Administrative Assistant salary in Charleston, WV

Pay in Charleston against West Virginia and the US

Administrative assistants at the 90th percentile earn $57,980, 1.9 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.0. The middle half of administrative assistants in Charleston earns $36,520–$49,920. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $13,400 wide, against $13,830 across West Virginia and $19,170 nationally: employers in Charleston pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an administrative assistant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $6,370 a year in pay and about $8,219 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $7,030 in pay. 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 median and the 75th percentile in Charleston, and the West Virginia statewide median of $40,370 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in Charleston

At the $43,550 median, a local hire costs about $56,194 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $12,644 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 Charleston

Of the 16 roles we track in Charleston, this one ranks #10 by median pay, between payroll specialists ($45,140) and bookkeepers ($43,350). Project Coordinator is the highest at $89,600.

Measured against the US median, this job is the best paid of the 16 roles we track in Charleston (-8.4%); marketing specialists come last (-35.9%). The typical role here is at -16.7%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost more in Charleston than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 16.6% of the jobs in these 16 roles in Charleston, 15.0% across West Virginia and 10.8% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in West Virginia

Across the 9 areas of West Virginia with data for this job, the median runs from $36,790 in the Southern West Virginia nonmetro area to $43,550 in Charleston, a gap of $6,760 a year. The one area in West Virginia with more administrative assistants, the Northern West Virginia nonmetro area ($38,320), pays less: a bigger pool at a lower median.

Charleston against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Charleston is #199 of 520 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside West Virginia, Pensacola-Ferry Pass and Punta Gorda pay just above Charleston and San Antonio-New Braunfels and Williamsport just below. All four are within $120 a year of the median in Charleston. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, two pay more.

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