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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

43-6014 Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers. Excludes legal, medical, and executive secretaries (43-6011 through 43-6013).


National estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Industry profile for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
Geographic profile for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

National estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,850,360 0.5 % $ 19.43 $ 40,420 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 12.32 $ 14.99 $ 18.68 $ 23.49 $ 28.41
Annual Wage (2) $ 25,630 $ 31,180 $ 38,850 $ 48,860 $ 59,090


Industry profile for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Elementary and Secondary Schools 232,600 2.82 $ 19.00 $ 39,520
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 114,810 2.12 $ 21.52 $ 44,760
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 111,900 3.69 $ 19.97 $ 41,540
Real Estate 75,120 4.55 $ 18.11 $ 37,660
Employment Services 63,460 1.98 $ 18.94 $ 39,400

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures 3,170 10.98 $ 19.06 $ 39,650
Religious Organizations 13,400 7.14 $ 17.37 $ 36,140
Death Care Services 7,480 5.72 $ 16.78 $ 34,900
Other Investment Pools and Funds 590 5.52 $ 21.36 $ 44,420
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 21,800 5.24 $ 20.64 $ 42,940

Top paying industries for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service (federal government) 810 0.13 $ 29.29 $ 60,920
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank 150 0.75 $ 26.80 $ 55,750
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 10,030 0.48 $ 26.05 $ 54,190
Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media 90 0.77 $ 24.83 $ 51,640
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 210 0.09 $ 24.74 $ 51,460


Geographic profile for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 201,780 12.28 0.92 $ 22.30 $ 46,380
Texas 153,030 12.64 0.95 $ 17.94 $ 37,320
New York 152,130 17.50 1.32 $ 21.00 $ 43,690
Florida 117,830 13.96 1.05 $ 17.71 $ 36,830
Pennsylvania 84,060 15.25 1.15 $ 18.72 $ 38,940




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Mexico 28,360 36.10 2.71 $ 17.46 $ 36,330
Alabama 46,840 24.61 1.85 $ 17.72 $ 36,850
District of Columbia 14,100 20.52 1.54 $ 24.14 $ 50,210
Maryland 49,210 19.51 1.47 $ 20.83 $ 43,320
Kansas 25,810 19.38 1.46 $ 16.80 $ 34,950




Top paying states for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 14,100 20.52 1.54 $ 24.14 $ 50,210
Connecticut 24,760 16.07 1.21 $ 24.09 $ 50,120
Massachusetts 39,740 11.86 0.89 $ 23.79 $ 49,490
California 201,780 12.28 0.92 $ 22.30 $ 46,380
Washington 32,790 10.26 0.77 $ 22.16 $ 46,090





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 145,780 16.50 1.24 $ 21.58 $ 44,880
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 81,220 13.95 1.05 $ 22.28 $ 46,340
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 43,400 9.95 0.75 $ 20.83 $ 43,330
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 41,560 13.75 1.03 $ 23.83 $ 49,570
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 41,270 15.30 1.15 $ 20.84 $ 43,350
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 39,500 11.01 0.83 $ 19.17 $ 39,880
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 36,920 14.02 1.05 $ 17.67 $ 36,750
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 36,550 12.31 0.93 $ 19.08 $ 39,690
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 36,340 14.49 1.09 $ 17.95 $ 37,350
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 31,680 12.18 0.92 $ 23.99 $ 49,900




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Las Cruces, NM 2,690 39.15 2.94 $ 16.27 $ 33,830
Santa Fe, NM 2,170 37.60 2.83 $ 19.94 $ 41,480
Farmington, NM 1,600 36.88 2.77 $ 16.86 $ 35,070
Albuquerque, NM 12,680 33.87 2.55 $ 17.98 $ 37,400
Carson City, NV 950 32.83 2.47 $ 20.12 $ 41,840
Montgomery, AL 4,880 31.47 2.37 $ 17.28 $ 35,950
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL 2,050 27.99 2.10 $ 17.69 $ 36,790
Mobile, AL 4,520 26.64 2.00 $ 17.77 $ 36,960
Ithaca, NY 1,190 25.88 1.95 $ 22.24 $ 46,250
State College, PA 1,620 25.25 1.90 $ 18.63 $ 38,750




Top paying metropolitan areas for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 6,350 16.85 1.27 $ 26.96 $ 56,080
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 26,350 11.30 0.85 $ 25.23 $ 52,480
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 11,200 10.16 0.76 $ 24.97 $ 51,930
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 31,680 12.18 0.92 $ 23.99 $ 49,900
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 41,560 13.75 1.03 $ 23.83 $ 49,570
Trenton, NJ 4,020 17.44 1.31 $ 23.51 $ 48,900
New Haven, CT 4,910 18.20 1.37 $ 23.42 $ 48,720
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 16,940 8.66 0.65 $ 23.36 $ 48,580
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 7,760 14.10 1.06 $ 23.21 $ 48,280
Napa, CA 730 10.62 0.80 $ 23.16 $ 48,180

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 8,440 22.30 1.68 $ 15.53 $ 32,310
Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 6,250 40.03 3.01 $ 16.60 $ 34,530
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 3,860 14.34 1.08 $ 15.41 $ 32,060
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 3,530 15.77 1.19 $ 16.07 $ 33,430
Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 3,360 17.53 1.32 $ 15.97 $ 33,230

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 6,250 40.03 3.01 $ 16.60 $ 34,530
Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 2,900 37.16 2.79 $ 16.59 $ 34,500
Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area 1,680 25.97 1.95 $ 16.33 $ 33,970
Maryland nonmetropolitan area 1,420 25.28 1.90 $ 18.27 $ 38,000
Southeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area 1,960 23.38 1.76 $ 17.17 $ 35,720

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 510 16.80 1.26 $ 21.67 $ 45,060
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 1,720 17.15 1.29 $ 21.35 $ 44,400
Eastern Utah nonmetropolitan area 980 12.93 0.97 $ 21.05 $ 43,770
Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 840 14.95 1.12 $ 20.94 $ 43,540
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 1,530 13.38 1.01 $ 20.59 $ 42,830


About May 2020 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OEWS estimates and related information:

May 2020 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2020 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2021