Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive Salary in Washington
SOC 43-6014 · Washington · BLS OEWS May 2025
Median Annual Salary
$57,325
$27.56/hr
20.6% higher than the US national median ($47,549)
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Is this a competitive Secretaries and Administrative Assistants salary in Washington in 2026?
Based on BLS OEWS wage percentiles, JOLTS August 2026 demand signals, and ECI Q2 2026 wage growth.
$Competitive · ~P50
P10$43K
P25$49K
P50$57K
P75$65K
P90$75K
Drag the dot or type an amount above.
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Demand: ACTIVE. Demand is active -- the broader market openings are at 4.3% (JOLTS, August 2026). A balanced market where the median is a solid, competitive anchor.
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Merit budget: Wages in private industry are rising about 3.1% a year (BLS ECI, Q2 2026). Budget a 2.7-3.2% merit increase to hold this role at market.
Our read
For a competitive 2026 offer, target $57,325 to $64,626 (market median to the 75th percentile). The median-to-P75 range keeps offers competitive.
Figures are market benchmarks from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; apply professional judgment before making pay decisions.
How Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay is moving in 2026
Trend, demand, and spread context from BLS OEWS, JOLTS, and ECI
Pay trend
Median pay for this role rose 2.7% between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, roughly in line with the 3.1% wage growth of the broader market (BLS ECI).
Hiring demand · MODERATE
the broader market is running a 4.3% job-openings rate with quits at 1.9% (BLS JOLTS).
Pay spread
Top earners (P90) make about 2.0 times what entry-level (P10) workers make in this role. That spread is in the typical range for U.S. occupations; standard 80% to 120% pay bands around the median work well.
What changed recently
Sep 29, 2026JOLTS August 2026: national job openings little changed at 7.1M (4.3% rate); hires 5.2M, separations 5.1M, quits steady at 1.9%. July openings revised up 64K to 7.3M.
Sep 1, 2026JOLTS July 2026: national job openings little changed at 7.3M (4.4% rate), but hires fell to 5.1M and separations to 5.1M. Quits slipped to 1.9%. June openings revised down to 7.2M.
Aug 4, 2026JOLTS June 2026: national job openings little changed at 7.4M (4.4% rate), hires flat at 5.3M, quits steady at 2.0%.
Commentary is generated from published BLS figures (OEWS May 2025 vs May 2024, JOLTS August 2026, ECI Q2 2026) and refreshed each release. It is interpretation, not a BLS product.
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
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The median salary for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Washington is $57,325 per year ($27.56/hr). This is 20.6% higher than the national median of $47,549.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Perform routine administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers.
Wage Percentiles: Washington
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours) · National adjusted
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
vs National
P10Entry level
$20.80
$43,264
+30.0%
P25
$23.48
$48,838
+25.8%
P50MEDIAN
$27.56
$57,325
+20.6%
P75
$31.07
$64,626
+11.4%
P90Top earners
$35.94
$74,755
+12.7%
How Washington compares for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Computed from this state's own BLS distribution against national
Pay for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Washington sits above the national range at every level: +30.0% at entry, +20.6% at the median and +12.7% at the top. The gap is larger at entry than at the top.
An offer at the national median of $47,549 would sit at about the 21st percentile in Washington.
The top of the range earns 1.73 times the bottom here against 1.99 times nationally, so pay for this role is more compressed between entry and senior levels in Washington.
Washington employs 31,710 people in this role, 1.9% of the national total.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive salary in Washington?
The median (P50) annual salary for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Washington is approximately $57,325, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. This is 20.6% higher than the national median of $47,549. For the full P10–P90 breakdown and market context, open CompSignal.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.
