Compared with the local labor market
Senior Administrative Assistant pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — about 50,190 people — is $50,440. Department of Finance pays a median base salary of $70,752 for this role, 40% above that figure — about the 82nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Finance sits in the local pay range
$34,300
$42,260
$50,440
$62,970
$78,820
Department of Finance median · $70,752
The bar is the range of annual wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Finance’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. Department of Finance’s median base salary is 49% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$33,280
$38,830
$47,540
$58,000
$66,350
Department of Finance median · $70,752
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 Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Finance is $70,752, 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 jurisdictions
Senior Administrative Assistant beyond City of Chicago
This role is reported in 5 jurisdictions. In City of Chicago, the median of $77,640 ranks #2 of 5. See Senior Administrative Assistant across all of City of Chicago →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Senior Administrative Assistantroles 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.