Medical Assistants salary in Duluth, MN
Median pay for medical assistants in Duluth, MN: $45,610/yr
Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $37,040 – $55,740 · about 610 employed locally
Above the typical metro median ($39,165) by +$6,445 (+16%).
What it's really worth in Duluth
With Duluth's cost of living at 87 (US=100), that $45,610 has the buying power of about $52,316 in an average-cost US metro.
Local context: median household income $67,612 · median home $264,350 · median rent $1,381/mo.
How Duluth ranks for this job
On raw pay, Duluth, MN is 32nd of the 186 metros we hold medical assistants wages for. Once Duluth's cost of living is applied, it ranks 5th.
Pay here goes further than the headline number suggests — Duluth 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 Duluth
A median home in Duluth, MN costs $264,350 — about 5.8× 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 $1,381/mo works out at 36% 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 Duluth.
| Metro | Median pay | vs Duluth | Rent vs Duluth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallejo, CA | $74,750 | +64% | 1.7× |
| San Jose, CA | $60,500 | +33% | 2.6× |
| San Francisco, CA | $59,770 | +31% | 2.4× |
| Sacramento, CA | $59,520 | +30% | 1.7× |
Same job elsewhere in MN
| Metro | Median pay | vs Duluth | Rent vs Duluth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis, MN | $50,610 | +11% | 1.2× |
Staying in MN keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.
Other jobs in Duluth
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.