Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,452
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$8,568
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,765
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$46,020
Kept after tax
$37,452
Worth in national money
$39,765
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $46,020, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 352 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,020 you keep $37,452, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,765 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $47,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan occupies the middle band for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive: a median of $46,020, ranking 30 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 352 of 493 in Michigan 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.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive on $46,020 is $37,452. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,765 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $47,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $33,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,020 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,950 |
| This salary | $46,020 |
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 Michigan | $37,452 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,157 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$531 |
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 | $43,898 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$642 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $46,020 and half over. The published range runs $33,360 at the tenth percentile to $63,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,452 take-home in Michigan comes from $46,020. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 352 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,765, the adjusted value of that $46,020 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 352 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,360 to $63,950; 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.
- Retained pay of $37,452, from $46,020, assumes a single Michigan filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 352 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 30 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $39,765 — the adjusted value of that $46,020 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 352 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $47,710, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,360 and the top tenth $63,950, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $39,765 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 Michigan's own levy, $37,452 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Michigan is $47,710. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,360 to $63,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $39,765 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 $37,452 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.