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City of San Jose / Administrative Assistant

Role across City of San Jose

Administrative Assistant

Provide administrative support — record-keeping, scheduling, correspondence, and customer service.

11 people hold the Administrative Assistant role across 10 departments in City of San Jose, with a median total compensation of $126,642. Among 31 jurisdictions where this role is reported, City of San Jose ranks #2 by median pay.

Employees
11
Median pay
$126,642
Departments
10
Cross-jurisdiction
#2 of 31

Compared with the local labor market

Administrative Assistant pay vs. the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area

Across all employers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area, the median wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — about 7,970 people — is $62,940. City of San Jose pays a median base salary of $99,160 for this role, 58% above that figureabove the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where City of San Jose sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$46,040
$53,220
$62,940
$77,380
$89,290
City of San Jose median · $99,160

The bar is the range of annual wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive across every employer in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows City of San Jose’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. City of San Jose’s median base salary is 109% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$33,280
$38,830
$47,540
$58,000
$66,350
City of San Jose median · $99,160

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 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 10 of 11 people in this role paid at least $25,000in 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 City of San Jose is $126,642, 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

Administrative Assistant pay in other jurisdictions

Where Administrative Assistants are paid most

Los Angeles County
$142,353 · 378
City of Boston
$77,773 · 26
Illinois
$74,800 · 528
New York City
$73,085 · 105
California
$71,808 · 287
New Jersey
$70,716 · 112
City of Chicago
$68,256 · 178
Massachusetts
$66,378 · 247
City of Charlotte
$64,792 · 37
City of Worcester
$62,078 · 30
City of Baltimore
$59,897 · 25
Arkansas
$57,590 · 77
Maine
$55,004 · 6
South Carolina
$53,011 · 186
Utah
$50,113 · 135

Median total compensation for comparable Administrative Assistantroles 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 San Jose

Departments with this role

Largest City of San Jose departments for this role

City Council
2 · $134,920
Public Works
1 · $135,058
Police
1 · $132,948
Airport
1 · $128,479
Library
1 · $121,026
Transportation
1 · $115,918
Housing
1 · $108,014

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