Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive pay in the U.S.
$49,350avg. a year
$23.73 an hour · 1,706,790 employed
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in the U.S. earn an average of $49,350 a year and a median of $47,540. Pay is highest in District of Columbia ($61,270) and lowest in Mississippi ($39,590).
$47,540Median pay
$23.73Average hourly
+22%Avg. pay since 2020
1,706,790Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
111,800 jobs
District of Columbia
$61,270
$29.46 an hour
222,650 jobs
Connecticut
$58,390
$28.07 an hour
337,750 jobs
Massachusetts
$58,380
$28.07 an hour
431,710 jobs
Washington
$58,130
$27.95 an hour
5158,630 jobs
California
$57,710
$27.74 an hour
623,150 jobs
Oregon
$54,070
$25.99 an hour
75,200 jobs
Rhode Island
$53,790
$25.86 an hour
865,960 jobs
New Jersey
$52,910
$25.44 an hour
97,020 jobs
Hawaii
$52,870
$25.42 an hour
1031,330 jobs
Minnesota
$52,690
$25.33 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $45k$45k–$48k$48k–$51k$51k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $66,410 | $31.93 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $66,110 | $31.78 |
| New Haven, CT | $63,320 | $30.44 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $61,610 | $29.62 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $60,260 | $28.97 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $60,090 | $28.89 |
| Napa, CA | $59,840 | $28.77 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $59,530 | $28.62 |
Related jobs
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$46,800
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants$79,140
- Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$60,620
- Customer Service Representatives$46,590
- Office Clerks, General$46,420
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$73,490
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $43,060 | $41,630 | 45,050 |
| Alaska | $49,510 | $48,530 | 5,390 |
| Arizona | $50,130 | $47,940 | 31,220 |
| Arkansas | $39,890 | $37,630 | 8,590 |
| California | $57,710 | $55,400 | 158,630 |
| Colorado | $50,700 | $48,690 | 29,120 |
| Connecticut | $58,390 | $57,210 | 22,650 |
| Delaware | $49,140 | $47,970 | 6,320 |
| District of Columbia | $61,270 | $59,910 | 11,800 |
| Florida | $48,730 | $45,900 | 104,000 |
| Georgia | $43,340 | $41,600 | 44,430 |
| Hawaii | $52,870 | $50,830 | 7,020 |
| Idaho | $43,920 | $43,710 | 7,570 |
| Illinois | $52,070 | $48,310 | 74,280 |
| Indiana | $44,770 | $44,270 | 20,100 |
| Iowa | $45,770 | $45,150 | 12,830 |
| Kansas | $43,340 | $42,270 | 32,120 |
| Kentucky | $44,840 | $44,200 | 18,420 |
| Louisiana | $40,370 | $38,790 | 28,040 |
| Maine | $51,220 | $49,820 | 6,740 |
| Maryland | $50,790 | $48,680 | 54,890 |
| Massachusetts | $58,380 | $57,940 | 37,750 |
| Michigan | $47,710 | $46,020 | 40,830 |
| Minnesota | $52,690 | $51,400 | 31,330 |
| Mississippi | $39,590 | $37,340 | 14,720 |
| Missouri | $44,750 | $43,540 | 33,180 |
| Montana | $43,420 | $43,940 | 4,520 |
| Nebraska | $47,820 | $46,760 | 16,240 |
| Nevada | $48,160 | $46,570 | 16,790 |
| New Hampshire | $49,000 | $48,080 | 9,050 |
| New Jersey | $52,910 | $50,260 | 65,960 |
| New Mexico | $47,380 | $46,450 | 25,430 |
| New York | $51,490 | $49,600 | 122,490 |
| North Carolina | $46,200 | $45,790 | 43,690 |
| North Dakota | $47,420 | $47,480 | 5,800 |
| Ohio | $47,360 | $46,230 | 54,790 |
| Oklahoma | $41,070 | $39,660 | 20,120 |
| Oregon | $54,070 | $51,740 | 23,150 |
| Pennsylvania | $46,570 | $46,270 | 65,310 |
| Rhode Island | $53,790 | $52,140 | 5,200 |
| South Carolina | $45,010 | $44,880 | 30,180 |
| South Dakota | $42,030 | $41,700 | 6,120 |
| Tennessee | $46,140 | $45,810 | 34,580 |
| Texas | $45,850 | $45,140 | 149,650 |
| Utah | $47,530 | $47,050 | 14,870 |
| Vermont | $50,160 | $48,920 | 3,360 |
| Virginia | $49,720 | $47,620 | 31,580 |
| Washington | $58,130 | $57,330 | 31,710 |
| West Virginia | $41,990 | $40,370 | 8,820 |
| Wisconsin | $48,830 | $47,710 | 28,100 |
| Wyoming | $45,890 | $45,450 | 2,250 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$53,310
122,680 jobsLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$56,320
58,800 jobsChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$54,630
50,190 jobsDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$48,260
37,550 jobsWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$56,400
37,010 jobsHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$47,460
33,710 jobsMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$48,550
33,380 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$50,280
32,850 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive make?
The average is $49,350 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $47,540 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $23.73, and the median is $22.86 an hour.
Which state pays secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive the most?
District of Columbia, with an average of $61,270 a year. The best-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $66,410.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $33,280 a year, and the top 10% earn over $66,350.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 43-6014. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.