Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

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

Perform routine clerical and 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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
2,254,820 0.4 % $17.75 $36,920 0.2 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $10.63 $13.45 $17.11 $21.61 $26.14
Annual Wage (2) $22,110 $27,990 $35,590 $44,950 $54,370


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Elementary and Secondary Schools 240,460 2.84 $17.91 $37,260
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 122,890 4.07 $19.01 $39,550
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 122,830 2.25 $19.57 $40,700
Real Estate 97,920 6.22 $16.51 $34,350
Employment Services 78,000 2.17 $17.36 $36,110

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

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 4,440 15.60 $19.13 $39,790
Other Investment Pools and Funds 640 8.99 $19.77 $41,130
Religious Organizations 16,500 8.52 $15.81 $32,890
Death Care Services 10,040 7.34 $15.26 $31,730
Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations 29,020 6.65 $18.45 $38,370

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Postal Service (federal government) 780 0.12 $27.92 $58,070
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 13,220 0.65 $24.34 $50,630
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 4,220 1.08 $22.53 $46,870
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 2,190 0.46 $22.43 $46,640
Natural Gas Distribution 1,000 0.89 $22.18 $46,140


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 239,080 14.32 0.91 $20.19 $41,990
New York 187,490 20.36 1.29 $19.32 $40,190
Texas 180,730 15.20 0.96 $16.76 $34,870
Florida 157,460 18.70 1.18 $16.46 $34,230
Pennsylvania 99,300 17.18 1.09 $16.97 $35,290




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Mexico 25,480 31.81 2.01 $16.40 $34,120
Missouri 74,730 26.80 1.69 $16.15 $33,590
Alabama 45,730 23.79 1.50 $16.72 $34,790
Alaska 7,180 22.58 1.43 $19.36 $40,270
Maryland 58,670 22.02 1.39 $19.21 $39,950




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 14,810 20.91 1.32 $23.57 $49,030
Massachusetts 43,240 12.26 0.77 $22.00 $45,760
Connecticut 31,170 18.84 1.19 $21.51 $44,750
California 239,080 14.32 0.91 $20.19 $41,990
Washington 36,510 11.46 0.72 $20.10 $41,810



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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 126,900 18.96 1.20 $20.14 $41,880
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 68,690 15.50 0.98 $20.03 $41,660
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 43,120 14.72 0.93 $18.10 $37,650
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division 42,560 11.62 0.73 $18.71 $38,920
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 36,920 14.65 0.93 $21.77 $45,280
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 36,810 14.05 0.89 $17.61 $36,620
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 33,800 13.56 0.86 $18.51 $38,500
St. Louis, MO-IL 31,550 23.26 1.47 $17.38 $36,140
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ 30,630 15.47 0.98 $17.56 $36,520
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD 30,330 22.30 1.41 $19.34 $40,220


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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Ithaca, NY 2,130 42.53 2.69 $20.94 $43,550
Carson City, NV 1,080 38.35 2.42 $18.17 $37,800
Jefferson City, MO 2,820 38.09 2.41 $15.55 $32,350
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL 1,450 33.96 2.15 $14.27 $29,690
Las Cruces, NM 2,210 31.22 1.97 $14.59 $30,340
Farmington, NM 1,510 31.02 1.96 $15.99 $33,260
Albuquerque, NM 11,790 30.92 1.95 $16.99 $35,330
Santa Fe, NM 1,860 30.39 1.92 $18.29 $38,040
Auburn-Opelika, AL 1,670 29.54 1.87 $16.81 $34,960
State College, PA 2,040 29.45 1.86 $16.85 $35,040


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Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division 15,430 13.82 0.87 $23.89 $49,690
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division 23,580 12.82 0.81 $23.14 $48,130
Trenton, NJ 4,650 20.28 1.28 $22.87 $47,570
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division 2,170 18.88 1.19 $22.59 $46,980
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 13,990 12.85 0.81 $22.30 $46,390
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 8,050 19.36 1.22 $22.29 $46,360
Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, CA Metropolitan Division 15,870 13.94 0.88 $22.27 $46,330
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 10,020 17.23 1.09 $22.19 $46,150
Lowell-Billerica-Chelmsford, MA-NH NECTA Division 1,640 10.56 0.67 $21.99 $45,730
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 36,920 14.65 0.93 $21.77 $45,280

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area 5,110 32.31 2.04 $14.31 $29,760
Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area 5,110 31.12 1.97 $14.18 $29,490
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 5,110 18.35 1.16 $15.64 $32,540
North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 4,990 18.51 1.17 $14.29 $29,720
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 4,610 13.90 0.88 $15.22 $31,650

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North and West Central New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 2,330 37.65 2.38 $15.36 $31,950
Garrett County, Maryland nonmetropolitan area 420 36.65 2.32 $14.81 $30,800
Southwestern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 940 35.46 2.24 $14.03 $29,170
Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 4,380 34.45 2.18 $15.72 $32,690
North Missouri nonmetropolitan area 3,790 34.38 2.17 $14.04 $29,210

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard nonmetropolitan area 190 10.41 0.66 $24.29 $50,530
Los Alamos County, New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 330 20.29 1.28 $21.68 $45,090
Far West North Dakota nonmetropolitan area 950 15.64 0.99 $20.20 $42,020
Southwest Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area 180 20.29 1.28 $19.96 $41,520
Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 820 25.03 1.58 $19.92 $41,430


About May 2017 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 OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018