Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Salary in Washington, DC (2024)
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earn a median of $51,580 per year ($24.80 per hour) based on 35,940 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +11.4% against the national median of $46,290 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive actually sit across the pay range in Washington, DC, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.93 | $37,300 | |
| 25th percentile | $20.94 | $43,550 | |
| Median | $24.80 | $51,580 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $29.85 | $62,090 | |
| 90th percentile | $36.57 | $76,060 | |
| Average (mean) | $26.32 | $54,740 |
How Washington, DC compares
The local median of $51,580 runs +11.4% above the US median of $46,290 for this occupation; it pays 24.6% less than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($68,430); within the metro it ranks 498th of 703 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC — this occupation | $51,580 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $46,290 | +11.4% |
| Washington, DC — all occupations | $68,430 | -24.6% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $60,320 | -14.5% |
The location quotient of 1.02 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 1.0%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 498th of 703 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Washington, DC
To put $51,580 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 498th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $225,340 | 390 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $224,330 | 1,900 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $223,030 | 1,740 |
| Psychiatrists | $219,970 | 570 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $218,490 | 230 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $199,990 | 150 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $191,880 | 20,770 |
| Lawyers | $191,880 | 48,170 |
| Physicians, All Other | $191,880 | 11,170 |
| Nuclear Engineers | $189,770 | 300 |
Where secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $41,640 to $60,320. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $60,320 | 20,460 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $58,310 | 17,140 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $56,060 | 25,970 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $53,040 | 14,870 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $52,450 | 13,660 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $52,000 | 62,890 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $51,580 | 35,940 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $51,240 | 18,510 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $50,990 | 122,270 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $50,290 | 13,480 |
See the full national picture on the Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Washington, DC?
The median annual wage is $51,580, or $25 per hour. That means half of the secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive working in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $54,740.
What do the highest and lowest paid secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Washington, DC earn?
The bottom 10% earn $37,300 or less, while the top 10% earn $76,060 or more — a spread of $38,760 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $43,550 and $62,090.
Is secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive pay in Washington, DC above the local average?
Yes, it is 24.6% below the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $68,430. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Washington, DC pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $51,580 the metro median is 11.4% higher than the US median of $46,290 for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $41,640 to $60,320.
How many secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive work in Washington, DC?
BLS counts about 35,940 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 11.52 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 1.02 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 3.6%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.