NueCareer
Free quiz

Pay by state · 54 areas

Executive Secretary and Executive Administrative Assistant Salary by State (2026)

Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants earn the most in District of Columbia at $90,850 a year and the least in Arkansas at $51,600 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $76,590. The table below covers all 50 states, DC, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$90,850District of Columbia
National median
$76,590BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$51,600Arkansas
Areas reporting
54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1District of Columbia$90,850
  2. 2New Jersey$89,520
  3. 3California$89,000
  4. 4Massachusetts$82,650
  5. 5Connecticut$82,520

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Arkansas$51,600
  2. 2Wyoming$52,210
  3. 3Louisiana$53,240
  4. 4South Dakota$55,170
  5. 5Mississippi$55,670

All states

Executive Secretary and Executive Administrative Assistant salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1DCDistrict of Columbia
$90,850
$77,990$102,3104,560$82,665
2NJNew Jersey
$89,520
$74,840$103,29011,690$82,276
3CACalifornia
$89,000
$72,110$107,09059,640$80,383
4MAMassachusetts
$82,650
$69,560$100,17014,820$78,151
5CTConnecticut
$82,520
$69,570$101,0606,490$79,645
6HIHawaii
$80,710
$66,150$97,8901,440$73,405
7NYNew York
$80,640
$68,470$100,40088,890$74,721
8VAVirginia
$80,330
$63,480$98,77010,360$79,453
9WAWashington
$79,250
$72,670$90,57011,560$74,056
10DEDelaware
$78,920
$64,160$92,5501,320$79,072
11MDMaryland
$78,540
$64,470$94,00013,960$74,829
12MNMinnesota
$78,470
$64,810$91,5407,970$79,567
13RIRhode Island
$77,820
$64,460$90,620950$76,085
14OROregon
$75,480
$63,940$86,8706,000$73,026
15PAPennsylvania
$75,270
$59,890$85,97012,910$77,143
16ILIllinois
$74,390
$57,590$93,18014,900$74,421
17NMNew Mexico
$73,890
$64,870$82,8402,800$80,131
18TXTexas
$71,990
$58,790$87,04034,520$74,173
19NHNew Hampshire
$71,650
$57,090$86,8101,210$68,785
20AZArizona
$70,770
$57,910$84,0406,490$70,294
21VTVermont
$70,770
$63,880$80,450770$72,245
22NCNorth Carolina
$70,140
$58,480$83,2608,890$74,359
23OHOhio
$69,600
$57,640$82,46010,940$75,021
24ALAlabama
$69,450
$56,760$83,1402,880$78,189
25WIWisconsin
$68,920
$59,270$78,4004,480$73,245
26GAGeorgia
$68,290
$58,930$81,08014,560$70,919
27TNTennessee
$68,190
$56,370$79,8405,360$74,224
28NVNevada
$67,830
$55,720$83,8902,670$67,844
29MIMichigan
$66,840
$57,570$81,0509,030$69,468
30AKAlaska
$66,210
$56,490$79,5001,320$64,684
31NENebraska
$66,210
$56,100$79,3801,860$73,483
32COColorado
$65,850
$57,920$82,62010,340$63,900
33KSKansas
$64,860
$57,090$78,2202,750$72,012
34FLFlorida
$64,710
$51,590$81,19019,220$62,574
35MEMaine
$64,100
$54,570$75,6502,320$66,048
36WVWest Virginia
$63,820
$52,110$77,990860$71,310
37KYKentucky
$62,410
$52,050$75,6502,700$69,222
38IAIowa
$62,340
$51,450$71,3904,150$71,033
39NDNorth Dakota
$61,270
$52,570$75,140540$68,874
40UTUtah
$61,130
$47,620$76,6305,440$61,832
41SCSouth Carolina
$60,890
$50,290$77,1603,880$64,950
42MOMissouri
$60,320
$50,650$76,8208,500$66,419
43IDIdaho
$60,200
$51,030$79,4301,180$63,041
44OKOklahoma
$59,910
$49,830$74,3202,810$68,201
45MTMontana
$59,750
$51,140$67,720550$63,131
46INIndiana
$59,080
$49,740$73,4505,060$63,303
47VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$56,720
$40,260$64,600170N/A
48MSMississippi
$55,670
$44,870$70,8801,240$64,023
49SDSouth Dakota
$55,170
$48,980$62,3901,230$62,278
50LALouisiana
$53,240
$43,710$63,5009,270$60,358
51WYWyoming
$52,210
$48,380$59,800560$56,327
52ARArkansas
$51,600
$43,940$66,4802,070$59,353
53GUGuam
$43,930
$39,520$55,91080N/A
54PRPuerto Rico
$37,120
$30,700$47,3407,100N/A

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, the adjustment does not change the leader: District of Columbia is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $82,665.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Executive Secretary and Executive Administrative Assistant pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $90,850 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New Jersey ($89,520) and California ($89,000).

Which state pays executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Arkansas reports the lowest median for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $51,600 a year, $39,250 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $56,720, Guam reports $43,930 and Puerto Rico reports $37,120.

Is the highest-paying state the best for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants after cost of living?

Yes. District of Columbia stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $82,665 in national-average dollars from a raw $90,850. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

Back to the full Executive Secretary and Executive Administrative Assistant career profile