2027 Salary Guide · Administrative & Operations
Administrative assistants outside legal, medical and executive offices earned a median of $47,540 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or about $50,500 in 2027 terms. With about 1.89 million jobs it is one of the largest occupations BLS tracks. The clearest pay lever inside it is specialization: executive assistants earned a median of $76,590 in the same survey.
Specialty split
BLS splits secretaries and administrative assistants into four occupations. The general line covered by this page ranks third of the four at the median.
| BLS occupation | Median pay, May 2025 | What is different about the work |
|---|---|---|
| Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants | $76,590 | Support for senior leaders. BLS says these roles typically need several years of prior administrative experience. |
| Legal secretaries and administrative assistants | $55,570 | Legal documents and terminology. BLS notes legal and medical secretaries may train for several months. |
| Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive | $47,540 | The general office role: calendars, files, correspondence, phones and supplies. |
| Medical secretaries and administrative assistants | $45,930 | Medical terminology, patient scheduling and records. The only one of the four BLS expects to grow. |
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Secretaries and Administrative Assistants (May 2025 wages). All four combined had a median of $48,310.
Pay distribution
BLS reports general administrative assistants as Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive. The 10th percentile was $33,280 and the 90th $66,350. Hourly, the median was $22.86.
Typical for the Administrative Assistant title: $38,830 to $58,000 (25th to 75th percentile of Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $33,280 | $35,500 |
| 25th percentile | $38,830 | $41,500 |
| Median | $47,540 | $50,500 |
| 75th percentile | $58,000 | $61,500 |
| 90th percentile | $66,350 | $70,500 |
Pay levers
The middle half of administrative assistants earned between $38,830 and $58,000. These are the differences that most often separate the two ends.
Across all secretaries and administrative assistants, BLS reports the highest medians in government ($54,250) and professional, scientific and technical services ($54,080). Healthcare and social assistance, which employs 32% of the occupation, has a median of $46,290.
O*NET lists QuickBooks, SAP Concur, Salesforce and SharePoint among the technologies named in postings for this occupation. An admin who owns expense reporting, a CRM or a team's document system has a concrete case for a higher offer than one who only manages a calendar.
O*NET's task list includes processing payroll, paying bills, keeping account records and training other clerical staff. Jobs that add these overlap with bookkeeping and office supervision, both of which BLS pays higher.
The median ranges from $45,270 in Atlanta to $62,110 in San Francisco, a gap of about $16,800 for the same occupation.
Local pay
San Francisco ($62,110), Seattle ($60,230) and Boston ($59,330) lead the 28 metros with published data, 25% to 31% above the national median. New York City is the largest market by far, with about 122,680 jobs, but its median of $51,440 is only modestly above national. Atlanta and Pittsburgh come in below national. BLS does not publish a Tampa estimate for this occupation.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco Bay Area | $62,110 +31% | $45,550 – $90,220 | 20,270 |
| Seattle | $60,230 +27% | $45,720 – $80,470 | 15,780 |
| Boston | $59,330 +25% | $42,930 – $79,050 | 28,540 |
| Hartford | $55,940 +18% | $40,590 – $74,760 | 6,980 |
| San Diego | $55,380 +16% | $39,860 – $75,780 | 12,070 |
| Portland | $55,360 +16% | $40,640 – $72,750 | 13,510 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $54,080 +14% | $39,380 – $70,390 | 19,180 |
| Washington, DC | $53,660 +13% | $37,890 – $79,660 | 37,010 |
| Los Angeles | $53,550 +13% | $36,420 – $76,510 | 58,800 |
| Providence | $51,800 +9% | $37,970 – $72,740 | 7,020 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City | $51,440 +8% | $37,440 – $70,160 | 122,680 |
| Chicago | $50,440 +6% | $34,300 – $78,820 | 50,190 |
| Denver | $49,760 +5% | $38,870 – $66,930 | 15,350 |
