Administrative Assistant salary in Portland-South Portland, ME

Pay in Portland-South Portland against Maine and the US

The middle half of administrative assistants in Portland-South Portland earns $47,160–$59,870. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $68,910, only 1.6 times the bottom tenth, against 2.0 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $12,710 wide, against $12,820 across Maine and $19,170 nationally: employers in Portland-South Portland 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 $7,870 over the median, the 25th only $4,840 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $10,155 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 25th percentile and the median in Portland-South Portland, and the Maine statewide median of $49,820 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Portland-South Portland

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $15,097 to the $52,000 median and brings it to $67,097 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

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Other roles in Portland-South Portland

Of the 17 roles we track in Portland-South Portland, this one ranks #11 by median pay, between bookkeepers ($54,610) and HR assistants ($51,770). Project Coordinator is the highest at $105,530.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #3 of the 17 roles we track in Portland-South Portland (+9.4%), between data entry specialists (+17.1%) and bookkeepers (+7.8%). The typical role here is at +2.8%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost more in Portland-South Portland than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 11.9% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Portland-South Portland, 12.3% across Maine and 10.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Maine

Across the 5 areas of Maine with data for this job, the median runs from $47,220 in the Northeast Maine nonmetro area to $52,000 in Portland-South Portland, a gap of $4,780 a year. No other area in Maine has as many administrative assistants, and all 4 others pay less.

Portland-South Portland against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Portland-South Portland is #100 of 520 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job and one of the better-paying ones. Outside Maine, Worcester and Yakima pay just above Portland-South Portland and Visalia and Bloomington just below. All four are within $540 a year of the median in Portland-South Portland. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, none pays as much.

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Sources

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