Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants Salary
Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Syracuse, NY make a median of $55,780 a year, or about $26.82 an hour. The range runs from $39K at the entry level to $77K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.74), that's roughly $58,262 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,392/month, about 38.2% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $56K get you in Syracuse?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Syracuse’s Regional Price Parity (95.74). 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 Syracuse
Legal secretaries and administrative assistants pay in Syracuse tracks closely to the national median, $56K locally vs. $56K nationwide, a 0% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,392/month, which is 37.6% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.74) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in metros near Syracuse, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Kingston | $60K | $60K |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City | $76K | $67K |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga | $50K | $52K |
| Rochester | $52K | $54K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Syracuse, NY
Entry-level legal secretaries and administrative assistants (10th percentile) start around $39K. Mid-career wages sit at $56K. Top earners bring in $77K or more, a $37K 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
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Syracuse numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a legal secretaries and administrative assistant afford a 2BR apartment alone in Syracuse?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $56K, rent takes 37.6% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,392/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,100/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for legal secretaries and administrative assistants in Syracuse?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new legal secretaries and administrative assistants typically earn — is $39K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,369/month. At HUD’s $1,392/month FMR, rent would take 59% 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 Syracuse?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $56K locally vs. $56K nationally, a 0% difference.
How does Syracuse compare to the national average for legal secretaries and administrative assistants?
Syracuse pays $56K median vs. the U.S. average of $56K — that’s +0%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.74), the purchasing-power equivalent is $58K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do legal secretaries and administrative assistants make in Syracuse, NY?
The median is $55,780 a year, that works out to about $27 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $39,490, and experienced legal secretaries and administrative assistants can clear $76,580. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $56K enough to live in Syracuse?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,700/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,392/month, which eats 37.6% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a legal secretaries and administrative assistants salary go in Syracuse?
Syracuse has a Regional Price Parity of 95.74 (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 $58,262 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.