| Albany | $49,330 +4% | $37,540 – $63,570 | 7,690 |
| Baltimore | $49,220 +4% | $35,920 – $65,510 | 29,780 |
| Nashville | $49,000 +3% | $33,810 – $65,910 | 12,100 |
| Philadelphia | $48,850 +3% | $35,660 – $65,560 | 32,850 |
| Phoenix | $48,800 +3% | $37,690 – $73,840 | 22,010 |
| Raleigh | $48,500 +2% | $35,260 – $65,150 | 7,170 |
| Austin | $48,470 +2% | $32,930 – $64,650 | 13,870 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $47,450 +-0% | $32,990 – $64,200 | 37,550 |
| Miami | $47,450 +-0% | $34,280 – $62,870 | 33,380 |
| Detroit | $47,330 +-0% | $34,080 – $65,240 | 16,970 |
| Charlotte | $46,800 -2% | $32,080 – $62,860 | 11,330 |
| Buffalo | $46,780 -2% | $35,380 – $62,120 | 6,470 |
| Houston | $46,750 -2% | $29,770 – $65,940 | 33,710 |
| Pittsburgh | $45,550 -4% | $30,470 – $60,270 | 12,160 |
| Atlanta | $45,270 -5% | $27,320 – $63,480 | 25,280 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Moving up
BLS does not track promotions. These steps use BLS percentiles and medians for each occupation as a planning guide.
About $33,000 to $39,000 (10th to 25th percentile)
Phones, calendars, filing and data entry. BLS says a high school diploma typically qualifies for entry-level jobs, and most training happens on the job in a few weeks.
About $47,500 to $58,000 (median to 75th percentile)
Runs a department's calendars, travel and expenses, often for several managers, and is the person others ask about the office systems.
Median $69,500
Supervises clerical staff and office operations. BLS reports most office managers as First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers.
Median $76,590
Supports one or a few senior leaders. BLS says employers typically want several years of administrative experience and may prefer some college or a bachelor's degree.
Compare
Executive assistant and office manager roles are the usual step up: both medians sit more than $20,000 above the general admin median. Legal secretaries earn about $8,000 more, receptionists about $9,500 less.
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative Assistant | $47,540 | $50,500 | Decline |
| Executive Assistant | $76,590 | $81,500 | Little or no change |
| Office Manager | $69,500 | $74,000 | Little or no change |
| Legal Secretary | $55,570 | $59,000 | Decline |
| Receptionist | $38,010 | $40,500 | Decline |
Outlook
BLS projects a decline through 2035, mainly because technology, including AI tools, lets managers and staff prepare their own documents and handle tasks assistants once did. The occupation is so large that turnover alone still creates about 163,900 openings a year.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive as a whole.
FAQ
General administrative assistants earned a median of $47,540 a year in May 2025, according to BLS, which is $22.86 an hour. The middle half earned between $38,830 and $58,000. Adding two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year gives a 2027 planning median of about $50,500. Executive, legal and medical assistants are reported separately.
BLS put the hourly median at $22.86 in May 2025. The 10th percentile was $16.00, the 25th $18.67, the 75th $27.89 and the 90th $31.90. Hourly rates for temporary and contract admin assignments vary by agency and metro, so compare an offer with the local median in the city table.
Yes, and the gap between the two is large. Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants had a BLS median of $76,590 in May 2025, about $29,000 more than general administrative assistants at $47,540. BLS says executive roles typically need several years of administrative experience first, which is why the job is the most common step up.
Not outright, but the occupation is shrinking slowly. BLS projects employment of general administrative assistants to decline through 2035 as software and AI tools let managers do more of their own scheduling and documents. With about 1.89 million jobs, the occupation still expects about 163,900 openings a year, all from replacing people who leave.
Of the four BLS secretary and administrative assistant occupations, medical secretaries had the lowest May 2025 median, $45,930, just below general administrative assistants at $47,540. Medical secretaries are also the only group BLS expects to grow, because of demand in healthcare.
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