Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,937
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$8,333
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,910
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
$46,270
Kept after tax
$37,937
Worth in national money
$38,910
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 28 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $46,270. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 363.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,270 the take-home is $37,937, which is worth about $38,910 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $46,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 28 of 51 for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive at $46,270. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive sits at 363 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive on its $46,270 median: $37,937 retained after tax becomes $38,910 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $46,570 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 | $32,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,800 |
| This salary | $46,270 |
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 | $37,937 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,358 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,592 |
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 | $44,502 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,925 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,270 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,040 and the ninetieth is $61,800 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $37,937, worked from $46,270. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 363 of 492.
- Two cautions on $38,910, the adjusted value of that $46,270 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. 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 363 of 492 locally.
- The Pennsylvania median of $46,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,040 to $61,800. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $37,937, on $46,270 for work ranking 363 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 363 of 492 in the state.
- This $38,910 adjusted figure, worked from $46,270, 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 363 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 363 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $32,040 at the bottom tenth to $61,800 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $38,910 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $37,937.
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 ($32,040 to $61,800) 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 $38,910 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 $37,937 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.