Medical Billing and Coding Industry Statistics 2026
How many coding, billing and revenue cycle openings are live right now, where they are, and what federal data says about the people who code charts, bill claims and work the revenue cycle.
BLS has no coder or biller occupation, so every federal figure below names the closest BLS occupation it describes and says whether it counts payroll employees only or the self-employed too.
Live Medical Billing and Coding Openings
These numbers are MedicalBillingHires’s own: every active listing on the board, from employer career sites and direct postings.
Every other figure on this page comes from a federal agency or a named industry source.
| Role | Listings with hourly pay | Median posted low | Median posted high |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patient Access Representatives | 131 | $20.00/hr | $26.00/hr |
| Health Information Technicians | 63 | $16.00/hr | $22.00/hr |
| Medical Billers | 31 | $20.00/hr | $25.00/hr |
| Prior Authorization Specialists | 19 | $19.00/hr | $24.00/hr |
Roles with at least 15 hourly-pay listings are shown; each column is the median of the posted range’s low or high end.
Posted ranges are what employers advertise, not what workers earn, so they do not compare directly with the BLS wages below.
How to read these numbers.
This is a live sample of the openings MedicalBillingHires tracks, not a count of every billing or coding job in the country.
Roles follow our job categories, not BLS occupations, and listings we cannot place in a state count only in the total.
If you cite them, include the date shown and link to this page.
How Big Is the Medical Billing and Coding Workforce?
BLS has no occupation for medical coders or medical billers on their own. Coders are counted in medical records specialists; billers are closest to billing and posting clerks, an occupation that spans every industry.
Payroll counts leave out self-employed workers. Projection counts include them, so they run higher.
| BLS occupation | Payroll jobs, May 2025 | Employment 2025 | Projected 2035 | Browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Records Specialists SOC 29-2072The BLS occupation that includes medical coders. It also counts non-coding medical records staff, so it is wider than coding alone. | 194,720 | 200,700 | 216,300 | Medical coder openings |
| Billing and Posting Clerks SOC 43-3021The closest available BLS occupation for medical billers. It includes billing clerks in every industry; about 44% of its payroll jobs are in health care and social assistance. | 404,060 | 418,000 | 417,700 | Medical biller openings |
| Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks SOC 43-9041A weak proxy for prior authorization and insurance verification staff. About 79% of its payroll jobs are at insurance carriers, not providers. | 214,260 | 239,100 | 234,700 | Prior authorization openings |
| Related occupations | ||||
| Bill and Account Collectors SOC 43-3011The BLS occupation for collections staff, in every industry. Most work for third-party collection agencies; health care and social assistance employ about 11%. | 158,830 | 160,200 | 143,400 | Medical collections openings |
| Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars SOC 29-9021A related health information occupation (registrars, health information analysts). Context only for CDI specialists, who often come from nursing. | 38,100 | 42,000 | 48,600 | CDI specialist openings |
| Medical and Health Services Managers SOC 11-9111The code BLS uses for health information, billing and revenue cycle managers. It also covers hospital administrators, so it overstates typical billing or coding manager pay. | 597,080 | 640,400 | 795,500 | Revenue cycle manager openings |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks SOC 43-4171A broad proxy for patient access staff, in every industry; about 42% of receptionist jobs are in health care and social assistance. | 910,180 | 947,500 | 931,600 | Patient access openings |
Payroll jobs are BLS OEWS wage-and-salary estimates for all industries. Employment 2025 and 2035 are BLS Employment Projections figures, which also count the self-employed, so they run higher.
Payroll billing and posting clerks only (BLS OEWS industry estimates), so the self-employed are not counted. The all-industry BLS figure for this occupation is not healthcare-specific.
Share of all medical records specialists, the occupation that includes coders, self-employed included (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Largest employers only. This is a different count from the payroll figures beside it.
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 29-2072 (includes coders and non-coding records staff). Payroll employees only.
