City of Baltimore / Fire Department / Secretary III
Job-title file
Provide administrative support — record-keeping, scheduling, correspondence, and customer service.
4 employees hold this title in Fire Department. Median total compensation for the role is $52,994, below the department median of $118,399.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD area, the median wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — about 29,780 people — is $49,220. Fire Department pays a median base salary of $52,994 for this role, 8% above that figure — about the 59th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive across every employer in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Fire Department’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — about 1,706,790 people — is $47,540. Fire Department’s median base salary is 11% above that national figure, about the 63rd percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD range relative to the national one.
Computed over the 6 of 7 people in this role paid at least $25,000 in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.
Median total compensation for this role at Fire Department is $51,961, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Secretary III is held in 72 City of Baltimore departments. In Fire Department, the median of $52,994 ranks #17 of 72.
Median total compensation for the Secretary III role in other City of Baltimoredepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 27 jurisdictions. In City of Baltimore, the median of $38,859 ranks #18 of 27. See Secretary across all of City of Baltimore →
Median total compensation for comparable Secretary roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
Page 1
Secretary III/Fire Department
Source-specific fields
At Fire Department, Karen Koehne serves as a Secretary III. Their tenure dates to 2000, about 21 years. Their 2021 pay totaled $65,706.
Secretary III/Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Joanne Drayton works as a Secretary III for Fire Department. Hired in 1999, they have about 22 years of service. Joanne earned $54,026 in 2021.
Secretary III/Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Jo Julius holds the role of Secretary III at Fire Department. They have served since 2004 (about 17 years). In 2021, their total compensation was $51,961.
Secretary III/Fire Department
Source-specific fields
Wilma Bayne is a Secretary III at Fire Department. Hired in 1982, they have about 30 years of service. 2012 total compensation came to $45,562.