Executive Assistant Salary and How to Get a Raise
Takeaway: There's no single useful national number for executive assistant pay. Current sources describe different populations: broad employer wages, projected starting pay, incumbent salaries, and a selected market of premium openings. For experienced executive support, the most relevant national incumbent data centers around $95,000 to $110,000, while a curated sample of premium $100,000-plus openings runs well above that, into six figures, with the current figures kept in our salary benchmarker rather than a single number that goes stale. Use the source that matches your situation, then make a raise case based on scope and documented impact.
Comp is one of the least transparent parts of the executive assistant career, and most operations-pay coverage is aimed at chiefs of staff rather than EAs. This is a straight look at what current sources actually measure, why their numbers differ, what premium EA opportunities are posting, and how to build a defensible case for more.
Why EA pay ranges so widely
Two assistants with the same title can earn very different salaries, and the reasons are consistent.
- Who you support. Supporting a frontline manager and supporting a public-company CEO are different jobs with different stakes, even under the same title.
- Industry and company context. Technology, finance, private equity, nonprofits, and small businesses operate in different labor markets and compensation systems.
- Scope. An assistant who owns projects, vendors, budgets, office operations, or executive-team processes is doing a different job from one limited to calendar and travel.
- The market being measured. Employer wage records, recruiter starting-pay projections, incumbent surveys, and selected job postings answer different questions.
- Geography. Named markets can show different observed pay, but the evidence doesn't support applying one universal city, remote-work, or cost-of-living multiplier to every EA role.
Because of this spread, start by asking what population and pay measure a number represents. A clean median from the wrong population is still the wrong benchmark.
What current EA salary data says
1. Broad employer-reported wages
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports wages for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, a closer occupational comparison than the broader all-secretaries category. In the May 2025 employer survey, the occupation's annualized median was about $76,586 and its mean annual wage was $79,140 (BLS).
This is a broad employer-reported occupation baseline. It's not specifically CEO support, startup compensation, or total pay.
2. Projected starting pay
Robert Half's 2026 projections put Executive Assistant starting pay at $58,250 / $70,250 / $86,750 across its low, midpoint, and high figures. For Senior Executive Assistant, the projected starting figures are $76,750 / $84,500 / $97,250 (Robert Half).
These are projected salaries for new hires. They shouldn't be treated as incumbent-career percentiles or as a ceiling for experienced C-suite support.
3. A large independent incumbent survey
The 2025 U.S. Administrative Professionals Salary Report includes 2,424 self-reported respondents. Across all administrative-professional respondents, median base salary was $90,000. By title, the mean base was $94,726 for Executive Assistants and $113,968 for Senior Executive Assistants (EA Salary Survey).
This is national incumbent-pay evidence with a large sample, but the title results are means rather than percentiles. It also covers more employer types and pay levels than a premium job board.
4. Executive-support incumbent data
The C-Suite Assistants 2026 report provides a more targeted executive-support comparison. For approximately 334 Executive Assistants, self-reported base salary or salary-band midpoint was $90,000 at the 25th percentile, $110,000 at the median, and $136,250 at the 75th percentile (C-Suite Assistants).
For an experienced EA supporting senior leadership, this is one of the most directly relevant national distributions available. It's still self-reported and should be read with its population label intact.
5. The premium active-opportunity market
The Exec Ops Brief's active-roles sample tracks postings selected for a published salary midpoint of at least $100,000. Its EA midpoints run well above the national incumbent medians described above, and because the exact counts and percentiles shift from week to week, we keep the current figures in the salary benchmarker rather than freezing a number here that would quickly go stale (active roles data).
That is useful evidence of what premium opportunities are advertising. It's deliberately not a national occupation median: the sample has a $100,000 midpoint floor and is concentrated in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area.
How to use location data without inventing a multiplier
Location can matter, but compare named observed markets instead of multiplying a national figure by a generic percentage. In the C-Suite Assistants data, the EA median is $144,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area and $141,000 in New York City. In the selected premium-posting sample, the live premium-posting sample concentrates in those same two metros, and because those postings turn over constantly, the benchmarker shows their current Bay Area and New York midpoints rather than numbers pinned here that drift.
Those figures differ because the sources and samples differ, not because one of them is necessarily wrong. Use a local observation when it matches your market; otherwise keep the national and premium comparisons separate and explain the limitation.
