How much does an office administrator make?

The average office administrator salary in the United States is $37,423. Office administrator salaries typically range between $28,000 and $48,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for office administrators is $17.99 per hour. Office administrator salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Office administrators earn the highest average salary in Alaska.

Office administrator salary

Q: What state pays Office Administrators the most?

Alaska pays Office Administrators the most in the United States, with an average salary of $47,682 per year, or $22.92 per hour.

Q: How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an office administrator?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an office administrator 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 $45,993 per year.

Q: What is a good starting salary for an Office Administrator?

A good starting salary for an office administrator is $26,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an office administrator in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for office administrators is $34,979, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an office administrator can vary by state.

Q: How much should an office administrator be paid?

An office administrator should be paid around $45,000 a year. Salaries typically range from around $31,000 for the bottom 10% to over $76,000 for the top 10% of office administrators. The specific company, experience, level of responsibility of the office administrator, and industry impact pay. For example, highly experienced office administrators are more likely to be paid close to the top ten percent, while entry-level office administrators will be closer to the bottom ten percent.

Quoted expert

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Average office administrator salary

$37,423

$17.99 hourly rate

Entry-level office administrator salary

$28,000 yearly salary

Updated December 15, 2025

Average Office Administrator Salary Overview

The average salary for an office administrator is projected to be $37,423 annually as of October 2025. This translates to about $18 per hour, offering a solid starting point for those entering the administrative field. Salaries vary significantly based on several factors including geographic location, years of experience, and specific industry.

Salary by Experience Level

Entry-level office administrators typically earn lower salaries, while those with several years of experience can expect higher compensation. For instance, those with five to ten years of experience may see salaries rise to the range of $40,000 to $50,000.

Top Paying States

States such as California, New York, and Washington tend to offer the highest salaries for office administrators. Understanding regional differences can help job seekers target their applications more effectively.

Career Opportunities

With a variety of sectors needing administrative support, from healthcare to corporate environments, the demand for skilled office administrators remains steady. By continuously upgrading skills and adapting to new technologies, professionals in this field can enhance their earning potential over time.

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Office administrator salary by:

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Where can an Office Administrator earn more?

Compare salary by location

65k

45k

25k

Columbus, OH$46,045

Atlanta, GA$35,495

Compare salary by company

77k

57k

37k

17k

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory$62,545

UC Santa Barbara$46,614

Office administrator salaries by experience level

Office administrator salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Salary.com, Glassdoor, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for an office administrator typically falls between $37,423 and $151,909.

zippia

$37,423yearly

glassdoor[1]

$62,045yearly

comparably[2]

$47,152yearly

Salary.com[3]

$151,909yearly

ZipRecruiter[4]

$45,120yearly

Average office administrator salary by state

The highest-paying states for office administrators are Alaska, New York, and Washington. The lowest average office administrator salary states are South Dakota, Kansas, and South Carolina.

State view
County view

Average salary:

Highest paying states for office administrators

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Alaska	$47,682	$22.92
2	Colorado	$41,672	$20.03
3	Washington	$41,766	$20.08
4	New York	$42,096	$20.24
5	Massachusetts	$40,769	$19.60
6	North Dakota	$39,340	$18.91
7	Rhode Island	$41,536	$19.97
8	Oregon	$39,607	$19.04
9	Pennsylvania	$38,199	$18.36
10	Nevada	$38,355	$18.44
11	Wyoming	$37,046	$17.81
12	Vermont	$39,114	$18.80
13	Minnesota	$38,992	$18.75
14	District of Columbia	$45,993	$22.11
15	Arizona	$36,927	$17.75
16	Texas	$37,422	$17.99
17	California	$40,454	$19.45
18	New Hampshire	$38,083	$18.31
19	Connecticut	$38,950	$18.73
20	Wisconsin	$37,726	$18.14
21	Ohio	$35,993	$17.30
22	Illinois	$38,496	$18.51
23	Michigan	$36,433	$17.52
24	New Jersey	$39,178	$18.84
25	Utah	$35,050	$16.85
26	Hawaii	$38,620	$18.57
27	Florida	$35,061	$16.86
28	Missouri	$36,610	$17.60
29	Arkansas	$36,409	$17.50
30	North Carolina	$35,359	$17.00
31	Tennessee	$34,584	$16.63
32	Maryland	$38,951	$18.73
33	Montana	$34,650	$16.66
34	Nebraska	$34,806	$16.73
35	Georgia	$35,497	$17.07
36	Delaware	$36,104	$17.36
37	Iowa	$34,610	$16.64
38	Idaho	$33,068	$15.90
39	Indiana	$34,149	$16.42
40	Oklahoma	$34,678	$16.67
41	Virginia	$36,215	$17.41
42	West Virginia	$33,391	$16.05
43	Mississippi	$34,070	$16.38
44	Maine	$33,955	$16.32
45	Kentucky	$32,706	$15.72
46	South Carolina	$31,828	$15.30
47	New Mexico	$25,749	$12.38
48	South Dakota	$32,148	$15.46
49	Kansas	$31,829	$15.30
50	Alabama	$29,031	$13.96
51	Louisiana	$30,426	$14.63

