What Medical Assistants earn in Fairfax County, VA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $46,640: the median annual pay for Medical Assistants in Fairfax County, VA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $22.42 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $48,340, which is 3.6% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 13,890 people working in this occupation across the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Fairfax County, VA has roughly 1,147,837 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Medical Assistants in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $37,440 a year ($18.00 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $59,300 or more ($28.51 an hour). That is a gap of $21,860 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $43,480 at the 25th percentile and $51,210 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $22.42 an hour or $46,640 a year at the median for Fairfax County, VA. Before any deductions, that is $3,887 a month, $1,794 every two weeks and $897 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.14 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Fairfax County, VA compares
Compared with the Virginia average
A worker in this occupation in Fairfax County, VA earns $1,938 more than the Virginia average of $44,702, a premium of 4.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $1,938 before tax and roughly $1,568 after tax. Within Virginia, Fairfax County, VA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Medical Assistants is $45,253 across the contiguous United States. At $46,640, Fairfax County, VA pays $1,387 more, which is 3.1% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Fairfax County, VA
Among the 618 occupations with published wages in Fairfax County, VA, Medical Assistants ranks number 511 by median pay, ahead of about 17% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Lawyers at $195,190 a year, which is $148,550 more than the median for Medical Assistants.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Medical Assistants earning the Fairfax County, VA median of $46,640, they add up to $8,918. The result is $37,722 of take-home pay a year ($3,143 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 19.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $30,890. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,468, an effective 7.4% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,892 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $676. FICA totals $3,568, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Virginia
Virginia income tax on this salary is $1,882 a year, or 4.0% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 54% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $157 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Fairfax County, VA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Fairfax County, VA show an average adjusted gross income of $154,326 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.2% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.8%, compared with the 7.4% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Fairfax County, VA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Fairfax County, VA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $37,722 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Fairfax County, VA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,204 a month ($26,448 a year), and at $2,438 for two bedrooms. For Medical Assistants, a one-bedroom absorbs 70.1% of take-home pay and 56.7% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.4% of gross pay for Medical Assistants in Fairfax County, VA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Virginia residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,523 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $597, for $2,119 in total. Gasoline in Virginia averages $3.09 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,429.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $33,432 a year in Fairfax County, VA. Subtract that from $37,722 of take-home pay and $4,290 remains, which is $357 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 9.2% of gross pay, a thin cushion that one unexpected expense could erase.
Can Medical Assistants afford to live in Fairfax County, VA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $46,640 that ceiling is $1,166 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,204 is $1,038 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $42.38 an hour; the median for Medical Assistants is $22.42, which is 47% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.14 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 28.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,438 a month means $1,219 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,820 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $16,110.
How fast you can save
At $357 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 28 months (2.3 years). Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 56 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Medical Assistants pay in Fairfax County, VA
How much do Medical Assistants make per hour in Fairfax County, VA?
The median is $22.42 per hour, based on $46,640 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.00 at the 10th percentile to $28.51 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Medical Assistants take home after taxes in Fairfax County, VA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $46,640 becomes $37,722 a year. That is $3,143 a month, $1,451 every two weeks or $725 a week.
How much tax do Medical Assistants pay in Fairfax County, VA?
Total taxes are $8,918 a year, an effective rate of 19.1%: $3,468 federal income tax, $3,568 FICA and $1,882 Virginia income tax.
Do Medical Assistants earn more in Fairfax County, VA than elsewhere in Virginia?
Yes. The local median of $46,640 is +4.3% versus the Virginia average of $44,702, a difference of $1,938 a year.
Can Medical Assistants afford a one-bedroom apartment in Fairfax County, VA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,204 a month against take-home pay of $3,143, which is 70.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,166 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Medical Assistants in Fairfax County, VA?
About $357 a month ($4,290 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $33,432 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Fairfax County, VA at the 30% guideline?
$42.38 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $26,448 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Medical Assistants is $22.42.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Virginia rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.