Administrative assistants often earn about $19–$24 per hour, with national medians near $21–$23 by specialty.
If you’re searching “how much do administrative assistants make per hour?”, you’re usually trying to do one of three things: price your skills, spot a lowball offer, or set a number for a raise talk. This guide tackles all three, fast.
You’ll see national wage benchmarks first, then the real-world stuff that changes your rate: role scope, specialty work, location, and the day-to-day tools you’re expected to run today.
Hourly Pay Benchmarks In The United States
The table below pulls published wage data for common administrative assistant paths. Figures are hourly and come from U.S. employer wage reports compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
| Pay Marker Or Role | Hourly Pay | What That Often Means |
|---|---|---|
| General admin role: 10th percentile | $14.56 | Newer staff, lighter scope, or lower-cost areas |
| General admin role: 25th percentile | $17.46 | Steady pace, basic office systems |
| General admin role: median | $21.29 | Core skills plus routine ownership |
| General admin role: 75th percentile | $25.10 | More complexity and stronger tool fluency |
| General admin role: 90th percentile | $29.97 | High trust work and tight deadlines |
| Medical admin role: median | $19.54 | Clinics and hospitals; patient flow plus records |
| Legal admin role: median | $24.37 | Firms and legal teams; filings and formatting |
| Executive admin role: mean | $35.42 | Multi-leader coordination; higher scope |
What Those Hourly Numbers Include
Job titles can be misleading
Two listings can share the same title and feel like different jobs. One might be phones and basic scheduling. Another might include vendor bills, travel changes, and meeting prep for multiple leaders. Match pay to duties, not the headline.
Ranges are built for more than one hire
Employers post wide bands to fit a new hire and a seasoned hire in one ad. Use the middle of the band as a quick signal, then set your number based on proof: tools you know, volume you’ve handled, and what you can own without hand-holding.
Administrative Assistant Hourly Pay Ranges By Experience
A simple way to set expectations is to group roles into entry, mid-level, and high-trust work. Location and industry can lift or lower all three, yet the pattern holds.
Entry level
Entry roles often land in the mid-teens to high-teens per hour. The work leans on phones, front office flow, and clean follow-through. Your quickest raise often comes from becoming the go-to person for one core system, like the calendar tool or the shared inbox.
Mid-level
Mid-level roles tend to sit around the low-20s per hour. You’re trusted with recurring tasks that can’t slip: meeting notes, vendor invoices, travel edits, and keeping leaders from missing deadlines. Your rate climbs when you reduce rework and keep things moving.
High-trust work
High-trust work can move into the mid-20s and up. You’re juggling complex calendars, shifting priorities, and sensitive info. Strong writing, calm tone, and clean follow-through are the traits hiring teams pay for.
How Much Do Administrative Assistants Make Per Hour?
Across the United States, published wage tables place the median general administrative assistant track at $21.29 per hour, with a 10th-to-90th spread from $14.56 to $29.97. Those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics tables for secretaries and administrative assistants, excluding medical, legal, and executive roles.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports a May 2024 median annual wage of $47,460 for the wider “secretaries and administrative assistants” group. That lines up with a little under $23 per hour when you convert annual pay to a 2,080-hour work year.
To verify the source tables, check the BLS OEWS wage table for secretaries and administrative assistants and the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook pay section.
How to place a job ad on the range
If a posting offers $16–$18, it’s often closer to entry level or a lower-cost area. If it offers $20–$24, it usually lines up with the broad middle. If you see $26 and up, read the duty list closely; it may be closer to office manager or executive assistant scope.
Why specialty tracks pay differently
Legal and medical admin work leans on job-specific systems, tight formatting, and deadline discipline. Executive admin work can climb much higher because it’s tied to leadership time, travel changes, and high-stakes scheduling.
Pay Differences By Location And Industry
Metro pay can look high and still feel tight
Higher-cost cities often post higher rates. Still, rent, commuting, and childcare can swallow the bump. When you compare offers, check net pay after taxes plus the fixed monthly costs that follow you.
Industry shapes the day-to-day
Schools, local government, and universities employ many administrative assistants, and pay can be steady with solid benefits. Private firms can pay more, yet hours can swing with deadlines. A “best” choice depends on the life you want outside work.
