Administrative Assistant salary in San Diego-Chula Vista, CA

Pay in San Diego-Chula Vista against California and the US

Administrative assistants at the 90th percentile earn $75,780, 1.9 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.0. The middle half of administrative assistants in San Diego-Chula Vista earns $46,730–$64,080. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $17,350 wide, against $19,010 across California and $19,170 nationally: employers in San Diego-Chula Vista pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an administrative assistant here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $8,650 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $8,700, or about $11,226 once benefits are added. 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 San Diego-Chula Vista, and the California statewide median of $55,400 falls between the median and the 75th percentile.

What a hire really costs in San Diego-Chula Vista

At the $55,380 median, a local hire costs about $71,458 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $16,078 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 San Diego-Chula Vista

Of the 17 roles we track in San Diego-Chula Vista, this one ranks #12 by median pay, between HR assistants ($55,830) and medical administrative assistants ($51,650). Project Coordinator is the highest at $117,460.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #3 of the 17 roles we track in San Diego-Chula Vista (+16.5%), between virtual receptionists (+16.8%) and bookkeepers (+15.6%). The typical role here is at +10.3%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost more in San Diego-Chula Vista than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 9.5% of the jobs in the 16 of these roles with a job count in San Diego-Chula Vista, 10.2% across California and 11.4% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in California

Across the 28 areas of California with data for this job, the median runs from $49,150 in El Centro to $62,940 in San Jose-Sunnyvale, a gap of $13,790 a year. Of the 3 areas in California with more administrative assistants than San Diego-Chula Vista, 2 pay less: Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA ($53,550) and Riverside-San Bernardino, CA ($52,920).

San Diego-Chula Vista against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, San Diego-Chula Vista is #27 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 California, Salem and Hartford-West Hartford pay just above San Diego-Chula Vista and Portland-Vancouver and Barnstable Town just below. All four are within $560 a year of the median in San Diego-Chula Vista. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, none pays as much.

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