Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of payroll administrator salary by state for the United States:
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Maine has the highest payroll administrator salary of $59,401
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South Dakota has the lowest payroll administrator salary of $35,441
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The national average salary for payroll administrators is $46,596
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The national hourly pay for payroll administrators is $22.4
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 payroll administrators 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 payroll administrator 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 payroll administrators after this adjustment? That would be Maine.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for payroll administrator salaries:
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Washington (Jobs)
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Payroll Administrators By State
| Rank | State | Average Payroll Administrator Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maine | $59,401 | $41,000 | $84,000 |
| 2 | New York | $59,326 | $40,000 | $86,000 |
| 3 | Connecticut | $57,551 | $39,000 | $83,000 |
| 4 | California | $56,423 | $39,000 | $80,000 |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $55,300 | $38,000 | $79,000 |
| 6 | Virginia | $54,752 | $37,000 | $79,000 |
| 7 | Maryland | $54,536 | $37,000 | $79,000 |
| 8 | New Jersey | $54,277 | $37,000 | $78,000 |
| 9 | Washington | $53,812 | $39,000 | $73,000 |
| 10 | Alaska | $53,638 | $44,000 | $64,000 |
| 11 | New Hampshire | $52,627 | $36,000 | $75,000 |
| 12 | Wyoming | $52,496 | $38,000 | $71,000 |
| 13 | West Virginia | $51,978 | $36,000 | $74,000 |
| 14 | North Dakota | $51,655 | $38,000 | $69,000 |
| 15 | Vermont | $51,643 | $36,000 | $73,000 |
| 16 | Illinois | $51,370 | $36,000 | $71,000 |
| 17 | Oregon | $50,653 | $36,000 | $70,000 |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $49,536 | $34,000 | $71,000 |
| 19 | Colorado | $49,298 | $35,000 | $67,000 |
| 20 | Minnesota | $49,076 | $35,000 | $67,000 |
| 21 | Nevada | $47,630 | $33,000 | $67,000 |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | $47,527 | $32,000 | $69,000 |
| 23 | Georgia | $47,178 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
| 24 | Arizona | $47,062 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
| 25 | Texas | $46,942 | $33,000 | $66,000 |
| 26 | Michigan | $46,806 | $32,000 | $66,000 |
| 27 | Kentucky | $46,350 | $33,000 | $64,000 |
| 28 | Oklahoma | $45,860 | $33,000 | $63,000 |
| 29 | Utah | $45,458 | $32,000 | $62,000 |
| 30 | Delaware | $45,340 | $31,000 | $65,000 |
| 31 | Mississippi | $45,293 | $32,000 | $63,000 |
| 32 | Montana | $45,105 | $33,000 | $60,000 |
| 33 | Ohio | $45,077 | $31,000 | $64,000 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $45,077 | $31,000 | $64,000 |
| 35 | Kansas | $44,388 | $32,000 | $61,000 |
| 36 | Missouri | $43,872 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $43,674 | $31,000 | $59,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $43,622 | $31,000 | $60,000 |
| 39 | Wisconsin | $42,890 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| 40 | Arkansas | $42,250 | $30,000 | $58,000 |
| 41 | Idaho | $41,305 | $29,000 | $57,000 |
| 42 | Florida | $40,666 | $28,000 | $57,000 |
| 43 | Tennessee | $40,014 | $28,000 | $56,000 |
| 44 | New Mexico | $39,000 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 45 | Indiana | $38,920 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 46 | Louisiana | $38,549 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $38,498 | $27,000 | $54,000 |
| 48 | Hawaii | $38,437 | $30,000 | $48,000 |
| 49 | Alabama | $37,032 | $26,000 | $51,000 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $35,441 | $25,000 | $48,000 |
Methodology: Payroll Administrator Salary By State
To better understand payroll administrator 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 payroll administrators by state.
We took the average annual salary data for payroll administrators from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for payroll administrators.
Payroll Administrator Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for payroll administrators?
The highest-paid state for payroll administrators is Maine with an average salary of $59,401 per year.
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What city pays payroll administrators the most?
Washington, DC pays payroll administrators the most with an average salary of $70,954 per year.
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What is the worst state for payroll administrators?
The worst state for payroll administrators is South Dakota with an average salary of $35,441 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.
