Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay in the U.S.
$60,620avg. a year
$29.14 an hour · 156,280 employed
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in the U.S. earn an average of $60,620 a year and a median of $55,570. Pay is highest in District of Columbia ($93,590) and lowest in Kansas ($40,020).
$55,570Median pay
$29.14Average hourly
+15%Avg. pay since 2020
156,280Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for legal secretaries and administrative assistants
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
11,940 jobs
District of Columbia
$93,590
$45.00 an hour
29,800 jobs
New York
$74,870
$36.00 an hour
327,470 jobs
California
$74,860
$35.99 an hour
41,090 jobs
Connecticut
$69,970
$33.64 an hour
52,410 jobs
Minnesota
$69,660
$33.49 an hour
6980 jobs
Delaware
$68,010
$32.70 an hour
74,020 jobs
Massachusetts
$66,460
$31.95 an hour
82,030 jobs
Colorado
$65,740
$31.61 an hour
94,160 jobs
New Jersey
$64,150
$30.84 an hour
10390 jobs
Rhode Island
$63,670
$30.61 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $49k$49k–$55k$55k–$63k$63k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $90,530 | $43.52 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $89,030 | $42.80 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $86,320 | $41.50 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $78,290 | $37.64 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $76,580 | $36.82 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $74,350 | $35.74 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $72,950 | $35.07 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $72,720 | $34.96 |
Related jobs
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive$49,350
- Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants$46,800
- Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants$79,140
- Customer Service Representatives$46,590
- Office Clerks, General$46,420
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers$73,490
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $47,620 | $45,950 | 1,840 |
| Alaska | $60,560 | $61,280 | 660 |
| Arizona | $58,860 | $55,120 | 2,600 |
| Arkansas | $43,660 | $41,410 | 610 |
| California | $74,860 | $62,860 | 27,470 |
| Colorado | $65,740 | $59,490 | 2,030 |
| Connecticut | $69,970 | $66,220 | 1,090 |
| Delaware | $68,010 | $66,130 | 980 |
| District of Columbia | $93,590 | $99,280 | 1,940 |
| Florida | $55,420 | $48,510 | 10,920 |
| Georgia | $52,480 | $48,460 | 3,260 |
| Hawaii | $55,930 | $49,460 | 680 |
| Idaho | $44,740 | $41,880 | 420 |
| Illinois | $60,790 | $52,790 | 8,030 |
| Indiana | $52,620 | $47,740 | 2,670 |
| Iowa | $48,800 | $46,590 | 1,120 |
| Kansas | $40,020 | $36,620 | 1,600 |
| Kentucky | $42,700 | $39,300 | 2,810 |
| Louisiana | $51,040 | $48,050 | 2,460 |
| Maine | $51,010 | $48,040 | 860 |
| Maryland | $63,410 | $61,440 | 1,670 |
| Massachusetts | $66,460 | $62,120 | 4,020 |
| Michigan | $57,090 | $56,870 | 3,580 |
| Minnesota | $69,660 | $63,180 | 2,410 |
| Mississippi | $45,300 | $45,140 | 820 |
| Missouri | $46,610 | $38,560 | 3,310 |
| Nebraska | $46,850 | $45,800 | 1,310 |
| Nevada | $58,610 | $56,470 | 1,430 |
| New Hampshire | $57,710 | $51,830 | 300 |
| New Jersey | $64,150 | $63,080 | 4,160 |
| New Mexico | $57,370 | $57,800 | 1,400 |
| New York | $74,870 | $72,230 | 9,800 |
| North Carolina | $46,960 | $43,720 | 3,780 |
| North Dakota | $53,670 | $53,540 | 360 |
| Ohio | $53,970 | $51,080 | 4,360 |
| Oklahoma | $46,280 | $45,950 | 1,290 |
| Oregon | $63,550 | $59,610 | 1,590 |
| Pennsylvania | $53,390 | $51,430 | 6,230 |
| Rhode Island | $63,670 | $63,020 | 390 |
| South Carolina | $52,270 | $52,840 | 2,280 |
| South Dakota | $47,760 | $47,790 | 560 |
| Tennessee | $49,450 | $45,340 | 2,980 |
| Texas | $54,180 | $45,940 | 13,380 |
| Utah | $56,980 | $52,860 | 940 |
| Vermont | $52,210 | $49,090 | – |
| Virginia | $62,940 | $55,320 | 2,380 |
| Washington | $63,570 | $58,360 | 3,950 |
| West Virginia | $45,790 | $46,960 | 1,200 |
| Wisconsin | $56,590 | $55,410 | 1,210 |
| Wyoming | $50,430 | $46,960 | 280 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$76,580
14,930 jobs$78,290
9,580 jobsChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$64,840
6,120 jobsDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$53,300
4,920 jobsHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX$56,490
4,210 jobsMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$58,670
4,210 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
$62,220
3,930 jobsSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
$71,040
3,420 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do legal secretaries and administrative assistants make?
The average is $60,620 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $55,570 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $29.14, and the median is $26.72 an hour.
Which state pays legal secretaries and administrative assistants the most?
District of Columbia, with an average of $93,590 a year. The best-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $90,530.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $36,500 a year, and the top 10% earn over $91,730.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 43-6012. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.