Executive Assistant salary in Richmond, VA

Pay in Richmond against Virginia and the US

The middle half of executive assistants in Richmond earns $60,930–$85,630. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $98,620, only 1.9 times the bottom tenth, against 2.2 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. The mean ($76,170) 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 $24,700 wide, against $35,290 across Virginia and $33,000 nationally: employers in Richmond 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 $8,120 over it, while the 25th sits $16,580 below. Moving an offer from the median to the 75th percentile costs about $10,477 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 25th percentile and the median in Richmond, and the Virginia statewide median of $80,330 falls between the median and the 75th percentile.

What a hire really costs in Richmond

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 $22,503 to the $77,510 median and brings it to $100,013 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.

For the $100,013 a local hire costs here, you could cover about 6.9 remote hires in year one at the midpoint of our range. From year two the fee drops out and the remote figure is $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 Richmond

Of the 17 roles we track in Richmond, this one ranks #5 by median pay, between recruiters ($79,340) and office managers ($64,690). Project Coordinator is the highest at $102,170.

Measured against the US median, executive assistants rank #6 of the 17 roles we track in Richmond (+1.2%), between bookkeepers (+1.4%) and accountants (+0.6%). The typical role here is at +0.1%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Executive assistants hold 2.9% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Richmond, 2.4% across Virginia and 2.9% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

Other areas in Virginia

Across the 13 areas of Virginia with data for this job, the median runs from $56,380 in Harrisonburg to $77,510 in Richmond, a gap of $21,130 a year. No other area in Virginia has as many executive assistants, and all 12 others pay less.

Richmond against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Richmond is #40 of 506 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job and one of the better-paying ones. Outside Virginia, Fresno and Chicago-Naperville pay just above Richmond and Atlantic City-Hammonton and Midland just below. All four are within $450 a year of the median in Richmond. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, none pays as much.

Questions

Sources

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