How Much Does an Executive Assistant Really Cost? A Breakdown by Region, Seniority, and Model

The national median base salary for an executive assistant sits at $110,000 in 2026, up 4.2% from the prior year, with top metro markets running 5-7% higher. That single number hides more than it reveals, because “executive assistant” now spans a compensation range wide enough to include a $60,000 generalist and a $150,000 board-facing strategic partner, and the model you choose- in-house, virtual, or fractional- moves the number even further.

In-house, by seniority

An entry-level in-house EA supporting a department head runs toward the low end of the range. A senior EA supporting a CEO directly, handling board communications, investor relations coordination, and project oversight, commands the top of the range and beyond. Title alone stopped predicting compensation reliably in recent years; scope does. An EA managing two executives simultaneously, which more than half of surveyed EAs now do, typically commands a premium over a single-executive role, reflecting the added complexity of competing priorities.

Virtual, and the discount that comes with it

A virtual EA, working remotely rather than in an office, runs 40-55% below the cost of an equivalent in-house hire, largely because there’s no payroll tax overhead, no benefits package, and no office equipment to provision. Some businesses report saving up to 78% on total operational costs by moving EA support to a virtual model. However, that figure sits at the aggressive end and assumes a fully remote-native setup replacing a traditional in-office role outright. The virtual EA services market itself reflects this shift in demand, growing from roughly $19.6 billion in 2025 to $23.8 billion in 2026, nearly doubling over three years as more businesses discover the cost gap.

Chief of staff, for comparison

Worth knowing before you scope a role: a chief of staff is a different hire entirely, and the compensation gap reflects it. In-house chief of staff compensation runs $226,756 to $343,485 a year, against $60,000-$150,000 for an in-house EA. If you’re finding yourself asking an EA candidate to also own cross-functional strategy work, you may be scoping (and underpaying for) a chief of staff role under an EA title.

A composite example

A growth-stage company budgeted for a $75,000 EA hire based on a generic salary survey, then structured the actual role to include investor relations coordination and board deck preparation, work that sits closer to a $120,000-$140,000 scope. The mismatch surfaced during negotiation: strong candidates at that experience level declined the offer outright, and the role sat open for four months until the budget was corrected to match the actual scope. The lesson holds broadly: price the role you’re actually building, not the title you’re using to describe it.

The real cost question

Cost only matters relative to what you’re solving for. McKinsey’s research on executive time allocation estimates each hour of reclaimed CEO time is worth $400-700 in equivalent strategic output, and executive assistants save CEOs an average of 8-12 hours a week. Against that math, even a $150,000 senior EA hire pays for itself within a matter of weeks, if the role and the candidate are actually matched to the scope.

If you’re past the cost question and into evaluating actual candidates, our 15-question interview guide covers the judgment and discretion screening that a salary figure alone can’t tell you.