Medical Secretary and Administrative Assistant Salary (2026), outlook and how to become one

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earn a median of $45,930 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 10% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $22.08/hr. The middle half earn between $38,570 and $50,580. The top 10% earn $60,530 or more.

The median hourly wage for medical secretaries and administrative assistants is $22.08 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). On a full-year basis the $45,930 annual median works out to about $3,830 a month before tax.

BLS does not publish a starting salary. The nearest measure is the low end of the pay range: the lowest-paid 10% of medical secretaries and administrative assistants earn less than $35,930 a year and the bottom quarter less than $38,570 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). New workers often start near that end, but where a particular job starts depends on the employer, the state and the credentials you bring, so read these as the bottom of the range rather than a guaranteed entry wage.

The highest state medians for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants are Washington ($58,100), California ($54,490), Massachusetts ($50,290) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

BLS does not split medical secretaries and administrative assistants' pay by specialty or employer, but its range shows how far the top end runs: the highest-paid 10% earn more than $60,530, against a median of $45,930 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Location moves pay the most in the published data: the best-paying states are Washington ($58,100), California ($54,490), Massachusetts ($50,290).

No. A bachelor's degree is not the norm: BLS reports a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. BLS also lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 47.6% hold high school diploma or the equivalent (such as a ged).

BLS does not publish a fixed length; it depends on the route. What it does publish: the typical way in for medical secretaries and administrative assistants is a high school diploma or equivalent. Once hired, BLS lists moderate-term on-the-job training as typical. O*NET classes the work as needing some preparation.

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 4.8% over 2025–2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations (BLS EP, 2025–2035). BLS still projects about 89,200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.

Secretaries and administrative assistants do routine clerical and organizational tasks. A core O*NET task: answer telephones and direct calls to appropriate staff. Employers most often ask for Accounting software, Data base user interface and query software, Electronic mail software.

Yes, for most. In O*NET's survey of people in the job, 6% of medical secretaries and administrative assistants usually work more than 40 hours a week, 54% work exactly 40 and 40% work fewer. 99% say their schedule is regular and 1% irregular. Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, Work Context.

O*NET scores Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants highest on the Conventional, Social and Enterprising interest areas, so the work mixes organising, following procedures and working precisely with data with teaching, helping and working directly with other people. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ISFJ, ESFJ, ESTJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 1,731 careers in the bank.

Women make up 98.4% of medical secretaries and administrative assistants, against 47.1% of all employed people: a female-dominated occupation. 29.1% are 55 or older (23.2% across all jobs), so a larger-than-usual share of the workforce reaches retirement age over the next decade. Those exits are counted in the BLS openings figure. The median worker is 46.2 years old (all workers: 42.1). Source: BLS Current Population Survey, 2025 annual averages.