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City of Chicago / Executive Secretary

Role across City of Chicago

Executive Secretary

Lead staff and operations — set priorities, allocate resources, and oversee program delivery.

3 people hold the Executive Secretary role across 3 departments in City of Chicago, with a median total compensation of $112,104.

Employees
3
Median pay
$112,104
Departments
3
Cross-jurisdiction

Compared with the local labor market

Executive Secretary pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area

Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistantsabout 10,620 people is $77,770. City of Chicago pays a median base salary of $112,104 for this role, 44% above that figureabove the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where City of Chicago sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$54,440
$60,420
$77,770
$95,650
$107,430
City of Chicago median · $112,104

The bar is the range of annual wages for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants 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 City of Chicago’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistantsabout 459,910 people is $76,590. City of Chicago’s median base salary is 46% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$50,560
$61,390
$76,590
$94,390
$109,850
City of Chicago median · $112,104

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 City of Chicago is $112,104, 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

Executive Secretary pay in other jurisdictions

Where Executive Secretarys are paid most

Los Angeles County
$190,084 · 43
New Jersey
$100,753 · 11
Miami-Dade County
$76,501 · 40
Tennessee
$63,817 · 12
Illinois
$63,200 · 172
California
$57,790 · 153
Utah
$49,345 · 157
Missouri
$48,501 · 8
City of Baltimore
$43,650 · 15
Maine
$21,019 · 5

Median total compensation for comparable Executive Secretary roles in other jurisdictions (highest first). Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not by identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for this role.

Within City of Chicago

Departments with this role

Largest City of Chicago departments for this role

Departments in City of Chicagoemploying the most people in this role. Each bar links to that department’s page for the role.