Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,838
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$7,872
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,199
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$43,710
Kept after tax
$35,838
Worth in national money
$39,199
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $43,710, ranking 41 of 51 states — about 8.06% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 355 among 476 occupations Idaho publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,710 you keep $35,838 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,199 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $43,920, since top earners drag the number up.
- Idaho ranks 41 of 51 for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive, with a median of $43,710 — about 8.06% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 355 of 476 in Idaho 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.
- Retained pay in Idaho is $35,838 after the full tax stack, from $43,710. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,199 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $43,920 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $29,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,820 |
| This salary | $43,710 |
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 Idaho | $35,838 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,301 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$814 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $41,889 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$984 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 Idaho earn under $43,710 and half over. The published range runs $29,890 at the tenth percentile to $58,820 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $35,838, from $43,710, 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 355 of 476 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $39,199, the adjusted value of that $43,710 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Idaho. 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 355 of 476 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,890 to $58,820; 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 Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $35,838 from $43,710. 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 355 of 476 locally.
- This $39,199 adjusted figure, worked from $43,710, 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 355 of 476 in the state. The occupation ranks 355 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $29,890 and the top tenth $58,820, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $39,199 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Idaho's own levy, $35,838 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($29,890 to $58,820) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $39,199 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 $35,838 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.