You can explore these layers side by side in the free Salary and Comp Benchmarker. It preserves each source's population and measure instead of blending them into one synthetic estimate.
How to build the case for a raise
A raise is easiest to win when you make it a low-risk, well-evidenced decision for your executive rather than an emotional ask. The method below works because it mirrors how good operators make any decision: with data and a clear recommendation.
1. Document your value in their terms
Keep a running record of what you actually do and, where you can, what it produces. Not "manage the calendar," but "restructured the executive's week to protect two focus blocks, cutting meeting load by X percent." Not "handle travel," but "own end-to-end travel and expenses for a team of Y, saving the executive several hours a month." Leaders respond to time saved, risk avoided, and outcomes enabled. Frame your work as leverage you create, the same lens we use in what a force multiplier really is.
2. Benchmark with matching data
Choose comparisons that match your title, scope, and market. Label each one: employer-reported occupation wage, projected starting pay, incumbent base salary, or posted salary midpoint. Bring a range or several clearly separated comparisons, not one blended number.
3. Show the scope you have grown into
The strongest raise case is that the job is now bigger than the one you were hired for. If you have taken on projects, vendors, budgets, people coordination, or work that used to belong to someone more senior, name it. You're not asking to be paid more for the same job. You're asking to be paid for the larger job you're already doing.
4. Time it well
Ask when your leverage is highest: after a visible win, at a formal review, during budget planning, or when you have just absorbed new responsibility. Avoid moments of organizational stress or budget freezes. Timing doesn't change your value, but it changes how easily your executive can act on it.
5. Make a specific ask
Vague requests get vague answers. Name a number or a narrow range grounded in your benchmarks, and state it plainly. If cash is genuinely constrained, come with alternatives you would accept: a title change that repositions you for the market, a bonus tied to outcomes, additional paid time off, a professional development budget, or a defined path and timeline to the raise. The negotiation principles in our guide to negotiating an exec-ops offer apply directly to a raise conversation.
6. If the answer is no, get the criteria
A "not now" is only useful if it comes with specifics. Ask what would need to be true for a yes, get it in concrete terms, and put a date on the follow-up. If the criteria keep moving or the market clearly pays more than your employer will, that's real information about whether your next raise comes from a conversation or a change of employer.
The bigger lever: your trajectory
Individual raises matter, but the largest pay increases usually come from moving up, not just asking for more in the same seat. Supporting a more senior executive, taking a senior or lead EA title, or moving into a chief of staff or operations role can shift your compensation into a different band entirely. If that's the direction you want, our guides on growing your career as an executive assistant and the EA-to-chief-of-staff path lay out how the ladder works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does an experienced executive assistant make?
It depends on which population you mean. In a large independent survey, Executive Assistants reported mean base pay of $94,726 and Senior Executive Assistants $113,968. In a targeted executive-support sample, EA base salary or band midpoint was $90,000 at the 25th percentile, $110,000 at the median, and $136,250 at the 75th percentile. A selected premium-posting sample runs higher still, well into six figures, because it only includes postings at or above a $100,000 midpoint, and those live figures are in our salary benchmarker since posted numbers shift as roles turn over.
What is the government salary benchmark for executive assistants?
The BLS May 2025 employer survey reports an annualized median of approximately $76,586 and a mean annual wage of $79,140 for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants (BLS). It's broad occupation context, not a CEO-support or premium-market benchmark.
Should I apply a location or remote-work multiplier?
No universal multiplier is supported by the current evidence. Use a named local comparison when a relevant sample exists, keep it separate from national evidence, and explain the source population. Don't automatically discount a remote role or mark up a city role by a fixed percentage.
How do I ask for a raise as an executive assistant?
Document the value you create in your executive's terms, benchmark your pay against several market sources, show how your scope has grown, time the ask around a win or a review, and make a specific request. If the answer is no, get concrete criteria for a yes and a date to revisit.
How can an executive assistant earn significantly more over time?
The biggest jumps usually come from moving up rather than repeated small raises in the same seat: supporting a more senior executive, taking a senior or lead EA title, or moving into a chief of staff or operations role, which typically pays in a higher band. Building scope and visible impact is what makes those moves possible.
Use the free Salary and Comp Benchmarker to compare the current EA sources without blending unlike populations. It shows the sample, measure, and source beside each figure so you can build a compensation conversation on evidence rather than a headline average.
