Administrative Assistant salary in Johnson City, TN

Pay in Johnson City against Tennessee and the US

The middle half of administrative assistants in Johnson City earns $35,980–$46,640. The top tenth earns $56,930 or more, 2.0 times the bottom tenth, close to the US pattern of 2.0 times. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $10,660 wide, against $16,960 across Tennessee and $19,170 nationally: employers in Johnson City 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 $6,580 over the median, the 25th only $4,080 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $8,490 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 Johnson City, and the Tennessee statewide median of $45,810 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 Johnson City

At the $40,060 median, a local hire costs about $51,690 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $11,630 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 Johnson City

Of the 17 roles we track in Johnson City, this one ranks #12 by median pay, between bookkeepers ($40,700) and customer support specialists ($36,570). Project Coordinator is the highest at $78,100.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #4 of the 17 roles we track in Johnson City (-15.7%), between office managers (-14.5%) and virtual receptionists (-18.0%). The typical role here is at -19.8%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost more in Johnson City than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 11.0% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Johnson City, 9.5% across Tennessee and 10.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Tennessee

Across the 14 areas of Tennessee with data for this job, the median runs from $38,230 in the South Central Tennessee nonmetro area to $49,000 in Nashville-Murfreesboro, a gap of $10,770 a year. Of the 9 areas in Tennessee with more administrative assistants than Johnson City, 5 pay less, the largest of them the West Tennessee nonmetro area ($39,740), the North Central Tennessee nonmetro area ($39,270) and the East Tennessee nonmetro area ($39,440).

Johnson City against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Johnson City is #316 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 Tennessee, Bowling Green and Sumter pay just above Johnson City and Idaho Falls and Terre Haute just below. All four are within $160 a year of the median in Johnson City. 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.