Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of secretary salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest secretary salary of $46,054
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South Dakota has the lowest secretary salary of $24,640
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The national average salary for secretaries is $36,442
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The national hourly pay for secretaries is $17.52
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 secretaries 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 secretary 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 secretaries after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for secretary salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Secretaries By State
| Rank | State | Average Secretary Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $46,054 | $32,000 | $64,000 |
| 2 | Connecticut | $43,775 | $29,000 | $65,000 |
| 3 | Massachusetts | $43,694 | $30,000 | $63,000 |
| 4 | Hawaii | $42,499 | $37,000 | $48,000 |
| 5 | Washington | $42,318 | $31,000 | $56,000 |
| 6 | New York | $39,836 | $26,000 | $60,000 |
| 7 | Vermont | $39,804 | $28,000 | $55,000 |
| 8 | Oregon | $39,206 | $28,000 | $53,000 |
| 9 | New Jersey | $38,948 | $25,000 | $59,000 |
| 10 | Rhode Island | $38,704 | $26,000 | $57,000 |
| 11 | Alaska | $38,418 | $33,000 | $43,000 |
| 12 | Nevada | $37,494 | $26,000 | $53,000 |
| 13 | Minnesota | $36,274 | $26,000 | $49,000 |
| 14 | New Hampshire | $36,248 | $25,000 | $51,000 |
| 15 | Maryland | $36,194 | $23,000 | $55,000 |
| 16 | New Mexico | $34,967 | $23,000 | $50,000 |
| 17 | Arizona | $33,549 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 18 | Illinois | $33,454 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 19 | Wyoming | $33,237 | $24,000 | $45,000 |
| 20 | Virginia | $33,077 | $21,000 | $50,000 |
| 21 | Michigan | $32,769 | $22,000 | $47,000 |
| 22 | Alabama | $32,574 | $21,000 | $48,000 |
| 23 | Colorado | $32,271 | $22,000 | $45,000 |
| 24 | Utah | $32,228 | $22,000 | $45,000 |
| 25 | Idaho | $32,000 | $23,000 | $43,000 |
| 26 | Texas | $31,680 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 27 | Louisiana | $31,545 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 28 | Maine | $31,517 | $23,000 | $42,000 |
| 29 | Tennessee | $31,378 | $21,000 | $46,000 |
| 30 | Georgia | $31,165 | $20,000 | $46,000 |
| 31 | Pennsylvania | $31,001 | $20,000 | $47,000 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $30,984 | $20,000 | $45,000 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | $30,644 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $30,581 | $20,000 | $45,000 |
| 35 | West Virginia | $30,395 | $20,000 | $45,000 |
| 36 | Mississippi | $30,300 | $20,000 | $45,000 |
| 37 | Montana | $30,026 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 38 | Iowa | $29,992 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
| 39 | North Dakota | $29,843 | $22,000 | $39,000 |
| 40 | Ohio | $29,643 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 41 | Oklahoma | $29,556 | $19,000 | $43,000 |
| 42 | Florida | $29,514 | $20,000 | $43,000 |
| 43 | Missouri | $28,618 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 44 | Kansas | $28,526 | $19,000 | $41,000 |
| 45 | Delaware | $28,446 | $18,000 | $43,000 |
| 46 | Nebraska | $27,624 | $19,000 | $39,000 |
| 47 | South Carolina | $27,579 | $18,000 | $41,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $26,447 | $17,000 | $39,000 |
| 49 | Indiana | $25,204 | $17,000 | $36,000 |
| 50 | South Dakota | $24,640 | $18,000 | $33,000 |
Methodology: Secretary Salary By State
To better understand secretary 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 secretaries by state.
We took the average annual salary data for secretaries from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for secretaries.
Secretary Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for secretaries?
The highest-paid state for secretaries is California with an average salary of $46,054 per year.
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What city pays secretaries the most?
San Francisco, CA pays secretaries the most with an average salary of $47,908 per year.
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What is the worst state for secretaries?
The worst state for secretaries is South Dakota with an average salary of $24,640 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.