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 43-3021, all industries. Payroll employees only.
Roles BLS does not count on their own
- Medical billing and coding specialists. BLS has no combined occupation. Its 2018 SOC title file puts medical bill coders in medical records specialists and billing clerks in billing and posting clerks, so this page shows both occupations side by side instead of one blended figure. Source
- Prior authorization and insurance verification specialists. BLS has no occupation for them. The nearest code, insurance claims and policy processing clerks, is mostly payer-side: insurance carriers and related activities employed 169,090 of its 214,260 payroll jobs in May 2025, against 5,160 in offices of physicians and 2,430 in hospitals. It is a weak proxy, labelled as such above. Source
- Revenue cycle specialists, managers and revenue integrity analysts. BLS has no revenue cycle occupation. Specialists are closest to billing and posting clerks; managers fall in the broad medical and health services managers code; billing supervisors are counted in first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers ($69,500 median, May 2025). Revenue integrity analysts have no BLS code, so no figure is shown for them. Source
- Credentialing specialists. BLS has no provider credentialing occupation. The title Credentialing Coordinator is assigned to human resources specialists, a broad HR code, so no BLS wage is shown for credentialing staff. Source
- Clinical documentation integrity (CDI) specialists. BLS has no CDI occupation, and CDI staff come from both nursing and health information work. The ACDIS 2025 salary survey (842 responses) reports pay in brackets only: 66.23% of CDI specialists earned $80,000 to $109,999. Source
- Self-employed and freelance billers and coders. OEWS counts payroll employees only, so self-employed and 1099 billers and coders are not in the payroll counts or wages. BLS Employment Projections do include them: about 1.0% of medical records specialists were self-employed in 2025. Source
Where BLS has no occupation for a role, we name the closest group and label it, or show no figure at all.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates, BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, BLS SOC direct match title file
BLS Pay and Growth Benchmarks
BLS projects employment growth from 2025 to 2035 of 7.8% for medical records specialists, the occupation that includes coders, against 3.5% for all occupations. Billing and posting clerks are projected to be flat overall (-0.1%).
Insurance claims and policy processing clerk figures are a weak proxy for prior authorization staff, since most of those clerks work for insurers.
| BLS occupation | Median wage, May 2025 | 10th to 90th percentile | Growth 2025–35 | Openings a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Records Specialists SOC 29-2072 | $51,140$24.59/hr | $37,000 to $81,150 | +7.8% | 14,000 |
| Billing and Posting Clerks SOC 43-3021 | $48,500$23.32/hr | $37,290 to $67,710 | -0.1% | 37,000 |
| Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks SOC 43-9041 | $49,230$23.67/hr | $37,560 to $73,590 | -1.9% | 17,500 |
| Related occupations | ||||
| Bill and Account Collectors SOC 43-3011 | $47,030$22.61/hr | $34,400 to $65,580 | -10.4% | 11,200 |
| Health Information Technologists and Medical Registrars SOC 29-9021 | $68,020$32.70/hr | $39,830 to $117,420 | +15.9% | 3,000 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers SOC 11-9111 | $123,860$59.55/hr | $73,390 to $224,340 | +24.2% | 62,300 |
| Receptionists and Information Clerks SOC 43-4171 | $38,010$18.27/hr | $28,760 to $49,950 | -1.7% | 105,100 |
Wages are BLS OEWS national estimates for wage-and-salary workers in all industries, so they leave out the self-employed. The median for all occupations was $50,980 in May 2025. Growth and openings are BLS Employment Projections, which include the self-employed; openings include replacements for workers who leave the occupation.
