Q: Do administrative assistants make good money?

No, administrative assistants do not make good money. The average administrative assistant makes $43,886 a year or $16.31 an hour. Administrative assistants in the lower 10% (e.g., entry-level positions, only make about $26,000 a year.) Meanwhile, the top 10% earn an average salary of $42,000.

Question 1

How much does an administrative assistant make?

Accepted Answer

The average administrative assistant salary in the United States is $34,945. Administrative assistant salaries typically range between $26,000 and $46,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for administrative assistants is $16.8 per hour.

Administrative assistant salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Administrative assistants earn the highest average salary in California.

Question 2

What state pays Administrative Assistants the most?

Accepted Answer

California pays Administrative Assistants the most in the United States, with an average salary of $43,597 per year, or $20.96 per hour.

Question 3

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an administrative assistant?

Accepted Answer

You know if you are being paid fairly as an administrative assistant if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in District of Columbia you should be paid close to $42,713 per year.

Question 4

What is a good starting salary for an Administrative Assistant?

Accepted Answer

A good starting salary for an administrative assistant is $27,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an administrative assistant in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for administrative assistants is $36,352, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an administrative assistant can vary by state.

Question 5

Do administrative assistants make good money?

Accepted Answer

No, administrative assistants do not make good money. The average administrative assistant makes $43,886 a year or $16.31 an hour. Administrative assistants in the lower 10% (e.g., entry-level positions, only make about $26,000 a year.) Meanwhile, the top 10% earn an average salary of $42,000.

Question 6

How much do administrative assistants make per hour?

Accepted Answer

Administrative assistants make $16.31 per hour ($43,886 a year), on average. The best-paid 25% make, on average, $47,510, while the lowest-paid 25% make $30,100. Factors such as the number of years of experience working as an administrative assistant can impact how much you earn an hour.

Question 7

How much do clerical jobs pay?

Accepted Answer

Clerical jobs pay a range of different salaries, and specific salaries depend on a variety of factors, including industry, location, level of experience, the specific job title, and duties of the role. That being said, most clerical jobs fall in the pay range of $30,000 to $58,000 per year in the United States.

Question 8

What is the highest paying administrative assistant job?

Accepted Answer

The highest-paid administrative assistant job is Administrative Services Director.

An administrative assistant services director who works in healthcare and lives in Alaska or California earns a significantly higher hourly pay than an entry-level administrative assistant living in Montana.

Question 9

What is the salary of an administrative assistant?

Accepted Answer

The median salary of an administrative assistant is $37,690 (or $17.80 an hour). The best-paid 25% made $47,510 that year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $30,100. Factors such as the location of the job, experience, education, and industry all impact the amount of money that an administrative assistant makes.

Question 10

What should an administrative assistant get paid?

Accepted Answer

The average administrative assistant should get paid around $18 to $28 per hour with an average of $23 an hour (or $47,840 per year). The hourly rate can vary greatly depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Alaska	$42,135	$20.26
2	Massachusetts	$41,809	$20.10
3	Washington	$39,890	$19.18
4	Connecticut	$40,618	$19.53
5	District of Columbia	$42,713	$20.54
6	New York	$39,763	$19.12
7	California	$43,597	$20.96
8	Oregon	$38,223	$18.38
9	Minnesota	$37,721	$18.14
10	Wisconsin	$34,270	$16.48
11	Nevada	$35,493	$17.06
12	New Jersey	$38,166	$18.35
13	Hawaii	$39,533	$19.01
14	North Dakota	$34,284	$16.48
15	Rhode Island	$35,411	$17.02
16	Maryland	$37,069	$17.82
17	Pennsylvania	$33,473	$16.09
18	Colorado	$35,578	$17.10
19	Iowa	$32,788	$15.76
20	Michigan	$33,658	$16.18
21	Utah	$32,744	$15.74
22	Maine	$33,711	$16.21
23	Illinois	$35,228	$16.94
24	Wyoming	$32,737	$15.74
25	Arizona	$33,015	$15.87
26	Virginia	$33,983	$16.34
27	Delaware	$34,778	$16.72
28	Ohio	$32,456	$15.60
29	New Hampshire	$33,592	$16.15
30	Vermont	$33,793	$16.25
31	Florida	$30,708	$14.76
32	Idaho	$30,963	$14.89
33	Nebraska	$31,301	$15.05
34	Montana	$30,704	$14.76
35	North Carolina	$31,531	$15.16
36	Texas	$31,248	$15.02
37	Tennessee	$30,371	$14.60
38	Missouri	$31,706	$15.24
39	South Carolina	$30,151	$14.50
40	Indiana	$30,116	$14.48
41	Kansas	$30,996	$14.90
42	West Virginia	$29,295	$14.08
43	Kentucky	$29,772	$14.31
44	South Dakota	$29,837	$14.34
45	Alabama	$29,614	$14.24
46	New Mexico	$29,635	$14.25
47	Georgia	$28,815	$13.85
48	Oklahoma	$28,768	$13.83
49	Louisiana	$26,792	$12.88
50	Arkansas	$26,677	$12.83
51	Mississippi	$26,864	$12.92

