For those not directly involved in the medical coding or billing industry, you may not be familiar with AAPC.
AAPC stands for American Academy of Professional Coders. It is a professional association in the United States that provides education, certification, and networking opportunities for medical coders, billers, and other healthcare professionals involved in the business side of healthcare.
The AAPC offers various certification programs, including Certified Professional Coder (CPC), Certified Outpatient Coder (COC), and Certified Risk Adjustment Coder (CRC), among others. The organization aims to promote standards and best practices in medical coding and billing, as well as advocate for the recognition and advancement of professionals in the field.
Getting ‘students’ to pay for AAPC training programs and on-going CEU’s is how the for-profit company stays in business, so naturally it’s in AAPC’s best interest to promote the fact that medical coders with the company credentials can make a comfortable living. To that end each year AAPC releases a ‘salary survey’ each year. The results for 2022 are posted below.

Unfortunately, the job postings with salary ranges and sample of salaries from government run agencies leave an open question to the accuracy of the AAPC report. It’s not that AAPC is intentionally being deceptive, but those reporting their incomes may be inflating their compensation.
Another option could be that APPC is reporting on average vs. the mean, so outliers in management or owners of businesses with credentials could be skewing the number higher. Not sure, be it’s possible the the numbers you see on this survey may not accurately reflect your pay.