Medical Billing and Coding Starting Salary: What Entry-Level Jobs Pay

The federal pay tables for these occupations publish whole-occupation percentiles, not an entry-level wage, so the 10th and 25th percentiles are the closest published read on what new hires earn.

The figures below cover the combined field; the medical billing and coding career guide maps what the role itself involves.

For the coding half, the closest group is medical records specialists (SOC 29-2072) — the federal occupation that includes medical coders along with records staff who do not code.

In May 2025 its national percentiles ran $37,000 at the 10th, $43,490 at the 25th and $51,140 at the median, or $17.79 an hour at the 10th percentile and $24.59 at the median.

For the billing half, the closest group is billing and posting clerks (SOC 43-3021), which BLS counts across all industries, not just healthcare — there is no separate federal code for medical billers.

Its May 2025 percentiles ran $37,290 at the 10th, $42,840 at the 25th and $48,500 at the median.

BLS's Occupational Outlook Handbook reports the same May 2025 figures for medical records specialists, the closest available group to coders: a $51,140 median, with the lowest 10 percent earning less than $37,000 and the highest 10 percent more than $81,150.

The two groups start nearly level at the bottom percentiles.

The separation shows up higher in the distribution, where the coder-side group's 90th percentile sits at $81,150 against $67,710 for billing and posting clerks.

The survey side tells a similar story.

According to AAPC's 2025 Salary Survey, respondents with 0-1 years on the job averaged $45,377 — self-reported figures from AAPC members, not a BLS statistic.

Entry requirements shape who starts where.

BLS says medical records specialists typically need a postsecondary certificate to enter the occupation, although some qualify with a high school diploma and others need an associate's or bachelor's degree.

Our sources carry no pay figure for a "charge entry specialist," an "AR specialist" or a "Coder I," and our research found no standard source that defines coder levels I, II and III.

The occupation groups above are the closest published tiers.

By those tiers, charge entry, payment posting and billing-clerk work map toward billing and posting clerks (SOC 43-3021), while coder I postings map toward medical records specialists (SOC 29-2072).

At the bottom of the ladder the two tiers pay nearly the same: $37,290 versus $37,000 at the 10th percentile, and $42,840 versus $43,490 at the 25th.

What separates them is the ceiling.

The coder-side group's 75th and 90th percentiles ran $64,820 and $81,150 in May 2025, against $58,290 and $67,710 for the billing group — the wider spread in the federal tables sits on the coding side.

Where an entry job sits matters as much as its title.

For the coder-side group, hospitals paid $39,530 at the 10th and $47,370 at the 25th percentile, while offices of physicians paid $35,320 and $39,160 — the same occupation, different dollars at the same percentiles.

You can see how titles, settings and pay bands actually combine in the entry-level billing and coding jobs employers post on this board.

AAPC's cleanest number is a survey-wide comparison, not an entry-level one.

In its 2025 Salary Survey, certified respondents averaged $67,260 against $55,721 for non-certified respondents — 20.7% more.

The survey drew more than 20,000 responses from AAPC membership and was published February 2, 2026, so the certified average describes workers at every experience level, not first-year hires alone.

For people just entering, the apprentice designation is the concrete case.

AAPC attaches the "A" — apprentice — to the CPC when you pass the exam without two years of coding experience, and it stays until the experience requirement is met.

AAPC's 2025 Salary Survey state data put numbers on the apprentice step: CPC-A holders averaged $48,773 in Texas against $69,212 for full CPC holders, and $58,000 in New York against $77,611.

These are state-level samples, and AAPC's national report page publishes no CPC-A average, so read them as directional rather than exact.

On the AHIMA side, the CCA's requirements are: candidates need a high school diploma or equivalent, and AHIMA recommends — but does not require — coding coursework or experience.

BLS describes the employer side: employers may prefer certified applicants or expect new hires to earn certification shortly after being hired.

Certification is a credential from a body such as AAPC or AHIMA, not a government license — BLS's OOH wording is that it "may be required or preferred."

Setting moves the number first.

For medical records specialists, hospitals paid $39,530 at the 10th and $47,370 at the 25th percentile in May 2025, against $35,320 and $39,160 in offices of physicians.

The gap is wider at the median: medians ran $59,120 in hospitals against $47,120 in offices of physicians.

AAPC's survey shows the same gradient by employer type.

Respondents averaged $53,246 at solo and small practices (2-10 physicians), $59,088 at medium groups (11-49), $65,224 at large groups (50 or more) and $65,396 at individual hospitals.

Health systems paid $67,657 on average.

These AAPC averages cover all experience levels, so they describe the market a new hire walks into rather than a starting salary.

State spreads are wide.

In AAPC's survey, state averages ran from $77,708 in Delaware down to $50,393 in Mississippi — a 54.2% spread — and AAPC's ranking is its own: BLS's state data puts the District of Columbia at the top for the coder-side occupation instead.

For brand-new hires the clearest state pair is the apprentice credential above: in AAPC's survey state data, $48,773 in Texas against $58,000 in New York for CPC-A holders — the same credential, two state markets.

The federal state tables publish medians and percentiles for each occupation — not an entry-level cut — so the state tables in the full medical billing and coding salary table are the closest published state picture.

On AAPC's survey evidence the move out of year one is quick.

Respondents with 2-4 years on the job averaged $51,073.

Those with 5-9 years averaged $59,144.

First-year respondents averaged $45,377.

The survey reports the following average incomes by years on the job.

The ends are $45,377 at 0-1 years and $80,479 at 31 or more — a 77.3% difference — and the largest band-to-band increases in the table land at 5-9 and 10-15 years.

Read the ladder as experienced-member averages, not a schedule.

Respondents report a median 13.7 years in the industry, and our research found no standard annual raise figure for these jobs from either BLS or AAPC.

For economy-wide context, BLS's Employment Cost Index put private-industry wage and salary growth at 3.1% for the 12 months ending June 2026, and 3.6% in health care and social assistance.

That is average wage growth across the economy, not a raise anyone is promised.

Career information, not coding, billing-compliance, legal or tax advice. Confirm certification requirements with AAPC or AHIMA, and check current figures with BLS and each employer's posting.