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.

5,599 EMPLOYEES

$300.07M TOTAL SALARY

GS MOST COMMON PAYSCALE

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.

Job Description

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

Agency	Employees Hired	Average Salary
Veterans Health Administration	1,449	$50,369.05
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison System	871	$56,139.13
Internal Revenue Service	536	$62,377.26
Federal Bureau of Investigation	222	$83,911.03
Indian Health Service	189	$47,459.63
Department of State	164	$67,122.78
Nuclear Regulatory Commission	117	$62,589.92
U.S. Coast Guard	113	$57,426.02
Drug Enforcement Administration	92	$70,023.75
Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys and the Office of U.s Attorneys	91	$67,099.50
Environmental Protection Agency	89	$66,377.46
Bureau of Reclamation	83	$52,038.10
National Institutes of Health	71	$65,679.30
Agricultural Research Service	69	$54,318.21
Federal Aviation Administration	65	$65,629.94
Natural Resources Conservation Service	62	$62,304.94
Social Security Administration	54	$55,945.00
National Park Service	52	$56,959.87
Offices, Boards and Divisions	52	$68,400.73
Bureau of Land Management	50	$58,009.98
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation	50	$87,627.34
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	47	$65,151.09
Forest Service	46	$58,401.50
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	41	$63,470.41
Indian Affairs	39	$47,903.56
Department of Energy	38	$63,349.19
	38	$29,848.56
Mine Safety and Health Administration	35	$55,178.80
National Labor Relations Board	32	$69,937.88
Goddard Space Flight Center	31	$61,765.87
National Institute of Standards and Technology	31	$66,877.71
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	29	$65,140.14
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission	28	$60,766.50
Geological Survey	27	$62,606.07
Office of Comptroller of Currency	24	$105,036.71
Office of the Secretary of the Interior	24	$56,988.96
Securities and Exchange Commission	21	$86,792.14
National Archives and Records Administration	20	$51,922.55
Office Secretary Health and Human Services	19	$70,078.47
Federal Emergency Management Agency	19	$62,535.21
Bureau of the Fiscal Service	18	$57,818.83
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Service Administration	16	$64,084.00
Office of Inspector General for Tax Administration	15	$64,211.13
Veterans Benefits Administration	14	$56,383.00
National Agricultural Statistics Service	13	$69,561.31
Farm Service Agency	13	$57,526.62
Patent and Trademark Office	12	$59,365.42
Food and Nutrition Service	11	$67,671.55
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (Department of Agriculture)	11	$57,301.27
Bureau of Labor Statistics	11	$63,656.00
Customs and Border Protection	11	$0.00
Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement	10	$50,977.70
Headquarters, Nasa	10	$75,033.30
Immigration and Customs Enforcement	10	$0.00
Presidio Trust	10	$86,047.80
Agricultural Marketing Service	9	$68,839.22
U.S. Trustee Program	8	$69,919.38
Employee Benefits Security Administration	8	$55,515.50
Food and Drug Administration	8	$60,272.75
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	8	$61,687.00
Office of the General Counsel (Department of Agriculture)	7	$69,582.71
National Institute of Food & Agriculture	7	$58,113.43
U.S. Agency for International Development	7	$69,372.29
International Trade Administration	7	$67,476.43
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service	6	$49,502.67
Food Safety and Inspection Service	6	$65,965.17
Federal Election Commission	6	$66,114.67
National Science Foundation	6	$78,140.33
Occupational Safety and Health Administration	6	$63,065.50
Office of the Director	6	$68,665.33
Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner	5	$73,272.40
Office of the Solicitor (Department of Interior)	5	$63,511.80
Government Printing Office	5	$68,481.00
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	5	$67,856.40
Railroad Retirement Board	5	$71,014.00
National Telecommunications and Information Administration	5	$73,083.80
International Boundary & Water Commission: U.S. & Mexico	5	$46,684.20
Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs	5	$55,920.60
