Executive Assistant salary in Memphis, TN-MS

Pay in Memphis against Tennessee and the US

The middle half of executive assistants in Memphis earns $58,250–$78,180. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $93,270, only 1.9 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 $19,930 wide, against $23,470 across Tennessee and $33,000 nationally: employers in Memphis pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for an executive assistant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $14,570 over the median, the 25th only $5,360 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $18,800 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 $76,590 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Memphis, and the Tennessee statewide median of $68,190 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Memphis

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 $18,467 to the $63,610 median and brings it to $82,077 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 5.7 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 Memphis

Of the 17 roles we track in Memphis, this one ranks #6 by median pay, between recruiters ($69,150) and sales development representatives ($59,140). Project Coordinator is the highest at $85,130.

Measured against the US median, this job is the lowest paid of the 17 roles we track in Memphis (-16.9%); office managers come first (+2.6%). The typical role here is at -8.9%, so, measured against the US, executive assistants cost less in Memphis than the area's general pay level would suggest. Executive assistants hold 1.5% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Memphis, 1.5% across Tennessee and 2.9% nationally. The job is a smaller part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in Tennessee

Across the 14 areas of Tennessee with data for this job, the median runs from $51,240 in Morristown to $73,700 in Nashville-Murfreesboro, a gap of $22,460 a year. The one area in Tennessee with more executive assistants, Nashville-Murfreesboro, TN ($73,700), also pays more.

Memphis against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Memphis is #69 of 506 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside Tennessee, Peoria and Savannah pay just above Memphis and St. Louis and Salt Lake City-Murray just below. All four are within $210 a year of the median in Memphis. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, two pay more.

Questions

Sources

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