Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
43-6012 Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Perform secretarial duties using legal terminology, procedures, and documents. Prepare legal papers and correspondence, such as summonses, complaints, motions, and subpoenas. May also assist with legal research.
National estimates for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Industry profile for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
Geographic profile for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
National estimates for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 155,250 |
2.5 % |
$ 25.26 |
$ 52,540 |
0.9 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 14.31 |
$ 18.06 |
$ 22.94 |
$ 29.61 |
$ 37.43 |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 29,770 |
$ 37,560 |
$ 47,710 |
$ 61,590 |
$ 77,850 |
Industry profile for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Legal Services |
126,490 |
11.09 |
$ 25.49 |
$ 53,020 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
10,620 |
0.20 |
$ 23.94 |
$ 49,790 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
8,180 |
0.37 |
$ 23.96 |
$ 49,830 |
| Insurance Carriers |
1,420 |
0.12 |
$ 24.48 |
$ 50,910 |
| Employment Services |
1,240 |
0.04 |
$ 22.55 |
$ 46,910 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Legal Services |
126,490 |
11.09 |
$ 25.49 |
$ 53,020 |
| Other Investment Pools and Funds |
60 |
0.49 |
$ 21.37 |
$ 44,450 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
8,180 |
0.37 |
$ 23.96 |
$ 49,830 |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) |
60 |
0.32 |
$ 23.46 |
$ 48,800 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
10,620 |
0.20 |
$ 23.94 |
$ 49,790 |
Top paying industries for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
Geographic profile for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
21,660 |
1.31 |
1.19 |
$ 30.36 |
$ 63,160 |
| Florida |
12,470 |
1.45 |
1.32 |
$ 22.06 |
$ 45,890 |
| New York |
11,400 |
1.32 |
1.19 |
$ 30.68 |
$ 63,800 |
| Texas |
10,890 |
0.89 |
0.81 |
$ 22.95 |
$ 47,740 |
| Illinois |
8,600 |
1.53 |
1.39 |
$ 26.53 |
$ 55,190 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
2,670 |
4.03 |
3.66 |
$ 40.20 |
$ 83,610 |
| Delaware |
1,070 |
2.47 |
2.24 |
$ 24.40 |
$ 50,750 |
| West Virginia |
1,300 |
1.97 |
1.79 |
$ 19.73 |
$ 41,030 |
| New Jersey |
7,250 |
1.88 |
1.71 |
$ 26.14 |
$ 54,380 |
| New Mexico |
1,390 |
1.79 |
1.62 |
$ 20.67 |
$ 42,990 |
Top paying states for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
2,670 |
4.03 |
3.66 |
$ 40.20 |
$ 83,610 |
| New York |
11,400 |
1.32 |
1.19 |
$ 30.68 |
$ 63,800 |
| California |
21,660 |
1.31 |
1.19 |
$ 30.36 |
$ 63,160 |
| Colorado |
1,610 |
0.61 |
0.56 |
$ 29.66 |
$ 61,680 |
| Massachusetts |
4,860 |
1.43 |
1.30 |
$ 29.42 |
$ 61,190 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
14,270 |
1.64 |
1.49 |
$ 30.29 |
$ 62,990 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
10,030 |
1.75 |
1.59 |
$ 31.39 |
$ 65,290 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
6,800 |
1.61 |
1.46 |
$ 28.08 |
$ 58,410 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
5,120 |
2.09 |
1.90 |
$ 22.04 |
$ 45,840 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
4,390 |
1.50 |
1.36 |
$ 34.98 |
$ 72,760 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
4,280 |
1.65 |
1.50 |
$ 30.01 |
$ 62,430 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
4,080 |
1.54 |
1.40 |
$ 27.79 |
$ 57,810 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
3,530 |
2.54 |
2.30 |
$ 26.31 |
$ 54,720 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
3,370 |
0.94 |
0.85 |
$ 24.40 |
$ 50,750 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX |
3,090 |
1.07 |
0.97 |
$ 24.27 |
$ 50,480 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Charleston, WV |
390 |
3.96 |
3.59 |
$ 20.52 |
$ 42,680 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
170 |
3.05 |
2.77 |
$ 23.34 |
$ 48,550 |
| Birmingham-Hoover, AL |
1,280 |
2.65 |
2.40 |
$ 20.95 |
$ 43,570 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
3,530 |
2.54 |
2.30 |
$ 26.31 |
$ 54,720 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
1,280 |
2.53 |
2.29 |
$ 24.58 |
$ 51,120 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
420 |
2.47 |
2.25 |
$ 20.33 |
$ 42,280 |
| Jefferson City, MO |
170 |
2.35 |
2.13 |
$ 24.43 |
$ 50,810 |
| Lafayette, LA |
410 |
2.20 |
1.99 |
$ 20.32 |
$ 42,270 |
| Carson City, NV |
60 |
2.17 |
1.97 |
$ 23.92 |
$ 49,760 |
| Missoula, MT |
130 |
2.13 |
1.93 |
$ 16.51 |
$ 34,340 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
1,070 |
1.01 |
0.91 |
$ 37.66 |
$ 78,320 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
2,650 |
1.18 |
1.07 |
$ 37.12 |
$ 77,210 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
4,390 |
1.50 |
1.36 |
$ 34.98 |
$ 72,760 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
1,110 |
0.76 |
0.69 |
$ 31.46 |
$ 65,430 |
| Boulder, CO |
100 |
0.58 |
0.52 |
$ 31.43 |
$ 65,370 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
10,030 |
1.75 |
1.59 |
$ 31.39 |
$ 65,290 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
280 |
0.94 |
0.85 |
$ 30.80 |
$ 64,070 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
14,270 |
1.64 |
1.49 |
$ 30.29 |
$ 62,990 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
4,280 |
1.65 |
1.50 |
$ 30.01 |
$ 62,430 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI |
2,130 |
1.17 |
1.06 |
$ 29.79 |
$ 61,970 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants:
About May 2021 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia.
The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.
The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall.
The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median.
More about percentile wages.
(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.
(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.
(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration.
A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.
Other OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
