Executive Assistant salary in Iowa City, IA

Pay in Iowa City against Iowa and the US

The middle half of executive assistants in Iowa City earns $51,450–$67,320. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $77,060, only 1.6 times the bottom tenth, against 2.2 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($62,210) is no higher than the median, so few high earners skew the figures here. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $15,870 wide, against $19,940 across Iowa and $33,000 nationally: employers in Iowa City pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an executive assistant here

Local pay is bunched just above the median: the 75th percentile is only $4,580 over it, while the 25th sits $11,290 below. Moving an offer from the median to the 75th percentile costs about $5,910 more a year with benefits. 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 Iowa City, and the Iowa statewide median of $62,340 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 Iowa City

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 $18,215 to the $62,740 median and brings it to $80,955 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 5.6 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 6.8 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 Iowa City

Of the 16 roles we track in Iowa City, this one ranks #7 by median pay, between marketing specialists ($63,790) and sales development representatives ($62,160). Project Coordinator is the highest at $96,820.

Measured against the US median, executive assistants rank #15 of the 16 roles we track in Iowa City (-18.1%), between sales development representatives (-11.2%) and marketing specialists (-19.0%). The typical role here is at -4.5%, so, measured against the US, executive assistants cost less in Iowa City than the area's general pay level would suggest. Executive assistants hold 5.4% of the jobs in these 16 roles in Iowa City, 3.0% across Iowa and 2.9% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Iowa

Across the 12 areas of Iowa with data for this job, the median runs from $52,730 in the Southwest Iowa nonmetro area to $64,990 in Des Moines-West Des Moines, a gap of $12,260 a year. The one area in Iowa with more executive assistants, Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA ($64,990), also pays more.

Iowa City against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Iowa City is #130 of 506 US areas for this job. Both its size and its pay sit in the middle half of US areas. Outside Iowa, Warner Robins and Punta Gorda pay just above Iowa City and Janesville-Beloit and Monroe just below. All four are within $90 a year of the median in Iowa City. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, two pay more.

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Sources

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