Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,628
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$9,342
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,919
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$47,970
Kept after tax
$38,628
Worth in national money
$38,919
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 19 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $47,970. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 305 among 445 occupations Delaware publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $47,970, take-home of $38,628 is worth roughly $38,919 in national money. The average comes to $49,140, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Delaware ranks 19 of 51 for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive at $47,970. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 305 of 445 in Delaware places secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive, whose median is $47,970, the adjusted figure of $38,919 differs little from $38,628 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $49,140 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,170 |
| This salary | $47,970 |
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 Delaware | $38,628 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,724 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,989 |
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 | $45,362 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,614 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Delaware earn under $47,970 and half over. The published range runs $35,930 at the tenth percentile to $64,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $38,628, from $47,970, 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 305 of 445 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $38,919, the adjusted value of that $47,970 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Delaware. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 305 of 445 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,930 to $64,170; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,628 from $47,970. 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 305 of 445 locally.
- This $38,919 adjusted figure, worked from $47,970, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 305 of 445 in the state. The occupation ranks 305 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,930 at the tenth percentile, $64,170 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $38,919.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $38,628 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($35,930 to $64,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $38,919 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 $38,628 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.