Salary Scale

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average salary for medical records clerks and coders is $33,880, while the median salary is $31,290 as of May 2009. The lowest a clerk or coder earns is $20,850, the annual wage of those in the 10th percentile. Clerks and coders in the 25th percentile earn $24,870. The highest a clerk or coder earns is $51,510 in the 90th percentile, while those in the 75th percentile earn $40,540.
  
  

Medical Offices

• While most medical clerks and coders work in clinics and hospitals, the job does not require any hands-on patient contact. Of all the medical facilities, the BLS reports that general medical and surgical hospitals offer the highest wages for clerks and coders at an average salary of $35,870, while the offices of physicians offer the lowest at $28,460. Nursing care facilities and outpatient care centers fall in the middle with annual average salaries of $33,100 and $30,650, respectively.
  
  

Other Industries

• Medical clerks and coders can find a higher salary level in other industries where job opportunities are less frequent. For example, those working in scientific research and development services or in other support services earn average salaries of $42,050 and $44,270, respectively. The federal executive branch and business, professional and political organizations both offer average salaries of over $45,000 for clerks and coders. The highest wages for clerks and coders are in pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing, where the salary average is $61,210 annually.
  
  

Area

• The highest salaries for medical clerks and coders based on geographic location are found in Newark, New Jersey, where the BLS states the average salary is $51,390. San Jose and San Francisco, California, are also high paying areas at average salaries of $47,450 and $46,300, respectively. The top-paying state for clerks and coders is New Jersey at an average wage of $45,750 annually, followed by Hawaii at $41,340.