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Salary · Administrative Assistant · United States

Administrative Assistant salary: $47,540 median, and how to negotiate yours.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$47,540median ($22.86/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in the United States was $47,540 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $33,280 and the top 10% earned more than $66,350. That median is 0.9 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($59,910).

Data Government data groups this job as Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive (O*NET-SOC 43-6014.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$33,280
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$38,830
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$58,000
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$66,350
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Administrative Assistant salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. District of Columbia$59,910
  2. Massachusetts$57,940
  3. Washington$57,330
  4. Connecticut$57,210
  5. California$55,400
Most people employed
  1. California158,630
  2. Texas149,650
  3. New York122,490
  4. Florida104,000
  5. Illinois74,280
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$59,910$39,480–$84,29011,800
Massachusetts$57,940$41,510–$78,40037,750
Washington$57,330$43,250–$74,75031,710
Connecticut$57,210$40,700–$78,30022,650
California$55,400$38,060–$78,170158,630
Rhode Island$52,140$38,000–$72,8005,200
Oregon$51,740$38,480–$70,32023,150
Minnesota$51,400$38,080–$66,83031,330
Hawaii$50,830$38,480–$68,1207,020
New Jersey$50,260$36,150–$72,18065,960
Maine$49,820$39,530–$63,4706,740
New York$49,600$37,330–$64,840122,490
Vermont$48,920$39,330–$61,7403,360
Colorado$48,690$37,300–$64,96029,120
Maryland$48,680$35,360–$67,07054,890
Alaska$48,530$35,360–$64,6205,390
Illinois$48,310$31,930–$76,79074,280
New Hampshire$48,080$34,380–$63,6909,050
Delaware$47,970$35,930–$64,1706,320
Arizona$47,940$36,420–$67,98031,220
Wisconsin$47,710$36,680–$61,94028,100
Virginia$47,620$34,040–$66,70031,580
North Dakota$47,480$34,920–$60,7805,800
Utah$47,050$31,600–$63,85014,870
Nebraska$46,760$35,900–$62,13016,240
Nevada$46,570$34,180–$63,21016,790
New Mexico$46,450$33,870–$61,82025,430
Pennsylvania$46,270$32,040–$61,80065,310
Ohio$46,230$32,130–$63,15054,790
Michigan$46,020$33,360–$63,95040,830
Florida$45,900$33,380–$63,340104,000
Tennessee$45,810$29,660–$63,13034,580
North Carolina$45,790$31,720–$61,75043,690
Wyoming$45,450$35,140–$61,1502,250
Iowa$45,150$33,880–$60,76012,830
Texas$45,140$29,810–$63,020149,650
South Carolina$44,880$29,100–$61,66030,180
Indiana$44,270$31,220–$60,16020,100
Kentucky$44,200$30,470–$60,47018,420
Montana$43,940$30,430–$55,9704,520
Idaho$43,710$29,890–$58,8207,570
Missouri$43,540$30,890–$60,27033,180
Kansas$42,270$30,340–$58,69032,120
South Dakota$41,700$31,200–$51,4806,120
Alabama$41,630$29,170–$59,09045,050
Georgia$41,600$26,330–$62,09044,430
West Virginia$40,370$28,820–$57,9708,820
Oklahoma$39,660$27,110–$56,63020,120
Louisiana$38,790$26,680–$56,34028,040
Arkansas$37,630$28,540–$55,0608,590
Mississippi$37,340$25,770–$57,87014,720
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. New Haven, CT$63,800
  2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$62,940
  3. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$62,110
  4. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$60,230
  5. Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$59,510
  6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$59,330
  7. Napa, CA$58,810
  8. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$57,720
  9. Longview-Kelso, WA$57,580
  10. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA$57,510
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. CEO$213,990
  2. Executive Assistant$76,590
  3. Recruiter$75,940
  4. Office Manager$69,500
  5. Administrative Assistant$47,540
  6. Customer Service Representative$44,770
  7. Receptionist$38,010
Negotiation script builder

Ask for more, calmly and in writing

Advice Uses only what you type. Replace anything in brackets with something true.

Our view If you cite market data, cite this page's source: the BLS median for your state and the percentile your offer sits at. A specific, sourced number is easier to agree to than a feeling.

Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
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