Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive salary

What Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive earn across the United States and in the largest metro areas — the official BLS OEWS May 2025 figures.

National wages — United States

Nationally, BLS estimates 1,706,790 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive jobs — 1.1% of all US employment. The national median wage is $47,540 a year ($22.86 an hour) and the mean is $49,350 a year, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026.

Wage level	Hourly	Annual
Mean	$23.73	$49,350
10th percentile	$16.00	$33,280
25th percentile	$18.67	$38,830
Median (50th percentile)	$22.86	$47,540
75th percentile	$27.89	$58,000
90th percentile	$31.90	$66,350

Median pay by metro area

Metro area	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment	vs US median
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$62,110	$29.86	20,270	+30.6%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$60,230	$28.96	15,780	+26.7%
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$59,330	$28.53	28,540	+24.8%
San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$55,380	$26.62	12,070	+16.5%
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	$55,360	$26.62	13,510	+16.4%
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	$54,080	$26.00	19,180	+13.8%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$53,660	$25.80	37,010	+12.9%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$53,550	$25.75	58,800	+12.6%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$52,920	$25.44	13,210	+11.3%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$51,440	$24.73	122,680	+8.2%
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$50,440	$24.25	50,190	+6.1%
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$49,760	$23.92	15,350	+4.7%
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	$49,220	$23.66	29,780	+3.5%
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$48,850	$23.49	32,850	+2.8%
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	$48,800	$23.46	22,010	+2.7%
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	$48,470	$23.30	13,870	+2.0%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$47,450	$22.81	37,550	-0.2%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	$47,450	$22.81	33,380	-0.2%
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	$47,330	$22.75	16,970	-0.4%
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	$46,800	$22.50	11,330	-1.6%
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	$46,750	$22.48	33,710	-1.7%
St. Louis, MO-IL	$46,200	$22.21	15,000	-2.8%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	$45,270	$21.76	25,280	-4.8%
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	$44,370	$21.33	12,220	-6.7%

Each metro page carries the full OEWS wage distribution, the employment figures, and the estimated take-home pay on that metro's median under 2026 tax rules.

Sources

Wage data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates (released May 15, 2026), retrieved October 27, 2026 — bls.gov/oes. Take-home estimates are computed by this site's paycheck engine with 2026 rules.