Top office administrator jobs near you

Highest paying cities for office administrators

The highest-paying cities for office administrators are Washington, DC, Seattle, WA, and New York, NY.

Rank	City	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	Washington, DC	$46,045	$22.14
2	Seattle, WA	$42,132	$20.26
3	New York, NY	$42,117	$20.25
4	Colorado Springs, CO	$41,743	$20.07
5	San Francisco, CA	$41,271	$19.84
6	Boston, MA	$40,734	$19.58
7	Portland, OR	$39,608	$19.04
8	Baltimore, MD	$39,062	$18.78
9	Minneapolis, MN	$39,047	$18.77
10	Chicago, IL	$38,604	$18.56
11	Philadelphia, PA	$38,290	$18.41
12	Las Vegas, NV	$38,235	$18.38
13	San Antonio, TX	$37,630	$18.09
14	Madison, WI	$37,470	$18.01
15	Phoenix, AZ	$36,944	$17.76
16	Washington, MI	$36,667	$17.63
17	Saint Louis, MO	$36,623	$17.61
18	Richmond, VA	$36,202	$17.40
19	Columbus, OH	$35,661	$17.14
20	Atlanta, GA	$35,495	$17.06

Office Administrators are the most in-demand in these five cities:

Office administrator salary details

An office administrator's salary ranges from $28,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $48,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average office administrator salary graph, trends, and summary

What is an office administrator's salary?

Percentile	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate
90th Percentile	$48,000	$4,000	$23
75th Percentile	$43,000	$3,583	$21
Average	$37,423	$3,119	$18
25th Percentile	$32,000	$2,667	$15
10th Percentile	$28,000	$2,333	$13

Highest paying office administrator jobs

The highest paying types of office administrators are administrative staff, executive administrator, and accounting administrator.

Job title	Annual salary	Monthly salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
Office Secretary	$33,118	$2,760	$15.92	87,771
Administrative Professional	$39,486	$3,291	$18.98	87,372
Administrative Staff	$77,101	$6,425	$37.07	119,030
Administrative Aide	$38,714	$3,226	$18.61	96,883
Administrative Coordinator	$40,599	$3,383	$19.52	70,663
Administrative Clerk	$32,327	$2,694	$15.54	137,639

How would you rate the starting salaries for office administrators, as well as the prospects for salary advancement?

Dr. Richard Huff Ph.D.

Assistant professor, assistant chair, Virginia Commonwealth University

While MPA students are not drawn to public service by high salaries, it is reasonable to expect remuneration, which respects their credentials and experience. Many students are mid-level careerists and are likely to remain in their jobs where an advanced degree may improve their opportunities for advancement, and others may be looking for a career change. Also, a cohort of students moving from undergraduate to graduate degrees with internships is common.

