Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Salary in Los Angeles, CA (2024)
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area earn a median of $59,130 per year ($28.43 per hour) based on 11,880 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +9.2% against the national median of $54,140 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where legal secretaries and administrative assistants actually sit across the pay range in Los Angeles, CA, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $20.43 | $42,490 | |
| 25th percentile | $20.68 | $43,020 | |
| Median | $28.43 | $59,130 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $38.96 | $81,040 | |
| 90th percentile | $50.22 | $104,460 | |
| Average (mean) | $39.86 | $82,900 |
How Los Angeles, CA compares
The local median of $59,130 runs +9.2% above the US median of $54,140 for this occupation; it pays 10.5% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($53,490); within the metro it ranks 436th of 733 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA — this occupation | $59,130 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $54,140 | +9.2% |
| Los Angeles, CA — all occupations | $53,490 | +10.5% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $88,600 | -33.3% |
At a location quotient of 1.91, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 191% of the national share of these workers.
Low confidence The relative standard error is 16.4%, which is wide. This estimate is based on a small sample of workers in the metro, so the true figure could sit well outside the number shown.
Ranked 436th of 733 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Los Angeles, CA
To put $59,130 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 436th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $235,930 | — |
| Chief Executives | $231,500 | 12,420 |
| Lawyers | $205,900 | 40,990 |
| Podiatrists | $193,510 | 370 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $191,410 | 24,260 |
| Nurse Midwives | $190,230 | 190 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $181,400 | 8,850 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $179,990 | — |
| Commercial Pilots | $177,300 | 2,110 |
| Dentists, General | $176,200 | 4,300 |
Where legal secretaries and administrative assistants earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $46,810 to $88,600. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $88,600 | 2,800 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $81,210 | 2,810 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $74,400 | 14,530 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $64,010 | 2,520 |
| Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | $63,970 | 1,830 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $63,580 | 1,870 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $63,080 | 1,020 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $62,630 | 2,960 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $61,610 | 1,460 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $60,450 | 1,200 |
See the full national picture on the Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in Los Angeles, CA?
The median annual wage is $59,130, or $28 per hour. That means half of the legal secretaries and administrative assistants working in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $82,900.
What do the highest and lowest paid legal secretaries and administrative assistants in Los Angeles, CA earn?
The bottom 10% earn $42,490 or less, while the top 10% earn $104,460 or more — a spread of $61,970 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $43,020 and $81,040.
Is legal secretaries and administrative assistants pay in Los Angeles, CA above the local average?
Yes, it is 10.5% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $53,490. 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 Los Angeles, CA pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $59,130 the metro median is 9.2% higher than the US median of $54,140 for legal secretaries and administrative assistants. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $46,810 to $88,600.
How many legal secretaries and administrative assistants work in Los Angeles, CA?
BLS counts about 11,880 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 1.92 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. At a location quotient of 1.91, this occupation is over-represented locally: the metro has about 191% 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 29.5%). 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. This particular estimate carries a wide margin of error and should be read as a rough range.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.