Executive assistants in the United States earn $52,150 dollars and in South Africa, they make R256,510 ($19,995). The pay in Canada is very similar to the United Kingdom at C$52,241 ($38,644) and E30,814 ($34,670). In Australia, an executive assistant salary is AU$68,386 ($51,487) and in New Zealand it is NZ$60,868 ($43,818).
This executive assistant career guide covers the salary range in seven different countries. Other information included is the impact of experience and industry. The typical working schedule and job benefits are reviewed as well as the job outlook.
How Much Does an Executive Assistant Make per Year by Country?
| Executive Assistant Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Hourly Pay | $20.12 | C$20.48 ($15.15) | E14.90 ($16.76) | AU$30.63 ($23.06) | NZ$25.38 ($18.27) | Rs 200.00 ($3.10) | R105.00 ($8.19) |
| Annual Pay | $52,150 | C$52,241 ($38,644) | E30,814 ($34,670) | AU$68,386 ($51,487) | NZ$60,868 ($43,818) | Rs 279,492 ($4,337) | R256,501 ($19,995) |
Executive Assistant Salary Influencing Factors
An executive assistant career is vital to the success of any executive in charge of a large company. All of the countries explored in this article have salary information available from Payscale.
1. Location
How Much Does an Executive Assistant Make in the US?
| Executive Assistant Salary US | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | $36,059 | $13.86 |
| Maximum | $74,853 | $29.59 |
| Bonus | $831.00 to $9,716 | No additional pay |
| Commission | $967.00 to $19,993 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | $33,243 to $74,462 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant Make in Canada?
| Executive Assistant Salary Canada | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | C$37,961 | C$14.82 |
| Maximum | C$68,471 | C$29.99 |
| Bonus | C$513 – C$7,645 | No additional pay |
| Commission | C$6,000 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | C$36,238 – C$69,234 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant Make in the UK?
| Executive Assistant Salary UK | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | E22,726 | E7.45 |
| Maximum | E92,738 | E23.68 |
| Bonus | E781.00 to E6,040 | No additional pay |
| Commission | E8,000 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | E21,283 to E45,133 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant make in Australia?
| Executive Assistant Salary Australia | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | AU$50,000 | AU$22.79 |
| Maximum | AU$85,687 | AU$41.00 |
| Bonus | AU$1,490 to AU$11,175 | No additional pay |
| Commission | AU$8,844 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | AU$50,132 to AU$86,706 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant make in New Zealand?
| Executive Assistant Salary New Zealand | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | NZ$46,518 | NZ$17.58 |
| Maximum | NZ$74,886 | NZ$34.71 |
| Bonus | NZ$1,007 to NZ$10,304 | No additional pay |
| Commission | NZ$10,000 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | NZ$45,625 to NZ$75,395 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant make in India?
| Executive Assistant Salary India | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | Rs 130,507 | Rs 62.47* |
| Maximum | Rs 709,495 | Rs 341.10* |
| Bonus | Rs 4,961 to Rs 103,298 | No additional pay |
| Commission | Rs 21.74 to Rs 99,613 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | Rs 133,307 to Rs 729,934 |
How Much Does an Executive Assistant Make in South Africa?
| Executive Assistant Salary South Africa | Per Year | Per Hour |
| Minimum | R124,351 | R59.78* |
| Maximum | R417,229 | R200.59* |
| Bonus | R9,834 to R69,260 | No additional pay |
| Commission | R37,000 | No additional pay |
| Total Pay | R125,312 to R432,871 |
2. Experience
In Australia, the salary increases modestly for the first 20 years and then plateaus. In Canada, entry-level executive assistants receive pay 14 percent below the average and late-career professionals earn 16 percent above the average. The executive assistant salary range in New Zealand is from NZ$55,000 to NZ$65,000. Pay increases sharply in India from 19 percent below the average to 149 percent above this average. In the United Kingdom, pay peaks at 20 years of experience and then decreases slightly from E35,000 to E34,000. Pay increases consistently for executive assistants in South Africa from around R200,000 to R340,000. The pay in the United States uniformly increases across experience levels from 16 percent below the median to 13 percent above.
The most frequent category of respondents in Australia, Canada, the United States and South Africa have 10 to 19 years of experience. In New Zealand and India, the most common years of experience for participants is 1 to 4 years. Participants from the United Kingdom split these two groups equally.
3. Industry
Executive assistants can work in any industry. They help executives with several tasks ranging from the role of personal assistant to travel coordinator to event planner. The skills that are in demand for higher levels of pay are travel administration, project management, and event planning. Executives are extremely busy and the executive administrative assistant helps to keep them on track.
An executive assistant could work anywhere and remote work is possible. In Australia, the highest paying city was Sydney while in the United States these cities are San Francisco and New York. New Zealand executive assistants who worked in Wellington experienced a higher than average salary.
While all jobs will value slightly different skill sets, there were some consistencies seen across countries. Being able to manage and book travel was rated highly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, and Canada. Another common skill was event or project management which saw a higher than average pay in every country except New Zealand. The only country that emphasized traditional administrative skills was New Zealand.
Schedule & Working Hours
Executive assistants are often at the whim of the executive(s) they assist. Thus, they typically work office hours. Most executive assistants work full-time.
There is a certain amount of variation in the day-to-day tasks of an executive assistant. One thing that is guaranteed is everything they do is intended to help their superior. They can prepare presentations or attend meetings when the executive is not available. They will invariably manage the calendar and travel plans as well as taking messages and arranging meetings.
Bonuses & Benefits
The benefits for executive assistants varies based on their job setting. Those who work full-time for an established company are likely to receive many benefits including retirement, stock options, childcare, flexible spending accounts, and paid time off.
In addition, an interesting benefit of executive assistants is that they will frequently get to travel and meet with influential clients or professionals. This gives them the opportunity to network and build a powerful sphere of influence.
The table below shows healthcare benefits by country. The (–) indicates that no healthcare information was available.
| Country | United States | Canada | United Kingdom | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa |
| Medical | 79 | 81 | 46 | 6 | 21 | 60 | 51 |
| Dental | 68 | 77 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Vision | 58 | 61 | 20 | 2 | 9 | 3 | 5 |
| None | 19 | 16 | 45 | 92 | 71 | 39 | 49 |
Career Outlook
Executive assistants used to be viewed as a low-paying low-skilled job. However, that has changed with a cultural revolution in industries. These professionals, mostly women, are now viewed as having essential soft skills that are often missing in the executive. For example, they get compensated very well in Silicon Valley and experience a lot of change in rapidly growing companies. It is possible that there will be a tempering in the demand for executive assistants, but where they used to be viewed as dispensable, they are now viewed as indispensable.
This is a female dominated profession in all countries except India. The male to female ratio in India is 51 to 49 percent. In all other countries, the executive assistant workforce is at least 95 percent female.
Conclusion
Overall, an executive assistant career involves supporting executives in a variety of tasks. This involves anything from scheduling meetings to arranging travel to preparing for events. Recently, this position has seen a renewed importance and increased sense of value. A similar position that meets the same requirements but can be performed at a lower level is that of a PA.