BLS OEWS, May 2025

Executive assistant salary in Seattle, WA

What executive assistants are paid in Seattle, WA, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with how your own pay compares. Figures from the BLS OEWS release dated May 2025.

Median annual pay

$80,860

Middle half earn

$76,160 to $95,260

People in this job here

7,370

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Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, Seattle, WA, annual pay, May 2025

10th percentile
$64,170
25th percentile
$76,160
Median
$80,860
75th percentile
$95,260
90th percentile
$106,770

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-6011. Percentiles across everyone employed in the occupation, not experience levels.

At a glance

How Seattle, WA compares

  • The median here is 6% above the national median of $76,590.
  • Seattle, WA ranks 9th for median pay among the 50 largest US metros with published figures for this occupation.
  • About 7,370 people work in this occupation here, roughly 1 in every 283 jobs in the metro.
  • Pay varies widely within the job: the 90th percentile earns 1.7 times the 10th.

Worked from BLS OEWS, May 2025. Not adjusted for the cost of living.

Seattle, WA against the national figures
PercentileSeattle, WANational
10th percentile$64,170$50,560
25th percentile$76,160$61,390
Median$80,860$76,590
75th percentile$95,260$94,390
90th percentile$106,770$109,850

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-6011. National page for executive assistants

By metro

Other metros for executive assistants

Median annual pay in the largest US metros where BLS published figures for this occupation, highest first, May 2025.

Medians from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

Skills

What employers look for in an executive assistant

The skills our executive assistant resume example leads with, written for US employers.

  • C-suite calendar management
  • Complex international travel
  • Board meeting coordination
  • Expense and reconciliation
  • Gatekeeping and prioritization
  • Confidential correspondence
  • Executive communications
  • Vendor and contract liaison
  • Event planning
  • Meeting agendas and follow-up

See the full executive assistant resume example, with bullets and keywords.

Negotiating

Using these numbers

Below $76,160 puts you in the bottom quarter for executive assistants in Seattle, WA. That is worth raising, with evidence of what you deliver.

The median, $80,860, is the middle of the market, not a ceiling. An offer at or near it is a fair starting point to negotiate from.

Asking for $95,260 or more puts you in the top quarter, so it needs a reason an employer will accept: a wider scope, a competing offer, or a skill that is hard to hire for.

Percentiles are not experience levels. They describe everyone doing the job, so a senior hire can sit at the median of a market full of senior people.

About the numbers

What these figures are

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys employers for its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, and these figures are from the release dated May 2025. They cover wage and salary workers in Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, a category that is often broader than a single job title. Self-employed people are not included.

They are base pay: bonuses, equity and overtime are not included, and they are not adjusted for the cost of living. The metro is Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA as BLS defines it.

Questions

Questions about executive assistant pay in Seattle, WA

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