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Pay by state · 52 areas

Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant Salary by State (2026)

Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earn the most in District of Columbia at $99,280 a year and the least in Kansas at $36,620 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $55,570. The table below covers 49 states, DC, Guam and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$99,280District of Columbia
National median
$55,570BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$36,620Kansas
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

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

Ranked on the state median among the 49 reporting states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1District of Columbia$99,280
  2. 2New York$72,230
  3. 3Connecticut$66,220
  4. 4Delaware$66,130
  5. 5Minnesota$63,180

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Kansas$36,620
  2. 2Missouri$38,560
  3. 3Kentucky$39,300
  4. 4Arkansas$41,410
  5. 5Idaho$41,880

All states

Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of legal secretaries and 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
$99,280
$64,670$107,6901,940$90,336
2NYNew York
$72,230
$52,780$97,2209,800$66,929
3CTConnecticut
$66,220
$56,150$81,0501,090$63,913
4DEDelaware
$66,130
$59,750$80,110980$66,257
5MNMinnesota
$63,180
$54,460$79,4102,410$64,063
6NJNew Jersey
$63,080
$48,910$76,1004,160$57,975
7RIRhode Island
$63,020
$43,680$80,890390$61,615
8CACalifornia
$62,860
$50,040$80,65027,470$56,774
9MAMassachusetts
$62,120
$48,040$77,4204,020$58,738
10MDMaryland
$61,440
$49,920$77,5801,670$58,537
11AKAlaska
$61,280
$50,530$62,190660$59,868
12OROregon
$59,610
$45,270$82,7301,590$57,672
13COColorado
$59,490
$49,340$82,3902,030$57,728
14WAWashington
$58,360
$49,400$77,5603,950$54,535
15NMNew Mexico
$57,800
$48,210$65,7601,400$62,682
16MIMichigan
$56,870
$44,030$71,9703,580$59,106
17NVNevada
$56,470
$47,870$70,5301,430$56,482
18WIWisconsin
$55,410
$48,270$61,9201,210$58,887
19VAVirginia
$55,320
$44,060$69,0202,380$54,716
20AZArizona
$55,120
$47,870$74,9402,600$54,749
21NDNorth Dakota
$53,540
$46,470$61,620360$60,185
22UTUtah
$52,860
$43,040$66,500940$53,467
23SCSouth Carolina
$52,840
$42,220$59,0302,280$56,363
24ILIllinois
$52,790
$47,120$68,0308,030$52,812
25NHNew Hampshire
$51,830
$44,980$69,260300$49,758
26PAPennsylvania
$51,430
$45,730$60,3206,230$52,710
27OHOhio
$51,080
$41,230$62,1304,360$55,059
28HIHawaii
$49,460
$48,310$64,800680$44,984
29VTVermont
$49,090
$46,580$55,210N/A$50,113
30FLFlorida
$48,510
$40,960$64,80010,920$46,909
31GAGeorgia
$48,460
$40,990$60,8303,260$50,326
32LALouisiana
$48,050
$37,730$61,0302,460$54,474
33MEMaine
$48,040
$44,240$58,960860$49,500
34SDSouth Dakota
$47,790
$42,790$51,010560$53,948
35INIndiana
$47,740
$42,880$61,5402,670$51,152
36WVWest Virginia
$46,960
$33,890$54,5701,200$52,471
37WYWyoming
$46,960
$46,770$50,960280$50,663
38IAIowa
$46,590
$38,560$56,6601,120$53,087
39GUGuam
$46,430
$41,180$52,04050N/A
40ALAlabama
$45,950
$36,660$57,6801,840$51,732
41OKOklahoma
$45,950
$37,380$52,8301,290$52,309
42TXTexas
$45,940
$41,590$62,61013,380$47,333
43NENebraska
$45,800
$34,840$56,7501,310$50,831
44TNTennessee
$45,340
$37,310$59,6402,980$49,352
45MSMississippi
$45,140
$31,750$54,240820$51,913
46NCNorth Carolina
$43,720
$36,890$50,6503,780$46,350
47IDIdaho
$41,880
$38,990$46,010420$43,856
48ARArkansas
$41,410
$34,530$48,640610$47,632
49KYKentucky
$39,300
$35,410$47,5102,810$43,590
50MOMissouri
$38,560
$36,270$53,7203,310$42,459
51KSKansas
$36,620
$30,520$45,1401,600$40,658
52PRPuerto Rico
$31,000
$27,620$38,3202,530N/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 legal secretaries and 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 $90,336.

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

Questions

Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays legal secretaries and administrative assistants the most?

District of Columbia reports the highest median wage for legal secretaries and administrative assistants at $99,280 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by New York ($72,230) and Connecticut ($66,220).

Which state pays legal secretaries and administrative assistants the least?

Among the 49 reporting states and DC, Kansas reports the lowest median for legal secretaries and administrative assistants at $36,620 a year, $62,660 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Guam reports $46,430 and Puerto Rico reports $31,000.

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

Yes. District of Columbia stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $90,336 in national-average dollars from a raw $99,280. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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