Executive Assistant salary in Columbia, MO

Pay in Columbia against Missouri and the US

The middle half of executive assistants in Columbia earns $50,310–$71,120. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $81,900, only 1.8 times the bottom tenth, against 2.2 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $20,810 wide, against $26,170 across Missouri and $33,000 nationally: employers in Columbia pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an executive assistant here

An offer at the 75th percentile instead of the median adds $9,620 a year in pay and about $12,413 in employer cost. Going down to the 25th percentile saves $11,190 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 $76,590 falls between the 75th and 90th percentiles in Columbia, and the Missouri statewide median of $60,320 falls between the 25th percentile and the median. An offer at the national rate would beat what three quarters of local executive assistants earn.

What a hire really costs in Columbia

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 $17,855 to the $61,500 median and brings it to $79,355 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

Our open executive assistant roles pay $800–$1,100 a month under a direct contract. The one-time fee is $2,500³ with a 180-day replacement; paying through Deel adds $49 a month⁴. Change any number below to match your plan.

A local hire here costs about 5.5 times as much as a remote hire in year one at the midpoint of our range. From year two, when the fee drops out, it is 6.6 times the remote figure of $11,988. About the candidates: most apply through our assessment platform with a written and a spoken English task; each profile shows the English level (B1–C2); Silkstaff interviews every shortlisted candidate live, in English, before you meet them.

Other roles in Columbia

Of the 16 roles we track in Columbia, this one ranks #6 by median pay, between office managers ($61,670) and paralegals ($49,390). Project Coordinator is the highest at $80,870.

Measured against the US median, executive assistants rank #13 of the 16 roles we track in Columbia (-19.7%), between payroll specialists (-18.3%) and project coordinators (-21.0%). The typical role here is at -16.5%, so, measured against the US, executive assistants cost less in Columbia than the area's general pay level would suggest. Executive assistants hold 3.8% of the jobs in these 16 roles in Columbia, 3.1% across Missouri and 2.9% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Missouri

Across the 12 areas of Missouri with data for this job, the median runs from $49,480 in the Southwest Missouri nonmetro area to $64,460 in Kansas City, a gap of $14,980 a year. Of the 3 areas in Missouri with more executive assistants than Columbia, 1 pays less: Springfield, MO ($53,920).

Columbia against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Columbia is #138 of 506 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside Missouri, Indianapolis-Carmel and Burlington pay just above Columbia and Muskegon-Norton Shores and Oklahoma City just below. All four are within $120 a year of the median in Columbia. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, all three pay more.

Questions

Sources

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