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	4	$77,897.00
Dryden Flight Research Center	4	$68,587.50
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration	4	$68,121.50
U.S. Tax Court	4	$86,241.00
Health Resources and Services Administration	4	$69,358.25
Civil Rights	4	$58,817.75
Rural Housing Service	3	$63,298.00
Office of the Chief Information Officer (Department of Agriculture)	3	$53,724.33
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology	3	$52,939.33
Employment and Training Administration	3	$53,605.33
Office of the Solicitor (Department of Labor)	3	$66,540.00
John Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field	3	$56,516.67
Smithsonian Institution (Exchange Sep Boards of Trust)	3	$58,020.33
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration	3	$65,598.00
Citizenship and Immigration Services	3	$62,182.67
Office of Senior Coordinator for New York/New Jersey	3	$70,899.00
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management	3	$63,746.33
	3	$56,471.33
Office of Senior Coordinator for Mid-Atlantic	2	$63,602.50
Office of Senior Coordinator for Rocky Mountains	2	$66,063.50
Broadcasting Board of Governors	2	$65,390.50
Office of the Chief Financial Officer (Department of Labor)	2	$67,340.50
Office of the General Counsel (Department of Education)	2	$71,419.00
Risk Management Agency	2	$83,876.00
Office of Budget and Program Analysis	2	$78,430.00
Fpac Business Center	2	$61,997.00
Office of the Secretary (Department of Commerce)	2	$71,036.50
Bureau of the Census	2	$61,081.00
U.S. Mint	2	$71,070.00
Office of the Secretary (Department of Veterans Affairs)	2	$53,083.00
General Counsel (Department of Veterans Affairs)	2	$67,113.00
Federal Acquisition Service	2	$61,758.50
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality	2	$64,056.00
National Protection and Programs Directorate	2	$63,906.00
Langley Research Center	2	$70,707.50
John F. Kennedy Space Center	2	$59,511.50
Office of Secretary of Transportation	2	$67,836.50
John C. Stennis Space Center	1	$73,271.00
Office of Personnel Management	1	$57,506.00
Armed Forces Retirement Home	1	$39,311.00
Federal Highway Administration	1	$50,092.00
Bureau of Engraving and Printing	1	$63,906.00
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Logistics	1	$46,502.00
National Cemetery Administration	1	$61,172.00
U.S. Marshals Service	1	$74,158.00
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives	1	$0.00
Office of Secretary of Labor	1	$78,167.00
Office Assistant Secretary Administration and Management	1	$50,269.00
Bureau of International Labor Affairs	1	$51,592.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Labor)	1	$86,085.00
Wage and Hour Division	1	$60,838.00
Office for Civil Rights	1	$61,782.00
Office of Communications and Outreach	1	$70,775.00
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education	1	$63,906.00
Farm Credit Administration	1	$1,573.00
Federal Trade Commission	1	$62,337.00
Public Buildings Service	1	$76,720.00
Office of Senior Coordinator for Great Plains	1	$70,169.00
Office of Senior Coordinator for Pacific/Hawaii	1	$62,337.00
Office of Senior Coordinator for Northwest/Alaska	1	$71,241.00
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development	1	$67,584.00
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing	1	$63,208.00
Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Resolution	1	$72,154.00
Office of the Inspector General (Department of Interior)	1	$69,308.00
Ames Research Center	1	$69,274.00
Office of Inspector General (Department of Health and Human Services)	1	$61,213.00
Department of Homeland Security Headquarters	1	$72,154.00
Office of the Secretary of Agriculture	1	$80,417.00
Foreign Agricultural Service	1	$65,406.00
Office of the Chief Economist	1	$74,158.00
Office of Advocacy and Outreach	1	$59,212.00
Departmental Administration	1	$77,547.00
National Endowment for the Humanities	1	$70,716.00
Architectural & Transportation Barrier Compliance Board	1	$78,167.00
Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board	1	$66,142.00
Commission on Civil Rights	1	$63,906.00
Bureau of Industry and Security	1	$68,960.00
National Credit Union Administration	1	$0.00

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

Search for Secretary Jobs

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.