Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Salary
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Grand Forks, ND-MN make a median of $53,880 a year, or about $25.9 an hour. The range runs from $38K at the entry level to $62K for experienced workers. Cost of living is below average (RPP 86.66), which stretches that salary to about $62,174 in buying power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,089/month, about 30.2% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $54K get you in Grand Forks?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Grand Forks’s Regional Price Parity (86.66). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About legal secretaries and administrative assistants
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What this looks like in Grand Forks
Legal secretaries and administrative assistants pay in Grand Forks tracks closely to the national median, $54K locally vs. $56K nationwide, a 3% difference. Rent runs $1,089/month for a 2-bedroom (HUD FMR), taking 29.5% of the median take-home. That's within the 30% rule, though not by much. Regional Price Parity sits at 86.66 (national = 100), meaning everyday costs run about 13% cheaper here. Your dollar stretches further than the headline salary suggests. Pay and costs are both near average, leaving limited margin for savings at the median wage.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in metros near Grand Forks, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Fargo | $57K | $62K |
| Bismarck | $59K | $65K |
| Minot | $57K | $66K |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington | $66K | $63K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Grand Forks, ND-MN
Entry-level legal secretaries and administrative assistants (10th percentile) start around $38K. Mid-career wages sit at $54K. Top earners bring in $62K or more, a $24K spread from bottom to top.
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $99K | +79% | 1,940 |
| New York | $72K | +30% | 9,800 |
| Connecticut | $66K | +19% | 1,090 |
| Delaware | $66K | +19% | 980 |
| Minnesota | $63K | +14% | 2,410 |
| New Jersey | $63K | +14% | 4,160 |
| Rhode Island | $63K | +13% | 390 |
| California | $63K | +13% | 27,470 |
| Massachusetts | $62K | +12% | 4,020 |
| Maryland | $61K | +11% | 1,670 |
| Alaska | $61K | +10% | 660 |
| Oregon | $60K | +7% | 1,590 |
| Colorado | $59K | +7% | 2,030 |
| Washington | $58K | +5% | 3,950 |
| New Mexico | $58K | +4% | 1,400 |
| Michigan | $57K | +2% | 3,580 |
| Nevada | $56K | +2% | 1,430 |
| Wisconsin | $55K | -0% | 1,210 |
| Virginia | $55K | -0% | 2,380 |
| Arizona | $55K | -1% | 2,600 |
| North Dakota | $54K | -4% | 360 |
| Utah | $53K | -5% | 940 |
| South Carolina | $53K | -5% | 2,280 |
| Illinois | $53K | -5% | 8,030 |
| New Hampshire | $52K | -7% | 300 |
| Pennsylvania | $51K | -7% | 6,230 |
| Ohio | $51K | -8% | 4,360 |
| Hawaii | $49K | -11% | 680 |
| Vermont | $49K | -12% | N/A |
| Florida | $49K | -13% | 10,920 |
| Georgia | $48K | -13% | 3,260 |
| Louisiana | $48K | -14% | 2,460 |
| Maine | $48K | -14% | 860 |
| South Dakota | $48K | -14% | 560 |
| Indiana | $48K | -14% | 2,670 |
| Wyoming | $47K | -15% | 280 |
| West Virginia | $47K | -15% | 1,200 |
| Iowa | $47K | -16% | 1,120 |
| Oklahoma | $46K | -17% | 1,290 |
| Alabama | $46K | -17% | 1,840 |
| Texas | $46K | -17% | 13,380 |
| Nebraska | $46K | -18% | 1,310 |
| Tennessee | $45K | -18% | 2,980 |
| Mississippi | $45K | -19% | 820 |
| North Carolina | $44K | -21% | 3,780 |
| Idaho | $42K | -25% | 420 |
| Arkansas | $41K | -25% | 610 |
| Kentucky | $39K | -29% | 2,810 |
| Missouri | $39K | -31% | 3,310 |
| Kansas | $37K | -34% | 1,600 |
Showing 1–10 of 50 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track legal secretaries and administrative assistants salary changes
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Frequently asked questions
Can a legal secretaries and administrative assistant afford a 2BR apartment alone in Grand Forks?
Yes — at the median salary of $54K, rent takes 29.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,089/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.
What’s the entry-level salary for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in Grand Forks?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new legal secretaries and administrative assistants typically earn — is $38K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,309/month. At HUD’s $1,089/month FMR, rent would take 47% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is legal secretaries and administrative assistant a high-paying job in Grand Forks?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $54K locally vs. $56K nationally, a 3% difference.
How does Grand Forks compare to the national average for legal secretaries and administrative assistants?
Grand Forks pays $54K median vs. the U.S. average of $56K — that’s -3%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 86.66), the purchasing-power equivalent is $62K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do legal secretaries and administrative assistants make in Grand Forks, ND-MN?
The median is $53,880 a year, that works out to about $26 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $38,490, and experienced legal secretaries and administrative assistants can clear $62,390. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $54K enough to live in Grand Forks?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,690/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,089/month, which eats 29.5% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.
How far does a legal secretaries and administrative assistants salary go in Grand Forks?
Grand Forks has a Regional Price Parity of 86.66 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median legal secretaries and administrative assistants salary is worth about $62,174 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do legal secretaries and administrative assistants get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.