Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants Salary in San Diego, CA (2024)
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn a median of $82,630 per year ($39.73 per hour) based on 5,820 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +11.3% against the national median of $74,260 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants actually sit across the pay range in San Diego, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $24.21 | $50,360 | |
| 25th percentile | $32.04 | $66,650 | |
| Median | $39.73 | $82,630 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $47.33 | $98,440 | |
| 90th percentile | $55.30 | $115,030 | |
| Average (mean) | $40.35 | $83,940 |
How San Diego, CA compares
The local median of $82,630 runs +11.3% above the US median of $74,260 for this occupation; it pays 46.0% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($56,580); within the metro it ranks 217th of 653 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego, CA — this occupation | $82,630 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $74,260 | +11.3% |
| San Diego, CA — all occupations | $56,580 | +46.0% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $101,130 | -18.3% |
At a location quotient of 1.24, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 124% of the national share of these workers.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 4.1%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 217th of 653 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in San Diego, CA
To put $82,630 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 217th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $220,840 | 50 |
| Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric | $215,010 | 170 |
| Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers | $205,650 | 180 |
| Natural Sciences Managers | $199,590 | 2,630 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $193,370 | 7,620 |
| Podiatrists | $187,010 | 60 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $185,550 | 3,690 |
| Dentists, General | $176,970 | 1,950 |
| Marketing Managers | $171,590 | 4,390 |
| Computer Hardware Engineers | $169,230 | 3,200 |
Where executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $61,370 to $101,130. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $101,130 | 11,920 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $83,270 | 79,590 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $83,130 | 12,610 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $82,630 | 5,820 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $81,130 | 12,790 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $81,110 | 6,880 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $80,340 | 22,660 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $78,960 | 5,960 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $78,340 | 9,510 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $77,900 | 2,730 |
See the full national picture on the Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants in San Diego, CA?
The median annual wage is $82,630, or $40 per hour. That means half of the executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants working in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $83,940.
What do the highest and lowest paid executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants in San Diego, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $50,360 or less, while the top 10% earn $115,030 or more — a spread of $64,670 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $66,650 and $98,440.
Is executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants pay in San Diego, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 46.0% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $56,580. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does San Diego, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $82,630 the metro median is 11.3% higher than the US median of $74,260 for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $61,370 to $101,130.
How many executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants work in San Diego, CA?
BLS counts about 5,820 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 3.79 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. At a location quotient of 1.24, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 124% of the national share of these workers.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 5.2%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.