Administrative Assistant salary in Athens-Clarke County, GA

Pay in Athens-Clarke County against Georgia and the US

Pay is more spread out here than nationally: the top tenth earns $57,480 or more, 2.3 times the bottom tenth, against 2.0 times across the US. Two offers for the same title can sit far apart. The middle half of administrative assistants in Athens-Clarke County earns $30,740–$46,830. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $16,090 wide, against $19,960 across Georgia and $19,170 nationally: employers in Athens-Clarke County pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an administrative assistant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $10,720 over the median, the 25th only $5,370 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $13,832 a year in employer cost. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $47,540 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in Athens-Clarke County, and the Georgia statewide median of $41,600 falls between the median and the 75th percentile. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local administrative assistants earn.

What a hire really costs in Athens-Clarke County

At the $36,110 median, a local hire costs about $46,594 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $10,484 here. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for administrative assistants we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Athens-Clarke County

Of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County, this one ranks #14 by median pay, between customer support specialists ($36,320) and virtual receptionists ($34,290). Project Coordinator is the highest at $82,430.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #13 of the 15 roles we track in Athens-Clarke County (-24.0%), between paralegals (-22.3%) and recruiters (-24.5%). The typical role here is at -16.4%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost less in Athens-Clarke County than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 11.6% of the jobs in these 15 roles in Athens-Clarke County, 8.8% across Georgia and 10.9% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Georgia

Across the 18 areas of Georgia with data for this job, the median runs from $34,920 in the East Georgia nonmetro area to $45,270 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs, a gap of $10,350 a year. Of the 9 areas in Georgia with more administrative assistants than Athens-Clarke County, 2 pay less: the South Georgia nonmetro area ($35,940) and the East Georgia nonmetro area ($34,920).

Athens-Clarke County against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Athens-Clarke County is #345 of 520 US areas for this job. It is a mid-sized market, and its pay is in the bottom quarter of US areas. Outside Georgia, Eagle Pass and Houma-Bayou Cane pay just above Athens-Clarke County and Jonesboro and Alexandria just below. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, all three pay more.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.