Medical coding and medical billing are the two healthcare jobs most often posted as remote, and for a simple reason: the work is done at a computer, on records and claims, with no patient in the room. The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes medical records specialists, the occupation that includes medical coders, as one of the few health occupations with no direct hands-on patient care. This guide covers what the jobs pay, using the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics for May 2025 (the newest national and state wage data the government publishes), which kinds of employers hire coders and billers, where the jobs are concentrated, and what it takes to qualify. Open coding jobs, including the ones employers label remote, are on the medical coder jobs board.
Billing and coding are two different jobs
Employers and training programs often say "billing and coding" in one breath, but the BLS counts them as two occupations, and they pay differently.
- Medical coders read the clinical record and translate diagnoses, procedures, services and equipment into the numerical code sets that insurers and government programs pay against. The BLS counts coders inside medical records specialists: 194,720 employed in May 2025, with a mean annual wage of $56,790 and a median of $51,140.
- Medical billers turn the coded encounter into a claim, submit it, post payments and chase denials. The BLS counts them inside billing and posting clerks, an occupation that spans every industry: 404,060 employed in May 2025 across all industries, with a mean annual wage of $51,070 and a median of $48,500. Within healthcare, physician offices employ 65,230 of them and general hospitals 35,330.
Many small practices combine the two into one "biller/coder" role; large hospitals and health systems split them, and the coding side carries the credential requirements and the higher pay ceiling.
What remote medical coding jobs pay (BLS May 2025)
The BLS does not publish a separate wage for remote positions, and a remote coder is paid on the employer's scale, not a national "remote rate". The national distribution for medical records specialists is the right starting point. Half earn between $43,490 and $64,820; the top 10% earn more than $81,150.
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% (median) | 75% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage | $17.79 | $20.91 | $24.59 | $31.17 | $39.01 |
| Annual wage | $37,000 | $43,490 | $51,140 | $64,820 | $81,150 |
The spread between the 10th and 90th percentile is more than $44,000 a year. Where a coder lands depends on the setting (hospital inpatient coding pays more than physician-office coding), the credential, the specialty and the employer's home market, which still sets the scale for most remote roles.
What medical billing jobs pay
Billing and posting clerks earn less at the top than coders, but the floor is similar and the entry requirements are lower. The national distribution for all industries:
| Percentile | 10% | 25% | 50% (median) | 75% | 90% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage | $17.93 | $20.60 | $23.32 | $28.02 | $32.55 |
| Annual wage | $37,290 | $42,840 | $48,500 | $58,290 | $67,710 |
In the two healthcare settings that employ the most billers, the mean annual wage is $49,390 in offices of physicians (median $47,570) and $51,740 in general medical and surgical hospitals (median $48,810). Office administrative services firms, the category that includes outsourced billing companies, employ 12,810 billing clerks at a mean of $50,740.
Who hires remote coders and billers
Remote coding jobs come from three kinds of employers: hospitals and health systems that moved their coding departments home, the corporate offices of those systems (counted by the BLS under "management of companies and enterprises"), and the outsourcing firms that code and bill on contract (consulting, office administrative and bookkeeping services). The May 2025 industry breakdown for medical records specialists shows where the jobs sit and what each setting pays.
| Industry | Coders and records specialists employed | Mean annual wage | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| General medical and surgical hospitals | 51,740 | $62,270 | $59,460 |
| Offices of physicians | 34,860 | $50,060 | $47,120 |
| Management of companies and enterprises (health-system corporate offices) | 14,870 | $64,590 | $60,980 |
| Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) | 9,790 | $50,250 | $46,940 |
| Management, scientific and technical consulting services | 9,610 | $48,580 | $43,880 |
| Outpatient care centers | 9,510 | $58,070 | $50,900 |
| Office administrative services | 7,490 | $59,360 | $56,920 |
| Accounting, bookkeeping and payroll services | 6,870 | $55,120 | $51,780 |
| Federal government | 5,320 | $64,330 | $63,880 |
| Employment services (staffing and agency work) | 5,000 | $53,380 | $46,820 |
| Home health care services | 4,780 | $52,420 | $48,510 |
| Insurance carriers | 3,820 | $65,830 | $62,650 |
| Specialty hospitals (except psychiatric and substance abuse) | 1,940 | $63,220 | $60,410 |
Three things stand out. Hospitals employ more coders than any other setting and pay about $12,000 a year more than physician offices. The corporate offices of health systems and insurance carriers pay the most of the large settings, above $64,000 on average. And the consulting and staffing firms that place coders on contract pay the least, with medians around $44,000 to $47,000, which is the trade-off for the flexibility and the remote-first setup many of them offer.
