Occupation salary profile

Medical Transcriptionists

SOC 31-9094 BLS OEWS May 2025

Transcribe medical reports recorded by physicians and other healthcare practitioners using various electronic devices, covering office visits, emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging studies, operations, chart reviews, and final summaries. Transcribe dictated reports and translate abbreviations into fully understandable form. Edit as necessary and return reports in either printed or electronic form for review and signature, or correction.

National median · BLS
$40,410
▲ +7.62% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
—
Too few H-1B filings
Average salary · BLS
$41,710
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
41,550
Jobs (BLS)
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Pay range for Medical Transcriptionists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS)
10th — entry pay$28,250
25th$34,150
Median (50th)$40,410
75th$48,000
90th — top pay$55,950

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Medical Transcriptionists

BLS projects employment of medical transcriptionists to decline 4.4% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 6,200 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
42,000 → 40,200
-1,900 jobs
Projected change
-4.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
6,200
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Postsecondary nondegree award
No related experience required
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 3)
Medium Preparation Needed. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a postsecondary certificate (nondegree award) →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Medical Transcriptionists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Active Listening4.1
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Writing3.9
  • Monitoring3.1
  • Critical Thinking3.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.0
  • Speaking3.0
  • Time Management3.0
  • Active Learning2.9
  • Social Perceptiveness2.8
Top knowledge areas
  • English Language4.5
  • Administrative4.3
  • Computers and Electronics3.8
  • Medicine and Dentistry3.0
  • Customer and Personal Service2.7
  • Telecommunications2.1
  • Administration and Management2.1
  • Mathematics1.8
Software and technology used
eClinicalWorks EHR softwareMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ASP.NETMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft WordAllscripts healthcare automation softwareBoston Bar Systems Corporation SonnetBytescribe Development Company WavPlayerCalendar softwareCorel WordPerfect Office SuiteCrescendo Systems Corporation MedRite-XLCrescendo Systems DigiScribe-XLDatabase softwaredBASE Plus

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What medical transcriptionists do

  • Return dictated reports in printed or electronic form for physician's review, signature, and corrections and for inclusion in patients' medical records.
  • Produce medical reports, correspondence, records, patient-care information, statistics, medical research, and administrative material.
  • Identify mistakes in reports and check with doctors to obtain the correct information.
  • Review and edit transcribed reports or dictated material for spelling, grammar, clarity, consistency, and proper medical terminology.
  • Transcribe dictation for a variety of medical reports, such as patient histories, physical examinations, emergency room visits, operations, chart reviews, consultation, or discharge summaries.
  • Distinguish between homonyms and recognize inconsistencies and mistakes in medical terms, referring to dictionaries, drug references, and other sources on anatomy, physiology, and medicine.
  • Set up and maintain medical files and databases, including records such as x-ray, lab, and procedure reports, medical histories, diagnostic workups, admission and discharge summaries, and clinical resumes.
  • Translate medical jargon and abbreviations into their expanded forms to ensure the accuracy of patient and health care facility records.
Also called
Medical ScribeMedical TranscriptionistRadiology TranscriptionistTranscriptionistClinical Medical TranscriptionistDocumentation SpecialistMedical Language SpecialistMedical TranscriberPathology TranscriptionistScribe
More job titles for this occupation (16)
Certified Medical TranscriptionistClinical ScribeData TranscriberEmergency Medical ScribeMedical Assistant Scribe (MA Scribe)Medical Language ProfessionalMedical Record TranscriberMedical Records ClerkMedical StenographerMedical Transcription EditorOphthalmic ScribeProvider ScribeRegistered Medical TranscriptionistTranscriberTranscribing Machine OperatorTranscription Specialist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.