Salary Range

• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics includes Fairfield in salary figures for the greater Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk metropolitan area. The average salary for an administrative assistant there as of May 2010 was $19.41 per hour, or $40,380 per year. The middle 50 percent of administrative assistants were making $15.05 to $23.45 per hour, or $31,310 to $48,770 per year. The bottom 10 percent had hourly wages of $11.69 and less, and the top 10 percent were earning $28.66 per hour and higher, or $59,620 per year and more.
  
  

Comparisons

• The average administrative assistant salary in Fairfield and the greater Bridgeport area was about 21 percent higher than the nationwide average for this occupation of $15.38 per hour. Connecticut was the fourth-highest paying area by state or district for administrative assistants in 2010, with a statewide average salary of $18.54 per hour. The District of Columbia ranked first at $23.19 per hour, followed by Massachusetts at $18.84 and Alaska at $18.60. The greater Bridgeport area ranked seventh for administrative assistant salary by metro area, with the greater Washington, D.C., area at the top with an average pay rate of $20.97. The greater Hartford, Connecticut, area ranked ninth with an average salary of $19.10 per hour.
  
  

Advancement

• Highly skilled and experienced administrative assistants may advance to become executive administrative assistants with more lucrative salaries. The average pay rate for executive administrative assistants in Fairfield as of May 2010 was $27.79 per hour, or $57,810 per year. The middle 50 percent of the salary range was $21.69 to $33.12 per hour, or $45,110 to $68,880 per year. The bottom 10 percent were making $17.37 per hour and less, and the top 10 percent had salaries of $39.44 per hour and higher, or $82,030 per year and more.
  
  

Executive Administrative Assistant Comparisons

• As with administrative assistant salaries, the Fairfield average for executive administrative assistants was about 21 percent higher than the nationwide average of $22.05 per hour for this occupation. Connecticut again ranked fourth by state or district at an average wage of $25.13 per hour. The top three states were different for executive administrative assistant average pay than for administrative assistants with New Jersey at $26.59 per hour, New York at $26.51 and Maryland at $25.24. The greater Bridgeport area ranked fourth by metro area for average executive administrative assistant salaries. Santa Fe, New Mexico, was first, at $29.16 per hour, followed by the greater New York City area at $28.16 and the greater San Jose, California, area at $27.80.