SalaryExplorer

SOC 43-6011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants — Birmingham

Birmingham, AL · 9 metro areas compared

$76,330 /year
$36.70per hour
900jobs in area
−0.3%vs US median

At $76,330, median pay for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants in Birmingham, AL tracks the national median of $76,590 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $76,59010TH$49,43025TH$62,960MEDIAN$76,33075TH$89,94090TH$104,990

How pay has moved

$80,283$56,5682019202020212022202320242025$76,330
$60,520 in 2019 to $76,330 in 2025, +26.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-1.6%
Openings per year
50,000
Typical entry-level education
High school diploma or equivalent
Related work experience
Less than 5 years

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Birmingham, AL.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $76,330, median pay for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants in Birmingham, AL tracks the national median of $76,590 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $62,960 and $89,940. The lowest tenth earn under $49,430, while the highest tenth earn more than $104,990.

The area has 900 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.59 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Huntsville leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $74,710. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 124th of 489 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Birmingham, AL · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$49,430−35.5%
25th$62,960−17.8%
Median (50th)$76,330−0.3%
75th$89,940+17.4%
90th$104,990+37.1%
Mean$78,060+1.9%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Alabama

Median annual wage for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Huntsville$74,710440
2Decatur$67,87060
3Tuscaloosa$66,930130
4Mobile$66,080270
5Montgomery$65,110310
6Daphne$63,00080
7Auburn$62,870110
8Florence$59,39040
9Dothan$58,74050

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Birmingham run 8.4% below the national average, so the median of $76,330 goes as far as $83,330 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 8.8% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$76,330as reported by BLS

Local price level

91.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$83,330US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $76,330 a year, 0.3% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $49,430 to $104,990 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 900 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Huntsville, at $74,710.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants in Birmingham, AL?

The median annual wage is $76,330, or $36.70 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $76,590, so pay in Birmingham, AL is 0.3% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Birmingham, AL earns more than $104,990 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $49,430 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Huntsville, at $74,710 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 900 jobs in this occupation in Birmingham, AL. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.