Executive Assistant salary in St. Louis, MO-IL

Pay in St. Louis against Missouri and the US

Executive assistants at the 90th percentile earn $98,140, 2.1 times the 10th percentile; the US ratio is 2.2. The middle half of executive assistants in St. Louis earns $53,350–$79,550. The mean ($68,970) is 9% over the median, so a group of high earners pulls the average up; price a typical hire from the median. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is $26,200 wide, between the figure for Missouri ($26,170) and the US figure ($33,000).

What to budget for an executive assistant here

Pay climbs faster above the median than below it here: the 75th percentile is $16,050 over the median, the 25th only $10,150 under it. An offer at the 75th percentile adds about $20,710 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 St. Louis, and the Missouri statewide median of $60,320 falls between the 25th percentile and the median.

What a hire really costs in St. Louis

At the $63,500 median, a local hire costs about $81,935 a year: benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², about $18,435 here. 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 St. Louis

Of the 17 roles we track in St. Louis, this one ranks #6 by median pay, between office managers ($68,590) and paralegals ($61,970). Project Coordinator is the highest at $100,510.

Measured against the US median, this job is the lowest paid of the 17 roles we track in St. Louis (-17.1%); customer support specialists come first (+2.3%). The typical role here is at -2.8%, so, measured against the US, executive assistants cost less in St. Louis than the area's general pay level would suggest. Executive assistants hold 3.0% of the jobs in these 17 roles in St. Louis, 3.1% across Missouri and 2.9% nationally. That is close to the national mix.

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. No other area in Missouri has as many executive assistants, and 10 of the other 11 pay less.

St. Louis against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, St. Louis is #21 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 Missouri, Memphis and Peoria pay just above St. Louis and Salt Lake City-Murray and Abilene just below. All four are within $310 a year of the median in St. Louis. Of the three markets with about as many executive assistants, all three pay more.

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Sources

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