Personal assistants in the United States make around $39,221 and in Canada, it is very similar at C$39,732 ($29,473). A PA salary is higher in Australia and New Zealand at AU$54,619 ($40,937) and NZ$53,375 ($37,394). In South Africa, they earn R149,501 ($11,257) and in India it is Rs 249,069 ($3,852).
This article covers the salary range in seven countries as well as the impact of experience and industry on a PA career. The job benefits and working schedule are outlined. The final section of the article covers the job outlook.
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make per Year by Country?
| PA Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Hourly Pay | $14.74 | C$17.92 ($13.29) | E9.87 ($10.57) | AU$24.54 ($18.39) | NZ$21.33 ($14.94) | Rs 119.74 ($1.85) | R67.06 ($5.05) |
| Annual Pay | $39,221 | C$39,732 ($29,473) | E25,003 ($26,779) | AU$54,619 ($40,937) | NZ$53,375 ($37,394) | Rs 249,069 ($3,852) | R149,501 ($11,257) |
An (*) indicates that the hourly rate was not available and was extrapolated from the annual salary.
PA Salary Influencing Factors
The salary for personal assistants reflects the nature of their job and the person who is employing them. For example, personal assistants who freelance will earn more than those who work for an agency. All of the salary ranges shown below come from Payscale data.
1. Location
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in the US?
| PA Salary US | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | $21,615 | $9.87 |
| Maximum | $73,356 | $24.74 |
| Bonus/Tip | $304.98 to $10,365 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | $13 to $38,30 |
| Total Pay | $20,686 to $61,254 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in Canada?
| PA Salary Canada | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | C$23,457 | C$12,00 |
| Maximum | C$62,028 | C$25,07 |
| Bonus/Tip | 16 to C$9,899 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | C$27,73 |
| Total Pay | C$24,475 to C$54,424 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in the UK?
| PA Salary UK | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | E17,468 | E7,10 |
| Maximum | E35,199 | E15,10 |
| Bonus/Tip | E500 to E4,653 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | E6,50 to E19,06 |
| Total Pay | E16,725 to E35,462 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in Australia?
| PA Salary Australia | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | AU$38,777 | AU$18,65 |
| Maximum | AU$72,827 | AU$31,70 |
| Bonus/Tip | AU$608 to AU$8,384 | AU$3,63 |
| Overtime | No additional pay | AU$10,26 to AU$49,55 |
| Total Pay | AU$41,355 to AU$90,789 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in New Zealand?
| PA Salary New Zealand | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | NZ$42,037 | NZ$16,55 |
| Maximum | NZ$66,163 | NZ$28,19 |
| Bonus/Tip | NZ$996 TO NZ$5,068 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | NZ$33,00 |
| Total Pay | NZ$38,039 to NZ$64,847 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in India?
| PA Salary India | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | Rs 130,764 | Rs 62,86* |
| Maximum | Rs 659,463 | Rs 317,04* |
| Bonus/Tip | Rs 4,932 to Rs 193,916 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | Rs 131,935 to Rs 659,042 |
How Much Does a Personal Assistant Make in South Africa?
| PA Salary South Africa | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | R60,270 | R17,25 |
| Maximum | R298,576 | R147,40 |
| Bonus/Tip | R3,931 to R39,205 | No additional pay |
| Overtime | No additional pay | R1,45 to R236,65 |
| Total Pay | R60,171 to R304,274 |
2. Experience
The salary in New Zealand and Australia increases slightly throughout their career by about NZ$10,000 and AU$12,500. In Canada, the pay increases sharply for the first five years of employment and then plateaus. On the other hand, there are large increases in pay with more experience from 27 percent below the median to 60 percent above in South Africa. In India, late-career personal assistants earn 111 percent above the median. However, in the United Kingdom, pay does not increase drastically with experience as there is only a E4,000 dollar difference. Meanwhile, the salary in the United States starts 5 percent below the median and ends 39 percent above.
The most common years of experience for personal assistants in all of the countries included in this article is 1 to 4 years.
3. Industry
Theoretically, personal assistants could work for someone in any industry. However, their specific industry is professional services. Furthermore, the industry that the person who hired the assistant works in will impact the activities and expectations of that assistant. Therefore, someone who is in the film industry may expect the assistant to pick up their clothes for an event or go over their script with them. Alternatively, an assistant to a politician may need to schedule events and work with the speech writers for an upcoming presentation.
At the same time, when looking at locations worldwide, personal assistants have a higher than normal salary in Auckland (!5) and Wellington (11), New Zealand; Sydney (11), AU,;Sandton, SA; New Delhi (15), IN; London (19); San Francisco (83); New York (58); and Seattle (40).
Valuable skills are event planning, travel planning, and office administration. It is important to remember then that a unique asset in the United Kingdom that increases pay is the ability to speak French.
Schedule & Working Hours
Choosing to be a PA necessitates a lack of flexibility in hours worked. Personal assistants can truly work at any time of the day and for any number of hours a week. Their schedule is tied to the person that they are assisting. Acordingly, this may involve scheduling travel plans during the day and sometimes it could involve driving children to various activities or cleaning up after a meal. Overall, the personal assistant will predominately complete tasks similar to that of an office administrator, but that really depends on what the person needs.
They will frequently have to be on-call or could have unexpected days off if there is no assistance needed.
Bonuses & Benefits
The largest benefit for a PA is the network they gain access to by assisting a person in power. As a result, if you do a good job and are honest and reliable then you may be connected to additional job opportunities.
Other benefits are really up to the person you are working for. For example, some companies that have a collection of personal assistants will provide benefits such as retirement, healthcare, and flexible spending accounts. These benefits will be less likely if you are a freelance PA. However, depending on the financial capital and attitude of the person who hired the assistant, they may provide some level of benefit.
The table below shows healthcare benefits by country.
| Country | United States | Canada | United Kingdom | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Medical | 26 | 35 | 31 | 3 | 17 | 44 | 29 |
| Dental | 17 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Vision | 13 | 18 | 16 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| None | 72 | 61 | 60 | 96 | 78 | 56 | 70 |
Career Outlook
Personal assistants have several options for career advancement. Someone who can afford a PA will likely have connections. This network can lead to more opportunities. In addition, they can transition to being an office manager or executive personal assistant because the job duties they complete during their time as a PA translate to many other jobs.
There was not a specified job outlook for personal assistants. A lot of opportunity for jobs depends on location and local economy. Naturally, a more affluent area will have more openings for personal assistants. The national economy is not a good indicator of job opportunities for personal assistants.
There are significantly more females in this profession. In New Zealand and Australia, personal assistants are 97 percent female, in South Africa and the United Kingdom, they are 96 percent female. The exception to this is in India where 54 percent of personal assistants are men.
Conclusion
A PA career infers that you will be helping one person with whatever they need help with. This could be scheduling appointments, planning vacations, or taking messages. In addition, you could also be running errands, driving children around, and attending school functions. The wide variety of tasks really depends on what the person needs in their assistant. If you enjoy office tasks but want a larger portfolio of expectations than a job as a PA could be the perfect combination for your skill set.
If helping people is your passion then take a look at the RN Salary Guide& Career Outlook.