Medical Assistants salary in Columbus, GA
Median pay for medical assistants in Columbus, GA: $35,250/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $28,080 – $43,290 · about 620 employed locally
Below the typical metro median ($39,165) by −$3,915 (-10%).
What it's really worth in Columbus
With Columbus's cost of living at 89 (US=100), that $35,250 has the buying power of about $39,678 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $55,720 · median home $209,527 · median rent $1,278/mo.
How Columbus ranks for this job
On raw pay, Columbus, GA is 168th of the 186 metros we hold medical assistants wages for. Once Columbus's cost of living is applied, it ranks 124th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Columbus is one of the places where medical assistants gain ground in real terms, because local costs are low relative to what the job pays.
What that salary buys in Columbus
A median home in Columbus, GA costs $209,527 — about 5.9× 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 $1,278/mo works out at 44% 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 Columbus.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Columbus | Rent vs Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo, CA | $74,750 | +112% | 1.9× |
| San Jose, CA | $60,500 | +72% | 2.8× |
| San Francisco, CA | $59,770 | +70% | 2.5× |
| Sacramento, CA | $59,520 | +69% | 1.8× |
Same job elsewhere in GA
| Metro | Median pay | vs Columbus | Rent vs Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta, GA | $39,720 | +13% | 1.4× |
| Savannah, GA | $37,440 | +6% | 1.4× |
| Augusta, GA | $36,290 | +3% | 1.2× |
Staying in GA keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Columbus
Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 186 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.