Occupational Employment and Wages, 2002

43-6014 Secretaries, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive

Perform routine clerical and administrative functions such as drafting correspondence, scheduling appointments, organizing and maintaining paper and electronic files, or providing information to callers. Exclude legal, medical, or executive secretaries and administrative assistants (43-6011 through 43-6013).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,796,480 0.7 % $12.69 $26,390 0.3 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $7.64 $9.65 $12.16 $15.28 $18.59
Annual Wage (2) $15,890 $20,060 $25,290 $31,790 $38,670

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Elementary and secondary schools 212,290 $12.70 $26,410 1 123
Colleges and universities 101,270 $12.88 $26,780 2 108
Local government (OES designation) 94,390 $13.56 $28,210 3 64
Employment services 82,090 $12.12 $25,220 4 158
General medical and surgical hospitals 72,780 $12.73 $26,480 5 120

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Employment rank Wage rank
Wired telecommunications carriers 2,990 $17.47 $36,330 89 1
Power generation and supply 4,360 $17.36 $36,100 64 2
Software publishers 1,950 $17.14 $35,650 121 3
Federal government (OES designation) 40,590 $17.13 $35,630 11 4
Basic chemical manufacturing 1,440 $16.76 $34,870 146 5

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 14,390 $16.76 $34,860 2.418% 285
Louisiana 39,700 $10.36 $21,550 2.165% 508
New Mexico 15,460 $11.06 $23,000 2.116% 416
Wyoming 4,800 $10.30 $21,420 1.998% 352
New Jersey 75,900 $15.80 $32,870 1.968% 434

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment Wage rank within State
District of Columbia 14,390 $16.76 $34,860 2.418% 285
New Jersey 75,900 $15.80 $32,870 1.968% 434
Hawaii 5,880 $15.19 $31,590 1.068% 308
California 157,070 $14.88 $30,950 1.086% 458
Connecticut 26,700 $14.79 $30,760 1.627% 414

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Monroe, LA MSA 2,000 $9.82 $20,420 2.775%
Houma, LA MSA 2,040 $9.89 $20,570 2.529%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 5,200 $16.74 $34,810 2.506%
Cheyenne, WY MSA 920 $10.84 $22,540 2.465%
Lafayette, IN MSA 2,150 $12.35 $25,680 2.420%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
San Francisco, CA PMSA 10,980 $17.37 $36,120 1.101%
San Jose, CA PMSA 7,820 $17.22 $35,820 0.876%
Oakland, CA PMSA 11,060 $17.13 $35,630 1.103%
Trenton, NJ PMSA 5,200 $16.74 $34,810 2.506%
Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ PMSA 12,380 $16.65 $34,630 1.975%

About 2002 National, State, and Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

To see profiles of other occupations, select from the major groups below:

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files(XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Data for detailed occupations does not sum to the totals because the totals include data for occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

All Office and Administrative Support Occupations

2002 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 Metropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

2002 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download 2002 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: November 26, 2003