| Industry | Payroll jobs | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Medical Records Specialists (SOC 29-2072) | ||
| Hospitals | 55,530 | $59,120 |
| Ambulatory health care services | 55,630 | $47,730 |
| Offices of physicians | 34,860 | $47,120 |
| Administrative and support services | 16,040 | $49,490 |
| Government, excluding schools and hospitals | 8,190 | $60,860 |
| Insurance carriers and related activities | 6,150 | $62,040 |
| Billing and Posting Clerks (SOC 43-3021) | ||
| Health care and social assistance | 175,780 | $48,240 |
| Ambulatory health care services | 127,200 | $47,870 |
| Offices of physicians | 65,230 | $47,570 |
| Hospitals | 37,680 | $48,960 |
| Administrative and support services | 26,840 | $48,190 |
BLS OEWS industry estimates, payroll employees only. Settings overlap: offices of physicians are part of ambulatory health care services, which is part of health care and social assistance. Only the largest or most relevant industries are shown.
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 29-2072, annual median. The lowest of the 50 states were Mississippi ($41,500) and Arkansas ($41,740).
BLS OEWS state estimates, SOC 43-3021, all industries, annual median. The lowest states were Arkansas ($38,780) and West Virginia ($39,300).
Averages reported by AAPC members (more than 20,000 responses; coders, billers, auditors, practice managers and compliance staff). A member survey average, not a BLS median: the two are not comparable. Certified respondents averaged 20.7% more than non-certified respondents.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates, BLS OEWS May 2025 state estimates, BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, AAPC 2025 Salary Survey
Hiring Demand and Industry Indicators
Health information, physician and revenue cycle groups survey staffing, prior authorization workload and automation more often than BLS does.
These figures come from each named source, not from MedicalBillingHires listings. BLS also notes that wider use of AI coding tools may affect demand for medical records specialists.
| Indicator | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Billing and posting clerk jobs in health care, 2025 to 2035178,100 to 190,000 jobs, while the occupation as a whole is flat (self-employed included) | +6.6% | BLS National Employment Matrix, 2025–35 |
| Health information professionals reporting persistent staffing shortagesAt their workplace over the past two years, about 2,500 respondents | 66% | AHIMA 2023 workforce survey (with NORC) |
| Respondents whose unfilled health information positions increased or persistedOver the past year | 83% | AHIMA 2023 workforce survey (with NORC) |
| AI users relying on computer-assisted codingOf respondents whose departments use AI or machine learning; 19% used autonomous coding | 83% | AHIMA and NORC, 2023 workforce and AI study |
| Prior authorizations per physician per weekPractice average; physicians and staff spent 13 hours a week on them | 40 | American Medical Association, 2025 prior authorization survey |
| Physicians with staff who work only on prior authorizationShare of physicians surveyed | 40% | American Medical Association, 2025 prior authorization survey |
| Healthcare organizations using AI or automation in the revenue cycleSurvey of 101 organizations, October to November 2024; 15% of those had seen a positive return | 63% | HFMA and FinThrive survey |
Survey figures describe the people who answered each survey, in the period shown, not the whole workforce.
Statistics by Role
Each role page combines live listing figures with the BLS data for that role.
A role page is published once the board tracks at least 300 of its listings from 25 employers.
- Medical Coder statistics796 live listings from 213 employers
- Medical Biller statistics809 live listings from 258 employers
- Prior Authorization Specialist statistics455 live listings from 162 employers
- Revenue Cycle Specialist statistics686 live listings from 228 employers
- Patient Access Representative statistics3,048 live listings from 234 employers
Frequently Asked Questions
How many medical billing and coding openings are live right now?
MedicalBillingHires listed 6,913 live coding, billing and revenue cycle openings from 472 employers on November 5, 2026. The count covers every active listing on the board and is refreshed every six hours.
How many medical coders are there in the U.S.?
BLS does not count coders on their own. They are part of medical records specialists, an occupation that also includes non-coding records staff: employers reported 194,720 of them on payroll in May 2025 (BLS OEWS). BLS Employment Projections, which include the self-employed, count 200,700 jobs in the occupation in 2025.
How many medical billers are there?
