Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,902
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$8,028
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,848
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$44,930
Kept after tax
$36,902
Worth in national money
$37,848
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 26 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $44,930. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 380. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $44,930, take-home of $36,902 is worth roughly $37,848 in national money. The average comes to $45,580, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 26 of 51 for medical secretaries and administrative assistants at $44,930. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, medical secretaries and administrative assistants ranks 380 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for medical secretaries and administrative assistants, whose median is $44,930, the adjusted figure of $37,848 differs little from $36,902 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $45,580 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,170 |
| This salary | $44,930 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Pennsylvania | $36,902 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,281 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,546 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $43,213 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,870 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,930 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,280 and the ninetieth is $58,170 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $36,902, from $44,930, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 380 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,848, the adjusted value of that $44,930 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 380 of 492 in the state.
- The Pennsylvania median of $44,930 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,280 to $58,170. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,902 from $44,930. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 380 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $37,848 — the adjusted value of that $44,930 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 380 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,280 at the bottom tenth to $58,170 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $37,848 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Pennsylvania's own levy, $36,902 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,280 to $58,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $37,848 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $36,902 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.