Billing and Coding Pay

• Workers in medical billing and coding are classified as medical records and health information technicians, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These workers earned an annual mean wage of $33,880 as of May 2009. Those in the 10th percentile earned $20,850, while those in the 90th percentile earned $51,510.
  
  

Medical Transcription Pay

• Medical transcriptionists in the United States earned a mean annual wage of $33,350 as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics; an overall average just barely lower than workers in billing and coding. Those in the 10th percentile earned $22,430, which is higher than those in that percentile in billing and coding careers. Those in the 90th percentile earned $45,700 on average, which is lower than those in billing and coding careers.
  
  

Industry

• Both medical coders and transcriptionists are most frequently employed by general medical and surgical hospitals, an industry which pays those in billing and coding $35,870 and medical transcriptionists $34,480. The offices of physicians is the number two industry, offering billing and coding workers $28,460 and transcriptionists more at $32,410. The highest paying industry for those with a career in billing and coding is that of pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing at an annual mean wage of $61,210. The highest paying industry for transcriptionists, medical and diagnostic laboratories, is significantly less at $38,680, meaning greater opportunities exist for higher pay in a career in billing and coding.
  
  

Location

• The cost of living and demand for workers will affect pay for both types of careers. For those with a career in billing and coding, New Jersey is the top-paying state at an annual mean wage of $45,750, followed by Hawaii at $41,340;the District of Columbia is next at $41,290. For medical transcriptionists, Massachusetts is the state with the highest wages at an average of $42,880, followed by Alaska at $42,640 and California at $41,100.