Skills And Habits That Raise Hourly Pay
Hiring teams pay more when they feel low risk. Low risk in admin work looks like clean writing, tight follow-through, and calm handling of change. Tools matter, and so do the habits that build trust.
Tool fluency that shows up in higher-paid listings
Keep a short skills list ready and tie it to proof. “Managed a shared inbox” sounds fine. “Kept a shared inbox under 24-hour response time” sounds sharper. Same tool, clearer result.
Scope signals that lift pay
When you own calendars, handle travel edits, prep meeting packs, track action items, and manage vendor bills, you’re doing more than basic admin. That scope is the stuff that moves pay upward.
Quick Levers That Can Move The Hourly Rate
Use this checklist when you’re comparing job posts or building a raise pitch. The “shift” column reflects common patterns, not guarantees.
| Lever | Common Shift | What To Look For In A Posting |
|---|---|---|
| Legal or medical specialty | +$1 to +$5 | E-filing, EMR, records, deadline-heavy tasks |
| Executive-facing work | +$5 to +$15 | Multi-leader calendars, travel changes, meeting prep |
| High-cost metro area | +$2 to +$8 | On-site work, city pay bands, commute burden |
| Overtime availability | +$0 to +$6 | Time-and-a-half eligibility, busy seasons |
| Office manager blend | +$2 to +$7 | Facilities, vendors, supplies, purchasing |
| Advanced spreadsheet use | +$1 to +$4 | Reports, trackers, formulas, clean handoff |
| Bilingual work | +$1 to +$3 | Phone triage, intake, front desk flow |
| Contract or temp role | +$1 to +$6 | Short term, urgent fill, fewer benefits |
Pay Math For Overtime And Part-Time Hours
Hourly pay is easy to compare, yet offers often differ on hours. A quick way to sanity-check an offer is to convert it to weekly pay: hourly rate × expected hours. Then ask whether those hours stay steady across the year.
If you’re nonexempt and overtime is on the table, one extra hour can add up. Time-and-a-half means a $22 rate turns into $33 for overtime hours. Two overtime hours each week is more than 100 hours in a year, which can change the yearly total by thousands.
For part-time roles, ask about schedule control. A steady 25-hour week can feel better than a 35-hour week that whipsaws, since you can plan your other work, classes, or caregiving.
How To Ask For A Higher Rate Without Feeling Pushy
Bring one number and a clean reason
Pick one hourly target, then tie it to the work. If the role is calendar-heavy, talk about multi-leader calendars and last-minute travel edits you’ve handled. If it touches purchasing, talk about vendor coordination and invoice tracking.
Use the posting’s duty list
Mirror the ad’s duties in your pitch. Keep it plain: “This role lists travel booking and vendor coordination. I’ve done both at high volume, so I’m targeting $X per hour.” It’s direct and it stays on the work.
Ask about the pay band
If they won’t share a band, ask whether your number fits their range. If they say no, ask what would move you into the next band and what timeline they use for raises.
When Hourly Pay Isn’t The Whole Story
Benefits can add real dollars
Health insurance, retirement matches, paid time off, and paid holidays can add up fast. If you’re comparing $21 with benefits versus $24 without, run the annual total.
Schedule stability can be worth money
A steady schedule can beat a small hourly bump. Consistent hours mean consistent paychecks and fewer last-minute scrambles. If your life runs on a tight calendar, that steadiness matters.
Role growth can change your ceiling
Some roles feed into executive assistant work, operations roles, or office manager tracks. If you see mentoring, scope growth, or a defined promotion ladder, a lower starting rate can still make sense.
Offer Review Checklist For Any Admin Role
Before you say yes, run through these points. It’s quick and it can save you a pile of stress, and sleep better.
- Confirm the hourly rate, expected weekly hours, and overtime rules in writing.
- Ask what the typical week looks like during busy seasons.
- List the top three duties that will take most of your time.
- Check whether the role includes executive-facing work, budget work, or vendor ownership.
- Ask which tools you’ll use daily and whether training time is paid.
- Get the benefits summary and the start dates for insurance.
- Ask how raises work: timing, process, and what gets rewarded.
One-Line Pay Takeaway
For a clean anchor, published national data places the general track near $21.29 per hour, with a wide spread that runs from $14.56 to $29.97. If you’re still asking “how much do administrative assistants make per hour?”, match the duties to the range, then price your skills from there.