Advertised annual base pay for certified anesthesiologist assistants pushed past fourth-quarter 2025’s ceiling in the first quarter of 2026, with top offers climbing to $350,000, according to a May 21 report from anesthesia career platform BagMask.com.
The report, built from job postings collected January through March 2026, delivers state-by-state advertised averages, minimums, maximums and rankings for CAAs working under the anesthesia care team model.
Four things to know:
- In fourth-quarter 2025, the advertised CAA ceiling sat at $330,000. First-quarter 2026 broke through that mark, with peak advertised maximums reaching $350,000 in Texas, $340,000 in Georgia and $330,000 in Wisconsin.
- The rankings reshuffled at the top. Markets that previously did not lead the leaderboard now post some of the most aggressive offers in the country, with Texas taking the high-water mark for advertised maximum pay.
- Salary floors rose in markets that previously sat mid-pack. Missouri and Nevada have established advertised minimum salaries starting at $250,000, well above the $180,000 floor still seen in some states.
- New Mexico, Michigan and Nevada currently post the highest average advertised salaries, at $275,000, $271,300 and $270,000, respectively, offering a balance of high entry points and strong earning potential without the wide internal spreads seen in states like Texas.
The report focuses on advertised base pay and does not capture call pay, callback pay, extra OR blocks, signing and retention bonuses, loan repayment or CME and retirement benefits. BagMask.com attributes the acceleration to hospitals using the ACT model to manage rising surgical volumes.
The fourth-quarter 2025 and first-quarter 2026 CAA reports are available here.
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