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Pay by state · 54 areas

Medical Secretary and Administrative Assistant Salary by State (2026)

Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earn the most in Washington at $58,100 a year and the least in Mississippi at $36,290 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $45,930. 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
$58,100Washington
National median
$45,930BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$36,290Mississippi
Areas reporting
54of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for medical secretaries and 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. 1Washington$58,100
  2. 2California$54,490
  3. 3Massachusetts$50,290
  4. 4Oregon$50,130
  5. 5Minnesota$50,030

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Mississippi$36,290
  2. 2Louisiana$36,930
  3. 3Alabama$36,930
  4. 4Arkansas$37,000
  5. 5Oklahoma$38,330

All states

Medical Secretary and Administrative Assistant salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of medical 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
#
1WAWashington
$58,100
$48,510$62,84010,960$54,292
2CACalifornia
$54,490
$46,590$63,330115,050$49,214
3MAMassachusetts
$50,290
$47,480$58,91022,210$47,552
4OROregon
$50,130
$46,510$59,37016,840$48,500
5MNMinnesota
$50,030
$48,100$59,29016,860$50,730
6HIHawaii
$49,920
$45,790$55,4202,160$45,402
7DCDistrict of Columbia
$49,180
$46,920$58,1701,930$44,749
8NJNew Jersey
$48,660
$44,080$57,40020,980$44,722
9CTConnecticut
$48,500
$46,380$57,7606,480$46,810
10NHNew Hampshire
$48,410
$45,020$53,4703,680$46,474
11WIWisconsin
$48,380
$46,490$51,9007,760$51,416
12VTVermont
$48,200
$45,160$57,3702,390$49,205
13AKAlaska
$47,870
$43,800$54,7302,520$46,767
14MDMaryland
$47,850
$43,350$55,58017,290$45,589
15NYNew York
$47,710
$44,160$56,31057,720$44,208
16MEMaine
$46,990
$43,940$49,9704,610$48,418
17NVNevada
$46,990
$39,900$49,0107,030$47,000
18COColorado
$46,920
$41,190$50,66011,560$45,530
19RIRhode Island
$46,860
$45,730$55,6902,350$45,815
20ILIllinois
$46,670
$40,320$50,17027,560$46,690
21VAVirginia
$46,180
$39,500$48,72027,600$45,676
22NENebraska
$46,100
$40,930$48,9404,110$51,164
23AZArizona
$45,820
$39,090$51,26018,090$45,512
24SDSouth Dakota
$45,810
$43,970$47,89080$51,712
25NDNorth Dakota
$45,390
$39,430$50,2101,120$51,024
26PAPennsylvania
$44,930
$39,520$49,03027,600$46,048
27IDIdaho
$44,920
$37,890$48,4405,120$47,040
28DEDelaware
$44,500
$38,640$47,7104,510$44,586
29WYWyoming
$44,430
$38,200$49,2501,110$47,933
30UTUtah
$44,330
$37,390$49,1505,260$44,839
31OHOhio
$44,280
$38,700$47,98029,110$47,729
32NMNew Mexico
$44,230
$38,570$49,1504,590$47,966
33NCNorth Carolina
$44,190
$37,930$47,44056,840$46,848
34INIndiana
$44,060
$38,040$47,19021,180$47,209
35MOMissouri
$43,980
$37,440$48,44012,260$48,427
36MTMontana
$43,740
$38,580$47,3504,410$46,215
37GAGeorgia
$43,160
$36,910$47,78039,380$44,822
38KSKansas
$43,020
$37,870$46,8106,470$47,764
39TXTexas
$42,910
$37,170$47,85078,740$44,211
40FLFlorida
$41,730
$37,570$47,30096,000$40,352
41MIMichigan
$41,100
$37,950$46,99027,960$42,716
42IAIowa
$40,980
$37,560$46,98010,560$46,694
43SCSouth Carolina
$40,170
$36,940$46,69015,630$42,848
44TNTennessee
$39,940
$36,320$46,73041,810$43,474
45KYKentucky
$38,750
$35,940$45,95026,430$42,980
46WVWest Virginia
$38,430
$36,160$46,2601,550$42,940
47OKOklahoma
$38,330
$35,550$45,9008,430$43,635
48ARArkansas
$37,000
$34,880$42,4002,190$42,560
49ALAlabama
$36,930
$33,800$44,99016,580$41,577
50LALouisiana
$36,930
$34,270$44,3302,970$41,867
51VIU.S. Virgin Islands
$36,710
$31,750$42,840230N/A
52MSMississippi
$36,290
$31,250$43,090N/A$41,735
53GUGuam
$31,680
$27,400$36,760310N/A
54PRPuerto Rico
$29,620
$22,670$39,5208,480N/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 medical secretaries and administrative assistants, the adjustment does not change the leader: Washington is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $54,292.

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

Questions

Medical Secretary and Administrative Assistant pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays medical secretaries and administrative assistants the most?

Washington reports the highest median wage for medical secretaries and administrative assistants at $58,100 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by California ($54,490) and Massachusetts ($50,290).

Which state pays medical secretaries and administrative assistants the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for medical secretaries and administrative assistants at $36,290 a year, $21,810 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, U.S. Virgin Islands reports $36,710, Guam reports $31,680 and Puerto Rico reports $29,620.

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

Yes. Washington stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $54,292 in national-average dollars from a raw $58,100. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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