 2020 ban on elective and non-urgent procedures. The top paid certifications in 2022, as you can see in the table below, are CPCOs, CPC-Is, and CDEOs.

Medical Coding Salary Trends Based on Education

Although certification carries the most weight with employers and does not require an associate degree or bachelor’s degree to obtain, our survey shows a modest influence of education on medical billing and coding salaries.

Health information technicians with no college education average $25.12 per hour, while a certified coding specialist with some college or an associate degree averages $25.81 per hour — 2.73% more money annually. The hourly wage rises to $26.74 for professionals with a bachelor’s degree.

Graph: Average Medical Coder Salary by Education

Health information professionals with a master’s degree earn 29.17% more on average than certified coders with no postsecondary education. This salary hike, however, has more to do with the professional’s role and job title than directly with education. To explain:

• 1.
  We see minimal difference in salary averages for certified coders with no education and salary averages for certified coders with master’s degrees.
• 2.
  We see significant difference in salary averages for certified coders (with or without a degree) and professionals in upper management roles that require a master’s degree to fulfill.

Coding specialists with master’s degrees — and in master-level positions such as coding director, compliance manager, HIM director, college professor, VP of coding, operations director, CEO, consultant — earn an average of $101,825 annually, according to the 2022 AAPC salary survey. This sum aligns with the median salary of $104,280 per year, or $50.13 per hour, for medical and health services managers, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

If you have your sights set on directing health information management, a four- or six-year degree program may be a wise decision. But if you’re a certified medical coder who bypassed the university and trained directly in a professional certification program, you’ll find a number of paths leading to leadership and its financial rewards.

Employer Trends in Medical Billing and Coding

Only 11.1% of respondents reported working for small physician practices in 2022. This number represents a tremendous shift from 37.2% in 2015. More than 50% of professional coders and billers now work for the largest employer types.

As discussed earlier, the larger the healthcare facility or care setting, the more likely its employees receive a higher salary. As more doctors forgo private practice for the steady paycheck offered by health systems, the medical coding professional will make more pay. Ultimately, this trend will trickle down to affect salary ranges for small organizations, as entry-level positions receive compensation based on national averages.

Is Working from Home Here to Stay?

Historically, remote coding opportunities have been reserved for experienced coders. For several years running, in fact, the number of health information technicians working remotely has held at 30 to 33%, according to this survey.

Employers insisted that apprentice coders gain job experience under their supervision where they could review their work and train them according to in-house guidelines.

But then came the 2020 shutdown. Companies had no option but to rely on technology. Coding and billing staff were sent home, and there they stayed. Now 2022, 70.59% of survey respondents continue to telecommute in part or in full. Only 29% of respondents are back in their traditional onsite office.

Has seeing technology in action inspired employer confidence? We have reason to think entry-level coders will see more telecommuting options in the future. At this point, however, it’s speculation.

More Good News Is on the Horizon

We may see above average salary increases in 2023, according to Willis Towers Watson who projects: “The buyout economy, long-term savings from hybrid work models and a booming job market have all led to forecasts for higher 2022 salary increase.”

SHRM confirms this outlook: For executives, management and professional employees, and support staff in 2023, U.S. companies project above average salary increases.

It’s reasonable to expect these factors to elevate coding and billing pay in 2023. Time will tell, but now may be a great time to seek a raise.

What is the Outlook for the Medical Coding Profession?

Considering that every patient encounter requires coded documentation submitted to insurance and federal payers, it's not surprising that medical coding and billing specialists enjoy favorable job prospects.

The demand for coders and billers was dialed up by the Affordable Care Act, which made medical care available to more people. This development, coupled with the U.S. aging population, means more medical services, which mean more claims for reimbursement.

The Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports:

• Employment of health information technicians is projected to grow 9% over the next decade.
• Medical records and health information specialists will be needed to process the increase in health information data.
• Common use of electronic health records (EHRs) by all types of healthcare providers continues to increase the need for medical record technicians.

How Much Does a Medical Coder Make Year Over Year?

If you’re interested in becoming a medical coding professional or medical billing specialist and want to review long-term salary trends, you’ll find historic details archived in AAPC Healthcare Salary Survey blog posts.

• Medical billing and coding salary 2020
• Medical billing and coding salary 2019
• Medical billing and coding salary 2018
• Medical billing and coding salary 2017
• Medical billing and coding salary 2016
• Medical billing and coding salary 2015
• Medical billing and coding salary 2014
• Medical billing and coding salary 2013
• Medical billing and coding salary 2012
• Medical billing and coding salary 2011
• Medical billing and coding salary 2010

Steps to Becoming a Medical Coder

• Step 1: Complete Medical Coding Training
• Step 2: Pass the CPC Exam
• Step 3: Become and Maintain AAPC Membership
• Step 4: Verify Your Experience
• Step 5: Maintain Certification Through Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Why Choose AAPC for Your Billing and Coding Training?

AAPC is the world’s largest association representing medical billers, coders, auditors, compliance officers, documentation specialists, and practice managers. For more than three decades, AAPC-trained professionals have established an unwavering reputation of excellence. The titles of certified professional biller and certified professional coder come with high expectations and respect.

AAPC's billing and coding programs will prepare you to earn your credential — and help you to maintain your expertise with numerous resources exclusively available to our members. Additionally, you’ll become part of a large nationwide network of coders through our local chapters and online forums

Prepare for your certification exam today and get your future started!

Got Questions?

Visit our medical billing and coding training pages to learn more about a career in medical billing and coding — or contact an AAPC career counselor online or by calling 800-626-2633 for a free consultation.