Administrative Assistant salary in Wilmington, NC

Pay in Wilmington against North Carolina and the US

Administrative assistants at the 90th percentile earn $60,320, 1.9 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.0. The middle half of administrative assistants in Wilmington earns $39,520–$53,030. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $13,510 wide, against $13,770 across North Carolina and $19,170 nationally: employers in Wilmington pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an administrative assistant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $7,650 a year in pay and about $9,871 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $5,860 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 Wilmington, and the North Carolina statewide median of $45,790 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Wilmington

At the $45,380 median, a local hire costs about $58,555 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $13,175 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 Wilmington

Of the 17 roles we track in Wilmington, this one ranks #12 by median pay, between bookkeepers ($45,730) and e-commerce order specialists ($44,880). Project Coordinator is the highest at $89,120.

Measured against the US median, administrative assistants rank #3 of the 17 roles we track in Wilmington (-4.5%), between data entry specialists (-3.8%) and HR assistants (-6.3%). The typical role here is at -10.9%, so, measured against the US, administrative assistants cost more in Wilmington than the area's general pay level would suggest. Administrative assistants hold 10.4% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Wilmington, 8.3% across North Carolina and 10.8% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in North Carolina

Across the 18 areas of North Carolina with data for this job, the median runs from $38,590 in Jacksonville to $48,500 in Raleigh-Cary, a gap of $9,910 a year. Of the 8 areas in North Carolina with more administrative assistants than Wilmington, 3 pay less: the Western North Carolina nonmetro area ($41,410), the Eastern North Carolina nonmetro area ($41,250) and the Central North Carolina nonmetro area ($41,260).

Wilmington against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Wilmington is #153 of 520 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside North Carolina, Chambersburg and Iowa City pay just above Wilmington and Dover and Atlanta-Sandy Springs just below. All four are within $110 a year of the median in Wilmington. Of the three markets with about as many administrative assistants, two pay more.

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Sources

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