Best Cities for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where legal secretaries and 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	District of ColumbiaState	1.56	$99,280	$86,859	25%
2	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$87,270	$72,604	43%
3	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.27	$64,480	$70,702	23%
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.23	$77,220	$68,457	31%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.19	$65,790	$66,121	27%
6	DelawareState	1.18	$66,130	$65,475	25%
7	MinnesotaState	1.16	$63,180	$64,469	24%
8	New YorkState	1.16	$72,230	$64,204	31%
9	Columbus, OHMetro	1.16	$60,420	$64,620	26%
10	New MexicoState	1.13	$57,800	$62,826	22%
11	Rhode IslandState	1.13	$63,020	$62,706	29%
12	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.12	$60,100	$62,087	32%
13	ConnecticutState	1.11	$66,220	$61,543	28%
14	MichiganState	1.11	$56,870	$61,614	24%
15	WisconsinState	1.08	$55,410	$60,033	23%
16	AlaskaState	1.06	$61,280	$58,754	27%
17	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.06	$62,330	$58,913	32%
18	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.06	$63,470	$58,878	34%
19	New JerseyState	1.04	$63,080	$57,978	34%
20	North DakotaState	1.04	$53,540	$57,819	22%
21	OregonState	1.04	$59,610	$57,874	32%
22	MassachusettsState	1.03	$62,120	$57,253	44%
23	South CarolinaState	1.03	$52,840	$57,435	29%
24	CaliforniaState	1.02	$62,860	$56,784	43%
25	ColoradoState	1.02	$59,490	$56,442	37%
26	OhioState	1.02	$51,080	$56,504	25%
27	MarylandState	1.01	$61,440	$56,264	33%
28	NevadaState	1.01	$56,470	$56,357	31%
29	West VirginiaState	1.00	$46,960	$55,772	21%
30	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	0.99	$62,690	$55,233	49%
31	ArizonaState	0.98	$55,120	$54,628	33%
32	IllinoisState	0.98	$52,790	$54,199	30%
33	WashingtonState	0.98	$58,360	$54,390	39%
34	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	0.98	$56,480	$54,570	34%
35	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.98	$62,000	$54,243	43%
36	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.97	$62,620	$53,751	43%
37	LouisianaState	0.96	$48,050	$53,330	26%
38	MississippiState	0.96	$45,140	$53,231	24%
39	VirginiaState	0.96	$55,320	$53,449	34%
40	AlabamaState	0.95	$45,950	$52,755	25%
41	IndianaState	0.95	$47,740	$52,751	26%
42	PennsylvaniaState	0.95	$51,430	$53,021	30%
43	South DakotaState	0.95	$47,790	$52,632	24%
44	UtahState	0.95	$52,860	$52,754	34%
45	IowaState	0.94	$46,590	$52,231	25%
46	GeorgiaState	0.93	$48,460	$51,884	35%
47	OklahomaState	0.93	$45,950	$51,921	25%
48	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.93	$49,490	$51,445	38%
49	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.92	$47,180	$51,005	30%
50	WyomingState	0.91	$46,960	$50,495	25%
51	NebraskaState	0.90	$45,800	$50,055	27%
52	TennesseeState	0.89	$45,340	$49,552	33%
53	New HampshireState	0.88	$51,830	$48,896	37%
54	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.88	$44,970	$48,880	35%
55	MaineState	0.87	$48,040	$48,136	32%
56	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.87	$47,510	$48,234	43%
57	ArkansasState	0.86	$41,410	$47,984	25%
58	FloridaState	0.86	$48,510	$47,793	43%
59	TexasState	0.86	$45,940	$48,054	36%
60	VermontState	0.86	$49,090	$47,893	35%
61	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.86	$45,570	$47,568	40%
62	North CarolinaState	0.83	$43,720	$46,314	36%
63	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$49,620	$45,733	49%
64	HawaiiState	0.81	$49,460	$44,964	58%
65	KentuckyState	0.80	$39,300	$44,407	29%
66	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.79	$42,690	$43,920	45%
67	IdahoState	0.78	$41,880	$43,399	34%
68	MissouriState	0.78	$38,560	$43,521	32%
69	KansasState	0.73	$36,620	$40,689	34%

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