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	San Francisco, CA	$45,740	$21.99
2	Washington, DC	$42,712	$20.53
3	Boston, MA	$41,751	$20.07
4	Des Moines, WA	$40,000	$19.23
5	New York, NY	$39,868	$19.17
6	Urban Honolulu, HI	$39,546	$19.01
7	Portland, OR	$38,120	$18.33
8	Saint Paul, MN	$37,767	$18.16
9	Baltimore, MD	$37,256	$17.91
10	Denver, CO	$35,577	$17.10
11	Las Vegas, NV	$35,514	$17.07
12	Chicago, IL	$35,346	$16.99
13	Milwaukee, WI	$34,270	$16.48
14	Richmond, VA	$33,868	$16.28
15	Portland, ME	$33,854	$16.28
16	Philadelphia, PA	$33,624	$16.17
17	Cleveland, OH	$33,293	$16.01
18	Phoenix, AZ	$33,146	$15.94
19	Salt Lake City, UT	$32,667	$15.71
20	Des Moines, IA	$32,578	$15.66

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$46,000	$3,833	$22
75th Percentile	$40,000	$3,333	$19
Average	$34,945	$2,912	$17
25th Percentile	$30,000	$2,500	$14
10th Percentile	$26,000	$2,167	$13

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Westfield State University	$62,426	$30.01
2	Jefferson Lab	$60,468	$29.07
3	Brookhaven National Laboratory	$60,150	$28.92
4	Los Alamos National Laboratory	$60,020	$28.86
5	Ncar - The National Center For Atmospheric Research	$58,551	$28.15
6	Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory	$57,347	$27.57
7	iGATE Global Solutions	$55,987	$26.92
8	RS&H	$53,958	$25.94
9	General Dynamics Mission Systems	$53,626	$25.78
10	Columbia University in the City of New York	$52,986	$25.47
11	Collins Engineers	$51,798	$24.90
12	Merrimack College	$51,754	$24.88
13	Medical University of South Carolina	$51,386	$24.70
14	Oracle	$50,976	$24.51
15	Barnard College	$50,907	$24.47
16	NRDC	$50,906	$24.47
17	University of Massachusetts Boston	$50,383	$24.22
18	ZS	$49,831	$23.96
19	Stanford University	$49,738	$23.91
20	Emory University	$49,662	$23.88

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2025	$34,900	$16.80	+3.0%
2024	$33,900	$16.30	+2.8%
2023	$32,900	$15.84	+2.8%
2022	$32,000	$15.39	+2.2%
2021	$31,300	$15.06	+2.6%

Administrative assistant salary

Average administrative assistant salary

$16.8

Understanding Administrative Assistant Salaries

Salary by Experience Level

Opportunities for Career Growth

Where can an Administrative Assistant earn more?

Administrative assistant salaries by experience level