Medical Records Specialists Career, Salary and Skills
Medical Records Specialists have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $51,140 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 194,720. Wage data is published for 427 locations.
Occupation description
Compile, process, and maintain medical records of hospital and clinic patients in a manner consistent with medical, administrative, ethical, legal, and regulatory requirements of the healthcare system. Classify medical and healthcare concepts, including diagnosis, procedures, medical services, and equipment, into the healthcare industry's numerical coding system. Includes medical coders.
O*NET code
29-2072.00
Job zone
3
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
None
National salary and employment
Median annual
$51,140
Hourly median
$24.59
Employment
194,720
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3.62 | 3.25 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.38 | 3.25 |
| Active Listening | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Speaking | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Time Management | 3.12 | 2.88 |
| Writing | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.00 | 2.62 |
| Monitoring | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Active Learning | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Service Orientation | 3.00 | 3.00 |
Typical tasks
- Protect the security of medical records to ensure that confidentiality is maintained.
- Review records for completeness, accuracy, and compliance with regulations.
- Scan patients' health records into electronic formats.
- Release information to persons or agencies according to regulations.
- Enter data, such as demographic characteristics, history and extent of disease, diagnostic procedures, or treatment into computer.
- Maintain or operate a variety of health record indexes or storage and retrieval systems to collect, classify, store, or analyze information.
- Process patient admission or discharge documents.
- Retrieve patient medical records for physicians, technicians, or other medical personnel.
Technology
- EndoSoft
- Entity Management Software
- Epic Systems
- Fox Meadows Accent Data Manager
- Fox Meadows ChartingPlus
- Fox Meadows EncounterManager
- GE Healthcare Logician
- Graphics software
- Greenway Medical Technologies PrimeChart
- Health Care Data HealthProbe
- Healthcare common procedure coding system HCPCS
- Henry Schein Dentrix
- HMS
- Holt Systems eMedRec
Medical Records Specialists salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in FLMedian $45,760 · Employment 21,490
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in CAMedian $61,810 · Employment 18,700
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in TXMedian $48,860 · Employment 17,210
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in NYMedian $61,720 · Employment 9,080
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in New York, NYMedian $61,190 · Employment 8,090
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in OHMedian $50,990 · Employment 7,440
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in Los Angeles, CAMedian $59,110 · Employment 7,240
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in PAMedian $46,840 · Employment 6,970
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in NCMedian $49,620 · Employment 6,760
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in GAMedian $51,550 · Employment 5,930
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in INMedian $47,670 · Employment 5,860
- Medical Records Specialists Salary in ILMedian $56,440 · Employment 5,740
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.