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Salary · Executive Assistant · United States

Executive Assistant salary: $76,590 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
$76,590median ($36.82/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants in the United States was $76,590 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $50,560 and the top 10% earned more than $109,850. That median is 1.5 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was District of Columbia ($90,850).

Data Government data groups this job as Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants (O*NET-SOC 43-6011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$50,560
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$61,390
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$94,390
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$109,850
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Executive 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$90,850
  2. New Jersey$89,520
  3. California$89,000
  4. Massachusetts$82,650
  5. Connecticut$82,520
Most people employed
  1. New York88,890
  2. California59,640
  3. Texas34,520
  4. Florida19,220
  5. Illinois14,900
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
District of Columbia$90,850$64,890–$121,0004,560
New Jersey$89,520$60,000–$119,99011,690
California$89,000$58,060–$130,51059,640
Massachusetts$82,650$59,320–$123,93014,820
Connecticut$82,520$61,880–$119,0306,490
Hawaii$80,710$52,100–$117,0201,440
New York$80,640$61,420–$122,44088,890
Virginia$80,330$51,370–$119,99010,360
Washington$79,250$59,810–$106,72011,560
Delaware$78,920$53,940–$100,1301,320
Maryland$78,540$54,430–$108,48013,960
Minnesota$78,470$58,870–$101,7607,970
Rhode Island$77,820$47,310–$97,960950
Oregon$75,480$56,470–$102,0006,000
Pennsylvania$75,270$48,920–$102,69012,910
Illinois$74,390$50,750–$104,85014,900
New Mexico$73,890$52,000–$92,7102,800
Texas$71,990$50,740–$103,08034,520
New Hampshire$71,650$50,000–$101,8601,210
Arizona$70,770$50,710–$103,0806,490
Vermont$70,770$54,770–$96,520770
North Carolina$70,140$49,720–$99,7108,890
Ohio$69,600$47,480–$99,33010,940
Alabama$69,450$46,800–$100,6202,880
Wisconsin$68,920$51,250–$93,1904,480
Georgia$68,290$51,840–$99,54014,560
Tennessee$68,190$45,580–$98,1005,360
Nevada$67,830$36,630–$100,4502,670
Michigan$66,840$47,810–$99,4009,030
Alaska$66,210$50,290–$92,6101,320
Nebraska$66,210$48,570–$94,6901,860
Colorado$65,850$49,850–$100,29010,340
Kansas$64,860$48,160–$90,9702,750
Florida$64,710$42,830–$99,22019,220
Maine$64,100$49,850–$88,1602,320
West Virginia$63,820$40,670–$95,090860
Kentucky$62,410$44,800–$92,7402,700
Iowa$62,340$45,230–$83,6004,150
North Dakota$61,270$46,350–$86,170540
Utah$61,130$40,410–$91,5805,440
South Carolina$60,890$42,600–$92,3703,880
Missouri$60,320$42,340–$95,0308,500
Idaho$60,200$45,760–$105,2301,180
Oklahoma$59,910$41,760–$86,5602,810
Montana$59,750$48,830–$80,080550
Indiana$59,080$41,930–$92,2805,060
Mississippi$55,670$37,810–$82,3801,240
South Dakota$55,170$42,930–$70,1101,230
Louisiana$53,240$35,800–$79,6009,270
Wyoming$52,210$47,060–$73,730560
Arkansas$51,600$37,830–$82,1102,070
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. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$106,220
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$105,190
  3. Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT$100,930
  4. Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA$92,240
  5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$90,320
  6. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA$87,910
  7. Vallejo, CA$86,190
  8. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH$85,260
  9. Napa, CA$84,640
  10. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA$84,540
Similar roles

How the pay compares

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

  1. Project Manager$102,320
  2. Executive Assistant$76,590
  3. Recruiter$75,940
  4. Office Manager$69,500
  5. Paralegal$62,890
  6. Administrative Assistant$47,540
  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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