What an administrative assistant costs in 65 US cities
US median pay is $47,540 a year, about $67,900 all in with benefits and payroll taxes. Here’s the cost in every large metro area.
An administrative assistant costs a median of $47,540 a year in the US, or about $67,900 a year ($5,660 a month) once benefits and employer payroll taxes are added. Pay ranges from $62,940 in San Jose, CA to $39,280 in El Paso, TX. Filling the seat takes a median of 39 days.
Administrative Assistant cost by metro area
| Metro area | Median pay (a year) | All-in estimate (a year) | All-in (a month) |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $47,540 | $67,900 | $5,660 |
| San Jose, CA | $62,940 | $89,900 | $7,490 |
| San Francisco, CA | $62,110 | $88,700 | $7,390 |
| Seattle, WA | $60,230 | $86,000 | $7,170 |
| Boston, MA | $59,330 | $84,800 | $7,060 |
| San Diego, CA | $55,380 | $79,100 | $6,590 |
| Portland, OR | $55,360 | $79,100 | $6,590 |
| Sacramento, CA | $55,020 | $78,600 | $6,550 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $54,080 | $77,300 | $6,440 |
| Washington, DC | $53,660 | $76,700 | $6,390 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $53,550 | $76,500 | $6,380 |
| Riverside, CA | $52,920 | $75,600 | $6,300 |
| Providence, RI | $51,800 | $74,000 | $6,170 |
| New York, NY | $51,440 | $73,500 | $6,120 |
| Bakersfield, CA | $50,960 | $72,800 | $6,070 |
| Chicago, IL | $50,440 | $72,100 | $6,000 |
| Fresno, CA | $50,100 | $71,600 | $5,960 |
| Honolulu, HI | $50,020 | $71,500 | $5,950 |
| Denver, CO | $49,760 | $71,100 | $5,920 |
| Albany, NY | $49,330 | $70,500 | $5,870 |
| Baltimore, MD | $49,220 | $70,300 | $5,860 |
| Nashville, TN | $49,000 | $70,000 | $5,830 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $48,850 | $69,800 | $5,820 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $48,800 | $69,700 | $5,810 |
| Raleigh, NC | $48,500 | $69,300 | $5,770 |
| Milwaukee, WI | $48,480 | $69,300 | $5,770 |
| Austin, TX | $48,470 | $69,200 | $5,770 |
| Salt Lake City, UT | $47,910 | $68,400 | $5,700 |
| Columbus, OH | $47,870 | $68,400 | $5,700 |
| Cincinnati, OH | $47,850 | $68,400 | $5,700 |
| Richmond, VA | $47,840 | $68,300 | $5,700 |
| Omaha, NE | $47,760 | $68,200 | $5,690 |
| Charleston, SC | $47,750 | $68,200 | $5,680 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | $47,450 | $67,800 | $5,650 |
| Miami, FL | $47,450 | $67,800 | $5,650 |
| Detroit, MI | $47,330 | $67,600 | $5,630 |
| Louisville, KY | $47,090 | $67,300 | $5,610 |
| Allentown, PA | $47,080 | $67,300 | $5,600 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $46,950 | $67,100 | $5,590 |
| Kansas City, MO | $46,810 | $66,900 | $5,570 |
| Charlotte, NC | $46,800 | $66,900 | $5,570 |
| Buffalo, NY | $46,780 | $66,800 | $5,570 |
| Rochester, NY | $46,770 | $66,800 | $5,570 |
| Houston, TX | $46,750 | $66,800 | $5,570 |
| Indianapolis, IN | $46,450 | $66,400 | $5,530 |
| Virginia Beach, VA | $46,320 | $66,200 | $5,510 |
| St. Louis, MO | $46,200 | $66,000 | $5,500 |
| Cleveland, OH | $46,120 | $65,900 | $5,490 |
| Greenville, SC | $46,120 | $65,900 | $5,490 |
| Las Vegas, NV | $46,040 | $65,800 | $5,480 |
| Knoxville, TN | $46,000 | $65,700 | $5,480 |
| Memphis, TN | $45,960 | $65,700 | $5,470 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $45,800 | $65,400 | $5,450 |
| Columbia, SC | $45,620 | $65,200 | $5,430 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $45,550 | $65,100 | $5,420 |
| Boise, ID | $45,480 | $65,000 | $5,410 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $45,440 | $64,900 | $5,410 |
| Atlanta, GA | $45,270 | $64,700 | $5,390 |
| Tucson, AZ | $45,030 | $64,300 | $5,360 |
| Orlando, FL | $44,370 | $63,400 | $5,280 |
| San Antonio, TX | $43,440 | $62,100 | $5,170 |
| New Orleans, LA | $42,830 | $61,200 | $5,100 |
| Oklahoma City, OK | $41,850 | $59,800 | $4,980 |
| Baton Rouge, LA | $40,910 | $58,400 | $4,870 |
| Tulsa, OK | $40,700 | $58,100 | $4,850 |
| El Paso, TX | $39,280 | $56,100 | $4,680 |
An experienced hire usually costs more than the median. The all-in estimate leaves out recruiting, training, software seats and cover for sick days and leave.
What an administrative assistant does
- Sort the shared inbox and answer routine questions
- Book appointments, site visits and meetings
- File paperwork and keep records tidy
- Set up new customers and suppliers
- Prepare documents, letters and simple reports
The alternative to hiring
Dull takes on office admin work in the tools you already use. A person reviews every exception, and anything involving money or judgment waits for your approval. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week instead of 39 days to hire.
An alternative to hiring an administrative assistant
How we worked these out
- Median pay is the May 2025 median annual wage for “Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (except legal, medical and executive)” from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (BLS OEWS), for each metropolitan area and the US as a whole, pulled from the BLS public data API. Half of workers earn more and half earn less.
- All-in estimate adds benefits and employer payroll taxes: wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026), so all-in = median ÷ 0.70. It doesn’t include recruiting, training, equipment or office space.
- Time to fill is the median of 39 days from SHRM’s recruiting benchmarks.
- Figures are rounded. Metro areas are the 65 largest US metropolitan statistical areas with published data for every role on our cost pages.
Frequently asked questions
The US median pay for secretaries and administrative assistants was $47,540 a year in May 2025 (BLS). With benefits and employer payroll taxes the all-in cost is about $67,900 a year, or $5,660 a month, before recruiting and training.
Of the 65 largest US metro areas, San Jose, CA has the highest median pay at $62,940 a year (32% above the US median). El Paso, TX has the lowest at $39,280.
A median of 39 days to fill an opening (SHRM), before training. While the seat is empty the work usually falls to the owner or the strongest person on the team.
Yes. Dull is a done-for-you back-office service that takes on office admin work in the tools you already use, with a person reviewing every exception. It’s a flat monthly fee, quoted on a 15-minute call, month to month with no contract, and usually live in about a week.
Median pay is from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (May 2025). The all-in estimate divides it by 0.70, because wages are 70.0% of total compensation for private-industry workers (BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026).