Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of assistant salary by state for the United States:
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Massachusetts has the highest assistant salary of $86,498
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South Dakota has the lowest assistant salary of $24,353
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The national average salary for assistants is $37,363
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The national hourly pay for assistants is $17.96
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 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 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 assistants after this adjustment? That would be Massachusetts.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for assistant salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Assistants By State
| Rank | State | Average Assistant Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massachusetts | $86,498 | $40,000 | $186,000 |
| 2 | New York | $76,802 | $34,000 | $171,000 |
| 3 | Vermont | $74,465 | $32,000 | $168,000 |
| 4 | Rhode Island | $70,045 | $30,000 | $161,000 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $69,913 | $30,000 | $160,000 |
| 6 | Maine | $68,164 | $29,000 | $158,000 |
| 7 | New Jersey | $66,919 | $28,000 | $155,000 |
| 8 | New Hampshire | $66,664 | $28,000 | $155,000 |
| 9 | Maryland | $66,629 | $28,000 | $153,000 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | $62,121 | $26,000 | $146,000 |
| 11 | Virginia | $60,720 | $25,000 | $143,000 |
| 12 | West Virginia | $57,569 | $24,000 | $136,000 |
| 13 | Delaware | $54,922 | $22,000 | $133,000 |
| 14 | North Carolina | $54,455 | $22,000 | $129,000 |
| 15 | Indiana | $52,971 | $22,000 | $123,000 |
| 16 | Ohio | $52,966 | $22,000 | $126,000 |
| 17 | Michigan | $50,672 | $21,000 | $121,000 |
| 18 | Kentucky | $49,448 | $20,000 | $116,000 |
| 19 | Illinois | $48,421 | $20,000 | $113,000 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $46,017 | $18,000 | $112,000 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $45,095 | $19,000 | $104,000 |
| 22 | Florida | $40,902 | $17,000 | $93,000 |
| 23 | Georgia | $40,049 | $17,000 | $93,000 |
| 24 | Tennessee | $38,467 | $16,000 | $87,000 |
| 25 | Minnesota | $37,629 | $18,000 | $74,000 |
| 26 | Hawaii | $35,484 | $21,000 | $59,000 |
| 27 | Iowa | $34,456 | $16,000 | $70,000 |
| 28 | Alabama | $34,026 | $15,000 | $72,000 |
| 29 | Washington | $32,884 | $24,000 | $43,000 |
| 30 | California | $31,407 | $22,000 | $43,000 |
| 31 | Missouri | $30,329 | $15,000 | $58,000 |
| 32 | Oregon | $29,978 | $22,000 | $40,000 |
| 33 | North Dakota | $28,551 | $17,000 | $45,000 |
| 34 | Alaska | $27,904 | $20,000 | $37,000 |
| 35 | Colorado | $27,643 | $19,000 | $38,000 |
| 36 | Arizona | $26,834 | $19,000 | $37,000 |
| 37 | Louisiana | $26,447 | $15,000 | $46,000 |
| 38 | Nevada | $26,430 | $19,000 | $36,000 |
| 39 | Montana | $26,312 | $19,000 | $35,000 |
| 40 | Texas | $26,162 | $16,000 | $40,000 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $26,115 | $15,000 | $42,000 |
| 42 | Kansas | $26,041 | $15,000 | $42,000 |
| 43 | New Mexico | $25,652 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| 44 | Wyoming | $25,636 | $18,000 | $35,000 |
| 45 | Mississippi | $25,486 | $13,000 | $48,000 |
| 46 | Idaho | $25,449 | $19,000 | $33,000 |
| 47 | Utah | $25,014 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $24,917 | $14,000 | $43,000 |
| 49 | Oklahoma | $24,573 | $15,000 | $37,000 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $24,353 | $14,000 | $39,000 |
Methodology: Assistant Salary By State
To better understand 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 assistants by state.
We took the average annual salary data for assistants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for assistants.
Assistant Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for assistants?
The highest-paid state for assistants is Massachusetts with an average salary of $86,498 per year.
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What city pays assistants the most?
Boston, MA pays assistants the most with an average salary of $95,026 per year.
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What is the worst state for assistants?
The worst state for assistants is South Dakota with an average salary of $24,353 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.
