Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of administrative assistant salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest administrative assistant salary of $43,597
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Arkansas has the lowest administrative assistant salary of $26,677
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The national average salary for administrative assistants is $34,945
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The national hourly pay for administrative assistants is $16.8
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do administrative assistants get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for administrative assistant by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for administrative assistants after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for administrative assistant salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Administrative Assistants By State
| Rank | State | Average Administrative Assistant Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $43,597 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 2 | Alaska | $42,135 | $35,000 | $50,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $41,809 | $32,000 | $54,000 |
| 4 | Connecticut | $40,618 | $30,000 | $53,000 |
| 5 | Washington | $39,890 | $31,000 | $50,000 |
| 6 | New York | $39,763 | $30,000 | $52,000 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $39,533 | $30,000 | $50,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $38,223 | $29,000 | $49,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $38,166 | $28,000 | $50,000 |
| 10 | Minnesota | $37,721 | $29,000 | $47,000 |
| 11 | Maryland | $37,069 | $27,000 | $49,000 |
| 12 | Colorado | $35,578 | $27,000 | $45,000 |
| 13 | Nevada | $35,493 | $26,000 | $47,000 |
| 14 | Rhode Island | $35,411 | $27,000 | $46,000 |
| 15 | Illinois | $35,228 | $27,000 | $45,000 |
| 16 | Delaware | $34,778 | $25,000 | $46,000 |
| 17 | North Dakota | $34,284 | $27,000 | $43,000 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | $34,270 | $26,000 | $44,000 |
| 19 | Virginia | $33,983 | $25,000 | $45,000 |
| 20 | Vermont | $33,793 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 21 | Maine | $33,711 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 22 | Michigan | $33,658 | $25,000 | $43,000 |
| 23 | New Hampshire | $33,592 | $26,000 | $42,000 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | $33,473 | $25,000 | $44,000 |
| 25 | Arizona | $33,015 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 26 | Iowa | $32,788 | $25,000 | $42,000 |
| 27 | Utah | $32,744 | $25,000 | $42,000 |
| 28 | Wyoming | $32,737 | $25,000 | $41,000 |
| 29 | Ohio | $32,456 | $24,000 | $42,000 |
| 30 | Missouri | $31,706 | $24,000 | $41,000 |
| 31 | North Carolina | $31,531 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 32 | Nebraska | $31,301 | $24,000 | $40,000 |
| 33 | Texas | $31,248 | $22,000 | $42,000 |
| 34 | Kansas | $30,996 | $23,000 | $40,000 |
| 35 | Idaho | $30,963 | $24,000 | $39,000 |
| 36 | Florida | $30,708 | $22,000 | $42,000 |
| 37 | Montana | $30,704 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 38 | Tennessee | $30,371 | $23,000 | $40,000 |
| 39 | South Carolina | $30,151 | $22,000 | $40,000 |
| 40 | Indiana | $30,116 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 41 | South Dakota | $29,837 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 42 | Kentucky | $29,772 | $22,000 | $38,000 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $29,635 | $21,000 | $40,000 |
| 44 | Alabama | $29,614 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 45 | West Virginia | $29,295 | $22,000 | $38,000 |
| 46 | Georgia | $28,815 | $21,000 | $38,000 |
| 47 | Oklahoma | $28,768 | $21,000 | $37,000 |
| 48 | Mississippi | $26,864 | $19,000 | $36,000 |
| 49 | Louisiana | $26,792 | $19,000 | $36,000 |
| 50 | Arkansas | $26,677 | $20,000 | $35,000 |
Methodology: Administrative Assistant Salary By State
To better understand administrative assistant pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for administrative assistants by state.
We took the average annual salary data for administrative assistants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for administrative assistants.
Administrative Assistant Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for administrative assistants?
The highest-paid state for administrative assistants is California with an average salary of $43,597 per year.
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What city pays administrative assistants the most?
San Francisco, CA pays administrative assistants the most with an average salary of $45,740 per year.
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What is the worst state for administrative assistants?
The worst state for administrative assistants is Arkansas with an average salary of $26,677 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
