Secretary - Federal Salaries of 2021
Pay Rates for "Secretary"
How much does a Secretary in the federal government get paid? $57,950.55* *Based on the 2021 average.Secretary was the 54th most popular job in the U.S. Government in 2021, with 5,599 employed. The most common payscale was the general schedule payscale.
In 2021, the Veterans Health Administration hired the most employees titled Secretary, with an average salary of $50,369.
Government Secretary jobs are classified under the General Schedule (GS) payscale. The minimum paygrade for a Secretary job is GS-1, and the highest paygrade that can be attained within this job series is GS-9. Remember that the starting and maximum yearly pay listed above reflect base pay only - your actual salary will be higher based on the Locality Pay Adjustment for the area in which you work.
This occupation includes all positions the duties of which are to assist one individual, and in some cases the subordinate staff of that individual, by performing general office work auxiliary to the work of the organization. To be included in this occupation, a position must be the principal office clerical or administrative support position in the office, operating independently of any other such position in the office. The duties require a knowledge of clerical and administrative procedures and requirements; various office skills; and the ability to apply such skills in a way that increases the effectiveness of others. The duties do not require a technical or professional knowledge of a specialized subject-matter area. (See Digest 3 for guidance on what constitutes "specialized.")
Agencies that have hired a Secretary
Secretary Pay Distribution
The average pay for a Secretary is $57,950.55. The highest paid Secretary made $174,719 in 2021.
Common Secretary Payscales
Payscale | Number of Secretary Employees |
---|---|
GS - General Schedule | 4,345 |
GL - Gs Employees In Grades 3 Through 10 Paid A Law Enforcement Officer Special Base Rate | 856 |
GG - Grades Similar To General Schedule | 129 |
FV - Federal Aviation Administration Core Compensation Plan | 58 |
ZS - Administrative Support | 57 |
CG - Corporate Graded | 50 |
* - Invalid | 32 |
NB - Office Of The Comptroller Of The Currency Only | 24 |
SK - Non-supervisorty Postions Employed By The Securities And Exchange Commission (sec) And Formerly Under Gs Pay | 21 |
AD - Administratively Determined Rates, Not Elsewhere Specified | 10 |
FG - Similar To The General Schedule | 7 |
PG - Printing Office Grades | 5 |
NU - Employees In The National Nuclear Security Administration's Technician And Administrative Support Career Path | 3 |
CU - Credit Union Employees | 1 |
VH - Professional, Administrative, And Managerial | 1 |
Starting Paygrade: | $20,999.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-1, Step 1 |
Maximum Paygrade: | $63,734.00 / year base pay at paygrade GS-9, Step 10 |
Category: | Clerical and Administrative Support |
Occupation Family: | 0300 GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE, CLERICAL, AND OFFICE SERVICES GROUP |
Other Jobs at the GS-1 Paygrade
GS-1 is the starting paygrade for Secretary jobs. Here are some other Federal Government jobs that can be held by employees at the GS-1 paygrade.
Occupation | Occupation Category | Starting Paygrade | Maximum Paygrade |
---|---|---|---|
Forestry Technician | Technical and Medical Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Purchasing | Clerical and Administrative Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Clerk-Typist | Clerical and Administrative Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Safety Technician | Technical and Medical Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Soil Conservation Technician | Technical and Medical Support | GS-1 | GS-9 |
Average Secretary Pay Trend from 2004 to 2021
In 2004, the average pay for a Secretary was $40,635. Since then, the average pay has increased to $57,951 in 2021.
Data Sources
The information provided on these pages is sourced from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI)
dataset. Postal Service data is managed exclusively by the USPS
. All information is displayed unmodified and as provided by the source agency.
Federal employee salaries are public information under open government laws (5 U.S.C. § 552). FederalPay provides this data in the interest of government transparency — employee data may not be used for commercial soliciting or vending of any kind. Learn more about the FederalPay Employees Dataset here.
The series code of this occupation is 0318
.