Where the coding jobs are
A remote job can be filled from anywhere, but most employers still hire where they operate, and pay scales follow the employer's market. The ten states with the most medical records specialists, with each state's mean and median annual wage. Each state links to the open coder jobs there.
| # | State | Employed | Mean annual wage | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida | 21,490 | $50,440 | $45,760 |
| 2 | California | 18,700 | $68,230 | $61,810 |
| 3 | Texas | 17,210 | $52,880 | $48,860 |
| 4 | New York | 9,080 | $67,200 | $61,720 |
| 5 | Ohio | 7,440 | $56,620 | $50,990 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 6,970 | $53,050 | $46,840 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 6,760 | $55,510 | $49,620 |
| 8 | Georgia | 5,930 | $56,830 | $51,550 |
| 9 | Indiana | 5,860 | $53,370 | $47,670 |
| 10 | Illinois | 5,740 | $57,160 | $56,440 |
Relative to the size of its workforce, the occupation is most concentrated in Alaska (3.3 medical records specialists per 1,000 jobs), Florida (2.2), Kentucky (2.1), Mississippi (2.0), South Dakota (2.0) and Indiana (1.8). Florida is the biggest coding labor market by headcount and one of the lowest-paying large ones, which is exactly the gap remote hiring tends to close: a Florida coder working remotely for a California or New York health system is paid on that system's scale.
Highest-paying states and metros for coders
By mean annual wage, the District of Columbia leads at $80,250 (median $72,040), followed by California ($68,230), Washington ($67,480), New York ($67,200), Hawaii ($65,590), Alaska ($64,440), Connecticut ($63,970), Minnesota ($63,570), Rhode Island ($63,150) and Colorado ($61,810). At the other end, Mississippi ($44,380), Alabama ($45,710) and Arkansas ($45,880) have the lowest state means.
The metro figures show how far an employer's home market can move a remote coder's pay. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, pays a mean of $97,430; Sacramento ($76,110), Chattanooga ($76,090), San Francisco-Oakland ($75,570) and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue ($72,530) follow. The largest coding markets by headcount are New York-Newark-Jersey City (8,090 employed, mean $66,990), Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (7,240, $65,810), Dallas-Fort Worth (5,210, $57,030), Miami-Fort Lauderdale (4,530, $53,960) and Chicago (4,510, $59,350).
How to qualify for a remote coding job
- Education. The BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award, typically a certificate program, as the usual entry-level education for medical records specialists, with no work experience or on-the-job training required to start. Billing roles are often open to applicants with a high school diploma and office experience.
- Certification. The BLS notes that employers may prefer to hire medical records specialists who hold a certification, and that certification may be required or preferred. In practice, hospital and health-system coding postings usually require a coding credential; billing postings more often list one as preferred.
- Current code sets. The diagnosis code set changes every federal fiscal year. The 2026 ICD-10-CM codes published by CMS apply to patient encounters from October 1, 2025, with a mid-year addendum effective April 1, 2026. Employers test on the current set, so a certificate earned on last year's codes needs a refresher.
- Remote-specific requirements. Postings for work-from-home coding typically spell out a private workspace, a reliable connection and privacy rules for patient records. Read each posting for productivity and accuracy targets, which remote coding teams measure closely.
- Experience ladder. Most fully remote coding roles ask for a year or more of production coding, because remote coders get less day-to-day supervision. Physician-office, outpatient and billing roles are the usual on-ramp, and many health systems move coders home after an on-site probation period.
Job outlook
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook counts 200,700 medical records specialist jobs in 2025 and projects employment to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding 15,600 jobs. The number that matters for a job seeker is openings: the BLS projects about 14,000 openings a year over the decade, from growth and from replacing workers who retire or change occupations.
Where to look
The medical coder jobs board lists open coding and health information positions from hospital and health-system career sites, including the ones employers label remote. Filter by state to compare an employer's home market against the pay tables above, or start with the biggest ones: Florida, California, Texas and New York. If you are a nurse weighing a desk role instead, see the best remote careers for registered nurses and companies hiring remote nurses; for the other entry-level office path, see medical assistant salary by state.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Medical Records Specialists (29-2072) occupation profile, May 2025, read 18 October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Billing and Posting Clerks (43-3021) occupation profile, May 2025, read 18 October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Medical Records Specialists, 2025 pay and 2025-35 projections, read 18 October 2026.
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS code files, fiscal year 2026, read 18 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How much do remote medical coders make?
The BLS does not publish a separate remote wage. Medical records specialists, the occupation that includes medical coders, had a mean annual wage of $56,790 and a median of $51,140 in May 2025; half earn between $43,490 and $64,820 and the top 10% earn more than $81,150. A remote coder is paid on the employer's scale, so hospitals (mean $62,270) and health-system corporate offices ($64,590) pay more than physician offices ($50,060).
How much do medical billers make?
Billing and posting clerks earned a mean of $51,070 and a median of $48,500 a year in May 2025 across all industries. In offices of physicians the mean was $49,390 and in general hospitals $51,740.
Which states have the most medical coding jobs?
Florida (21,490 medical records specialists employed in May 2025), California (18,700), Texas (17,210), New York (9,080) and Ohio (7,440). Relative to workforce size, the occupation is most concentrated in Alaska, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi and South Dakota.
Do you need a certification for a remote medical coding job?
The BLS says employers may prefer to hire medical records specialists who hold a certification, and that certification may be required or preferred. Hospital and health-system coding postings usually require a coding credential, and most fully remote coding roles also ask for a year or more of production coding experience.
Is medical coding a growing field?
Yes. The BLS projects employment of medical records specialists to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, adding 15,600 jobs, with about 14,000 openings a year over the decade.