Best Cities for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where executive secretaries and executive administrative assistantss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.15	$106,220	$88,369	35%
2	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.09	$79,900	$83,403	23%
3	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.08	$80,230	$82,541	24%
4	New JerseyState	1.07	$89,520	$82,279	24%
5	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.07	$74,950	$82,182	20%
6	Columbus, OHMetro	1.06	$75,880	$81,155	20%
7	CaliforniaState	1.05	$89,000	$80,397	31%
8	MinnesotaState	1.05	$78,470	$80,071	20%
9	New MexicoState	1.05	$73,890	$80,315	17%
10	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.05	$80,030	$80,432	22%
11	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.05	$73,700	$80,109	21%
12	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.05	$90,320	$80,071	27%
13	AlabamaState	1.04	$69,450	$79,736	17%
14	District of ColumbiaState	1.04	$90,850	$79,484	28%
15	DelawareState	1.02	$78,920	$78,139	21%
16	OhioState	1.01	$69,600	$76,991	18%
17	PennsylvaniaState	1.01	$75,270	$77,598	21%
18	Rhode IslandState	1.01	$77,820	$77,433	23%
19	VirginiaState	1.01	$80,330	$77,614	24%
20	ConnecticutState	1.00	$82,520	$76,691	23%
21	IllinoisState	1.00	$74,390	$76,376	21%
22	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$73,700	$76,611	25%
23	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$79,490	$76,802	24%
24	MassachusettsState	0.99	$82,650	$76,175	33%
25	West VirginiaState	0.99	$63,820	$75,796	16%
26	TexasState	0.98	$71,990	$75,303	23%
27	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.98	$85,260	$75,119	36%
28	North CarolinaState	0.97	$70,140	$74,301	22%
29	TennesseeState	0.97	$68,190	$74,525	22%
30	WisconsinState	0.97	$68,920	$74,670	19%
31	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.97	$72,090	$74,473	27%
32	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.97	$78,380	$74,083	26%
33	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.97	$69,030	$74,627	20%
34	HawaiiState	0.96	$80,710	$73,373	35%
35	OregonState	0.96	$75,480	$73,282	25%
36	WashingtonState	0.96	$79,250	$73,858	29%
37	GeorgiaState	0.95	$68,290	$73,116	25%
38	MichiganState	0.95	$66,840	$72,416	20%
39	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.95	$78,750	$73,052	27%
40	KansasState	0.94	$64,860	$72,067	19%
41	MarylandState	0.94	$78,540	$71,923	26%
42	NebraskaState	0.94	$66,210	$72,361	19%
43	New YorkState	0.94	$80,640	$71,680	28%
44	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.93	$82,850	$71,116	33%
45	ArizonaState	0.92	$70,770	$70,139	25%
46	KentuckyState	0.92	$62,410	$70,520	18%
47	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.92	$80,860	$70,744	33%
48	IowaState	0.91	$62,340	$69,888	18%
49	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$64,460	$69,461	24%
50	VermontState	0.90	$70,770	$69,044	24%
51	MissouriState	0.89	$60,320	$68,081	21%
52	NevadaState	0.88	$67,830	$67,695	26%
53	New HampshireState	0.88	$71,650	$67,594	27%
54	OklahomaState	0.88	$59,910	$67,695	19%
55	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.88	$73,180	$67,447	33%
56	MississippiState	0.86	$55,670	$65,649	19%
57	North DakotaState	0.86	$61,270	$66,166	19%
58	South CarolinaState	0.86	$60,890	$66,185	25%
59	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.86	$64,710	$65,695	32%
60	IndianaState	0.85	$59,080	$65,282	21%
61	MaineState	0.84	$64,100	$64,228	24%
62	AlaskaState	0.83	$66,210	$63,480	25%
63	FloridaState	0.83	$64,710	$63,754	32%
64	ColoradoState	0.82	$65,850	$62,476	34%
65	IdahoState	0.81	$60,200	$62,383	24%
66	MontanaState	0.81	$59,750	$61,981	23%
67	UtahState	0.80	$61,130	$61,008	29%
68	South DakotaState	0.79	$55,170	$60,760	21%
69	ArkansasState	0.78	$51,600	$59,791	20%
70	LouisianaState	0.77	$53,240	$59,090	24%
71	WyomingState	0.73	$52,210	$56,140	23%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).