Best US Cities for Administrative Assistants
Top US cities for Administrative Assistants ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $60,900 | 1.45× | +$16,900 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $57,400 | 1.32× | +$13,400 |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $56,900 | 1.30× | +$12,900 |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $55,700 | 1.35× | +$11,700 |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $53,700 | 1.18× | +$9,700 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $52,300 | 1.22× | +$8,300 |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $52,000 | 1.21× | +$8,000 |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $51,700 | 1.20× | +$7,700 |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $51,300 | 1.18× | +$7,300 |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $51,300 | 1.30× | +$7,300 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $60,900 | $29/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $57,400 | $28/hr |
| 3 | Irvine, CA | $56,900 | $27/hr |
| 4 | Oakland, CA | $55,700 | $27/hr |
| 5 | Scottsdale, AZ | $53,700 | $26/hr |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $52,300 | $25/hr |
| 7 | San Diego, CA | $52,000 | $25/hr |
| 8 | Yonkers, NY | $51,700 | $25/hr |
| 9 | Seattle, WA | $51,300 | $25/hr |
| 10 | Honolulu, HI | $51,300 | $25/hr |
| 11 | Chicago, IL | $50,200 | $24/hr |
| 12 | Frisco, TX | $50,200 | $24/hr |
| 13 | Plano, TX | $50,000 | $24/hr |
| 14 | Miami, FL | $49,700 | $24/hr |
| 15 | Tampa, FL | $49,400 | $24/hr |
| 16 | Salt Lake City, UT | $49,400 | $24/hr |
| 17 | Los Angeles, CA | $49,300 | $24/hr |
| 18 | Portland, OR | $49,200 | $24/hr |
| 19 | Newark, NJ | $49,200 | $24/hr |
| 20 | Sacramento, CA | $49,200 | $24/hr |
| 21 | Anchorage, AK | $48,800 | $23/hr |
| 22 | Denver, CO | $48,700 | $23/hr |
| 23 | Dallas, TX | $48,600 | $23/hr |
| 24 | St. Petersburg, FL | $48,600 | $23/hr |
| 25 | Long Beach, CA | $48,400 | $23/hr |
| 26 | Anaheim, CA | $48,400 | $23/hr |
| 27 | Austin, TX | $47,900 | $23/hr |
| 28 | Minneapolis, MN | $47,700 | $23/hr |
| 29 | Chandler, AZ | $47,700 | $23/hr |
| 30 | Chula Vista, CA | $47,600 | $23/hr |
| 31 | Phoenix, AZ | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 32 | Philadelphia, PA | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 33 | Milwaukee, WI | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 34 | Atlanta, GA | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 35 | Reno, NV | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 36 | Gilbert, AZ | $47,200 | $23/hr |
| 37 | Columbus, OH | $46,700 | $22/hr |
| 38 | Kansas City, MO | $46,700 | $22/hr |
| 39 | Wilmington, DE | $46,600 | $22/hr |
| 40 | Raleigh, NC | $46,600 | $22/hr |
| 41 | St. Paul, MN | $46,600 | $22/hr |
| 42 | Boise, ID | $46,600 | $22/hr |
| 43 | Nashville, TN | $46,400 | $22/hr |
| 44 | Riverside, CA | $46,400 | $22/hr |
| 45 | Madison, WI | $46,400 | $22/hr |
| 46 | Omaha, NE | $46,200 | $22/hr |
| 47 | Charlotte, NC | $45,900 | $22/hr |
| 48 | Pittsburgh, PA | $45,400 | $22/hr |
| 49 | Baltimore, MD | $45,200 | $22/hr |
| 50 | Stockton, CA | $45,200 | $22/hr |
| 51 | Aurora, CO | $45,200 | $22/hr |
| 52 | Hialeah, FL | $45,200 | $22/hr |
| 53 | Albuquerque, NM | $45,100 | $22/hr |
| 54 | Las Vegas, NV | $45,000 | $22/hr |
| 55 | Detroit, MI | $44,600 | $21/hr |
| 56 | Buffalo, NY | $44,600 | $21/hr |
| 57 | Henderson, NV | $44,500 | $21/hr |
| 58 | Charleston, SC | $44,500 | $21/hr |
| 59 | Cleveland, OH | $44,300 | $21/hr |
| 60 | Winston-Salem, NC | $44,300 | $21/hr |
| 61 | Orlando, FL | $44,200 | $21/hr |
| 62 | Virginia Beach, VA | $44,000 | $21/hr |
| 63 | Chesapeake, VA | $44,000 | $21/hr |
| 64 | North Las Vegas, NV | $44,000 | $21/hr |
| 65 | Fresno, CA | $44,000 | $21/hr |
| 66 | Worcester, MA | $44,000 | $21/hr |
| 67 | Colorado Springs, CO | $43,800 | $21/hr |
| 68 | Bakersfield, CA | $43,800 | $21/hr |
| 69 | Lincoln, NE | $43,800 | $21/hr |
| 70 | Norfolk, VA | $43,500 | $21/hr |
| 71 | Jacksonville, FL | $43,300 | $21/hr |
| 72 | Mesa, AZ | $43,300 | $21/hr |
| 73 | Houston, TX | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 74 | Fort Worth, TX | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 75 | Tucson, AZ | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 76 | Glendale, AZ | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 77 | Garland, TX | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 78 | Spokane, WA | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 79 | Fort Wayne, IN | $43,000 | $21/hr |
| 80 | Arlington, TX | $42,800 | $21/hr |
| 81 | Tallahassee, FL | $42,800 | $21/hr |
| 82 | New Orleans, LA | $42,500 | $20/hr |
| 83 | San Antonio, TX | $42,300 | $20/hr |
| 84 | Grand Rapids, MI | $42,300 | $20/hr |
| 85 | Cincinnati, OH | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 86 | Lexington, KY | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 87 | Corpus Christi, TX | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 88 | Greensboro, NC | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 89 | Knoxville, TN | $42,100 | $20/hr |
| 90 | El Paso, TX | $41,800 | $20/hr |
| 91 | St. Louis, MO | $41,800 | $20/hr |
| 92 | Indianapolis, IN | $41,600 | $20/hr |
| 93 | Louisville, KY | $41,600 | $20/hr |
| 94 | Memphis, TN | $41,300 | $20/hr |
| 95 | Oklahoma City, OK | $41,300 | $20/hr |
| 96 | Birmingham, AL | $41,100 | $20/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $41,100 | $20/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $41,100 | $20/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $40,600 | $20/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $40,600 | $20/hr |
Does location actually decide Administrative Assistant pay?
Administrative Assistant work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $40,600 in Mobile to $60,900 in San Francisco — a spread of 50%.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
Gross pay and what you keep are different lists. In San Francisco, $60,900 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $24,900 a year after housing. In Mobile, $40,600 against $850 leaves about $30,400. The bottom of the pay list beats the top once rent is subtracted — which is the whole reason to look past headline salary.
Why these metros and not others
Pay follows employer concentration more than cost of living. Among the top of this list: San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Irvine (University of California, Irvine, Broadcom). A Administrative Assistant at a large employer in a metro where business work clusters will typically out-earn the local median for the role — the ranking reflects where those employers sit.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.