BLS has no medical-biller occupation. The closest, billing and posting clerks, had 404,060 payroll jobs in May 2025 across all industries, and 175,780 of them (about 44%) were in health care and social assistance (BLS OEWS).
Is the medical billing and coding workforce growing?
For coders, yes, by BLS projections: employment of medical records specialists is projected to grow 7.8% from 2025 to 2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 14,000 openings a year. Billing and posting clerks are projected to be flat overall (-0.1%), though BLS projects their jobs in health care to grow 6.6%. The occupation still has about 37,000 openings a year from replacement needs.
What do medical coders earn?
The national median wage for medical records specialists, the BLS occupation that includes coders, was $51,140 a year ($24.59 an hour) in May 2025, close to the $50,980 median for all occupations (BLS OEWS). In hospitals the median was $59,120; in offices of physicians, $47,120. These figures cover payroll employees only.
What do medical billers earn?
BLS has no medical-biller wage. The closest occupation, billing and posting clerks in all industries, had a national median of $48,500 a year ($23.32 an hour) in May 2025, and $47,570 in offices of physicians (BLS OEWS).
Do certified coders earn more?
In AAPC's 2025 Salary Survey of its members, certified respondents averaged $67,260 a year and non-certified respondents $55,721, a difference of 20.7%. That is a member survey average, not a BLS figure, and it describes coders, billers and other revenue cycle staff together.
Do BLS figures include self-employed or freelance billers and coders?
Not the OEWS payroll counts and wages, which cover wage-and-salary workers only. BLS Employment Projections do include the self-employed, which is one reason their counts run higher; about 1.0% of medical records specialists were self-employed in 2025.
Methodology and Sources
Live figures count every active, paid listing on MedicalBillingHires when the page was generated, and the page refreshes every six hours.
Federal figures are quoted as BLS published them: OEWS May 2025 for payroll employment and wages, and Employment Projections 2025–35 for growth and openings.
BLS has no medical coder or medical biller occupation. Coders are counted in medical records specialists, which also include non-coding records staff; billers are closest to billing and posting clerks, which cover every industry. We name the occupation behind every figure and label each stand-in.
Where BLS has no usable occupation for a role, such as credentialing specialists or revenue integrity analysts, we show no BLS figure.
Industry and survey indicators are quoted from the named body, with the period each one covers. AAPC figures are survey averages from its members and are never mixed with BLS medians.
Shares and differences marked as calculated are our arithmetic on the published BLS counts.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national fileWage-and-salary employment and annual and hourly wage percentiles for each occupation, all industries.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, industry fileEmployment and median wages for medical records specialists and billing and posting clerks by industry.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, state fileEmployment and median wages by state.
- BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, Table 1.22025 and 2035 employment (including the self-employed), percent change and average annual openings.
- BLS National Employment Matrix: Billing and Posting ClerksBilling and posting clerk employment in health care and social assistance, 2025 and 2035.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical Records SpecialistsWhere medical records specialists work and the BLS outlook for the occupation.
- BLS 2018 Standard Occupational Classification, occupation definitionsWhich occupations include medical coders and billing clerks.
- BLS 2018 SOC direct match title fileWhich occupation code each job title is assigned to, including medical bill coder, billing clerk and credentialing coordinator.
- AAPC 2026 Medical Coding and Billing Salary Report (2025 Salary Survey)Average pay of AAPC members by certification and credential.
- AHIMA 2023 health information workforce surveyStaffing shortages and unfilled positions reported by health information professionals.
- AHIMA and NORC, 2023 workforce and AI studyUse of computer-assisted and autonomous coding.
- American Medical Association, 2025 prior authorization physician surveyPrior authorization volume and dedicated staff.
- HFMA and FinThrive revenue cycle AI surveyUse of AI and automation in the revenue cycle.
- ACDIS 2025 CDI Salary Survey ReportPay brackets for clinical documentation integrity professionals.
- MedicalBillingHires job listingsActive, paid listings on the board, queried live.