Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive: how women's and men's pay compare
Among full-time, year-round secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in the United States, women had a median of $46,210 in 2024 and men had $52,063. Women's median was 88.8% of men's (margin of error ±1.4%). The $5,853 difference is larger than its margin of error (±$826), so it is statistically distinguishable from zero at the 90% level the Census Bureau uses. That is a narrower ratio than the 83.1% for all full-time, year-round workers ($55,678 vs $66,965, Census table B20017).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, tables B24122/B24123/B24125/B24126. Full-time, year-round civilian workers 16+, 2024 dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-09. ± values are 90% margins of error.
Where this occupation sits
About 1,336,723 women and 107,661 men worked full-time, year-round in this occupation, so women were 92.5% of the group (±0.5%). That makes it a majority-women occupation, ranked #1 of 40 in this set by women's share.
Among the 40 large occupations in this set, it ranks #12 for the smallest gap (women's median as a share of men's; #1 is closest to equal), #25 for women's median earnings, and #29 for the largest dollar difference.
Occupations with a similar share of women
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing assistants | $38,551 | $42,637 | 90.4% | 87% |
| Registered nurses | $82,314 | $91,110 | 90.3% | 86% |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $51,315 | $58,179 | 88.2% | 84% |
Occupations with a similar pay ratio
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $51,315 | $58,179 | 88.2% | 84% |
| Human resources workers | $73,493 | $83,697 | 87.8% | 76% |
| Computer and information systems managers | $124,239 | $141,858 | 87.6% | 26% |
What this number does and doesn't tell you
- These are unadjusted medians for people who worked full-time, year-round. They do not control for hours beyond full-time, years of experience, seniority, employer, location, or the specific jobs inside the occupation group.
- A gap here is a description, not proof of discrimination, and the absence of a gap does not prove equal treatment. Estimates come from a sample survey, which is why every figure has a margin of error.
- The Census Bureau groups jobs into detailed occupations; "Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive" is the Bureau's category and may combine jobs you think of as different.
- For a specific state, see the state pay-gap pages. To compare any two jobs, use the pay-gap lookup tool. For how we work with data, see our methodology.