These groups likely present varying degrees of salary requirements and qualifications. In the federal service, an MPA qualifies as one at the GS-9 entry-level. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) publishes salary tables at Link The beginning salary varies by location from $53K to $61K, with the higher amount near large metropolitan areas. Higher salaries are common in overseas areas. Progression is based on performance with opportunities to achieve salaries of $150K and over at the executive levels. Overall, beginning salaries for the MPA considering nonprofits and government agencies is estimated at $53K.

Top companies hiring office administrators now:

Which companies pay office administrators the most?

Office administrator salaries at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and ZS are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average office administrator salary at companies like Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp and Cloudflare are highly competitive.

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory	$62,545	$30.07
2	ZS	$59,438	$28.58
3	Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker Llp	$57,197	$27.50
4	Cloudflare	$55,646	$26.75
5	Meta	$55,618	$26.74
6	Arup	$52,668	$25.32
7	The Williams Companies	$51,029	$24.53
8	Point B	$50,647	$24.35
9	New York University	$50,180	$24.13
10	Encore Capital Group	$50,119	$24.10
11	Stantec	$50,090	$24.08
12	Tesoro	$48,968	$23.54
13	Morgan Stanley	$48,142	$23.15
14	Ambarella	$47,853	$23.01
15	University of California-Berkeley	$47,851	$23.01
16	ARA	$47,384	$22.78
17	Clean Harbors	$46,988	$22.59
18	RAND	$46,870	$22.53
19	Princeton University	$46,764	$22.48
20	UC Santa Barbara	$46,614	$22.41

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$40,000$39,400$38,800$38,200$37,600$37,000

MaleFemale

Office Administrator salary by industry

The average office administrator salary varies across industries:

The average office administrator salary in the government industry is $39,681, the highest of any industry.
The average office administrator salary in the finance industry is $38,384.
Office administrators in the retail industry earn an average salary of $34,737, the lowest of any industry.

Highest paying industries for office administrators

Rank	Industry	Average salary	Hourly rate
1	Government	$39,681	$19.08
2	Finance	$38,384	$18.45
3	Construction	$38,379	$18.45
4	Professional	$38,071	$18.30
5	Health Care	$37,851	$18.20
6	Manufacturing	$37,368	$17.97
7	Telecommunication	$36,663	$17.63
8	Real Estate	$36,641	$17.62
9	Retail	$34,737	$16.70

High paying office administrator jobs

Office administrator salary trends

The average office administrator salary has risen by $8,622 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average office administrator earned $28,801 annually, but today, they earn $37,423 a year. That works out to a 16% change in pay for office administrators over the last decade.

Compare office administrator salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average office administrator salary over time

Compare office administrator salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Office administrator salary by year

Year	Avg. salary	Hourly rate	% Change
2026	$37,400	$17.99	+3.7%
2025	$36,100	$17.33	+3.8%
2024	$34,700	$16.67	+3.8%
2023	$33,400	$16.04	+2.9%
2022	$32,400	$15.57	+3.3%

Recently added office administrator salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date added	Salary
Service Corporation International	Office Coordinator	Santa Barbara, CA	06/30/2025	$52,175
Jeppesen	Executive Office Administrator (EOA)	Berkeley, MO	06/30/2025	$64,600
Otis Elevator Company	SR Office Coordinator	Sunnyvale, CA	06/30/2025	$50,000
Teksystems	Office Administrator	Aiken, SC	06/30/2025	$45,914
Partners Group Ltd.	Office Coordinator & Bond Specialist	Meridian, ID	06/30/2025	$43,827
The University of Chicago	Dean's Office Administrator	Chicago, IL	06/30/2025	$58,000
Imerys	Office Administrator	California, MD	06/30/2025	$41,740
Virtua	Office Coordinator-Camden Health Practice	Camden, NJ	06/30/2025	$44,265
Caliber Collision	Office Administrator	Santa Rosa, CA	06/30/2025	$41,740
Caliber Collision	Office Administrator	Webster, NY	06/30/2025	$37,566

Office administrator salary FAQs

What state pays Office Administrators the most?

How do I know if I'm being paid fairly as an office administrator?

What is a good starting salary for an Office Administrator?

How much should an office administrator be paid?

Have more questions? See all answers to common office and administrative questions.

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Updated December 15, 2025

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