Administrative Secretary

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

208 people hold the Administrative Secretary role across 14 departments in Tennessee, with a median total compensation of $47,251. Among 4 jurisdictions where this role is reported, Tennessee ranks #4 by median pay.

Employees: 208
Median pay: $47,251
Departments: 14
Cross-jurisdiction: #4 of 4

Compared with the local labor market

Administrative Secretary pay vs. Tennessee

Across all employers in Tennessee, the median wage for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive — about 34,580 people — is $45,810. Tennessee pays a median base salary of $46,314 for this role, 1% above that figure — about the 52nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Tennessee sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$29,660

$37,040

$45,810

$54,000

$63,130

Tennessee median · $46,314

The bar is the range of annual wages for Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive across every employer in Tennessee, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Tennessee’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. Tennessee’s median base salary is 3% below that national figure, about the 46th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$33,280

$38,830

$47,540

$58,000

$66,350

Tennessee median · $46,314

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 Tennessee range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Tennessee is $47,251, 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 Secretary pay in other jurisdictions

Where Administrative Secretarys are paid most

Ramsey County, Minnesota

$65,882 · 33

City of Phoenix, Arizona

$63,373 · 21

City of Boston

$63,170 · 18

Median total compensation for comparable Administrative 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 Tennessee