Executive Assistant Salary

Key takeaways

The average salary for executive assistants ranges from around $50,000 to more than $85,000 per year, but what you make depends on several factors.

• According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, executive assistants earn an average annual wage of $73,680 in the United States [1].

• Your salary can increase with education, certifications, experience, industry, and advancement into roles such as senior executive assistant or chief of staff.

• You can increase your earning potential by gaining certifications and building proficiency in the tools used in offices.

Learn how education, certifications, industry, and job titles influence an executive assistant salary and career growth. If you're ready to start expanding your workplace technology skills, enroll in the Microsoft 365 Fundamentals Specialization. In as little as two months, you can earn a certificate that highlights your knowledge of Microsoft 365 productivity and collaboration tools.

What is an executive assistant?

Executive assistants offer support to senior-level leaders within the organization. In this role, you’ll typically have a broad job description that requires you to perform a wide range of administrative support tasks to support C-level executives, including positions like chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), and chief operating officers (COOs). 

What is the average salary for an executive assistant?

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), executive assistants earn an average annual wage of $73,680 in the United States [1]. But this salary can vary. Compare the average provided by the BLS and several other job posting sites [2, 3, 4, 5]:

Salary information from Glassdoor represents the median total pay as of February 2026. These figures include base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation.

Factors that impact an executive assistant salary

As with many other careers in the US, an executive assistant’s salary can vary based on various factors. These variables include education, certifications, experience, job title, and more. 

Education

An executive assistant's typical minimum educational requirement is a high school diploma or an associate degree, though you can make yourself stand out with an advanced degree. Take a look at how your education can impact your potential executive assistant salary [2]. 

• High school diploma: $48,917

• Associate degree: $49,667

• Bachelor’s degree: $52,480

• Master’s degree: $52,631

If you decide to earn a bachelor’s degree, business administration is one of the most common majors. You’ll learn many skills you’ll need to succeed in this role. These might include:

• Finance 

• Business law and ethics 

• Global business influences 

• Marketing

• Data-driven decision-making 

• Strategy development 

• Management and operations

• Entrepreneurship 

• Project management

• Information systems 

• Analytics 

• Principles of economics 

• Human resources 

• Conflict resolution 

Read more: What Is a BBA? Guide to the Bachelor of Business Administration

Certifications

In addition to your education, holding specific certificates designed for executive assistants can help your career and potentially increase your executive assistant salary. Some certifications that you might consider earning and their respective potential salaries include the following: 

• Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) offered by the International Association of Administration Professionals: $71,000 [6]

• Administrative Assistant Certification offered by the National Career Certification Board: $58,000 [7] 

• Microsoft Office Specialist offered by Microsoft: $72,000 [8]

Experience

As you spend time in a role, you gain insight and knowledge that makes you a more marketable employee, including as an executive assistant. According to Glassdoor, an executive assistant salary could also increase based on years in the field [3]. 

• 0–1 years: $72,000

• 1–3 years: $77,000

• 4–6 years: $81,000

• 7–9 years: $82,000 

• 10–14 years: $91,000

• 15 or more years: $107,000

Job title

An executive assistant can have various job titles depending on their functions and seniority within the office. These roles can also impact salary:

• Personal assistant: In this role, you’ll focus more on one executive's personal and family lives. You may work with another executive assistant when setting the executive’s schedule and handling overlapping personal and business activities. You may also manage the executive’s personal life, including scheduling, family travel, appointments, and events. This role has an average base salary of $57,000 [9].

• Administrative assistant: As an administrative assistant, you’ll perform many of the tasks executive assistants do, such as answering phones, managing all administrative functions for the office, and maintaining files. However, you generally won’t handle the more tactical items, such as market research and meeting preparation. The average administrative assistant role pays a base salary of $51,000 [10].

• Operations manager: As an operations manager, you focus more on business operations. This can include setting up internal and external processes and the business’s key performance indicators (KPIs). You’ll also ensure the organization has the operational controls and administrative reporting to meet its financial and operational targets. The average base salary for an operations manager is $105,000 [11].

• Senior executive assistant: After spending about five to 10 years in an executive assistant or related role, you may be ready to take on a senior executive assistant position. As a senior executive assistant, you may work with the highest-level executives in the company, such as the CEO, CFO, and others. You may also have higher-level tasks, such as supervising other administrative assistants, sitting on board meetings, client and executive liaising, and more. A senior executive assistant's average annual base salary is $99,000 [12].

• Chief of staff: As chief of staff, you’ll generally have more impact on the business and often be the right hand to top executives. Some of your tasks may include creating presentations, refining recruiting and human resources processes, helping the CEO or other executives interview prospective leadership candidates, establishing objectives and key results (OKRs), and more. The average base salary for a chief of staff is $217,000 [13].

An executive assistant's job responsibilities could include answering phones, taking messages, routing telephone calls, greeting and admitting visitors, scheduling meetings, reviewing reports, and even setting up travel arrangements. Additional activities you may engage in include performing market research and training clerical staff and administrative assistants. 

Industry

Executive assistants can work in a wide range of industries nationwide. Some common industries for executive assistants include legal and medical offices, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and various private organizations and enterprises. According to February 2026 data from Glassdoor, some of the highest-paying industries for executive assistants and their average salaries are [3]: 

• Pharmaceutical and biotechnology: $93,000

• Information technology: $86,000

• Legal: $95,000

• Energy, mining, and utilities: $92,000

• Financial services: $95,000

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