Median pay for virtual assistants runs from $22,390 in Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area to $63,800 in New Haven — a 2.85× range across 527 metropolitan areas. The national median of $47,540 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
Ten per cent of virtual assistants earn below $33,280 and ten per cent above $66,350 — a 1.99× band. The upside from median to 90th percentile is 40%, which is a normal amount of room for experience and specialisation to matter. An offer below the 25th percentile is worth questioning; one above the 75th is worth taking seriously.
5 of the ten best-paying metros for virtual assistants are in CA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in CA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Haven CT | $63,800 | $30.67 | 1.55 | 4,780 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $62,940 | $30.26 | 0.64 | 7,970 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $62,110 | $29.86 | 0.78 | 20,270 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $60,230 | $28.96 | 0.69 | 15,780 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $59,510 | $28.61 | 0.81 | 830 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $59,330 | $28.53 | 0.96 | 28,540 |
| Napa CA | $58,810 | $28.27 | 0.74 | 630 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $57,720 | $27.75 | 0.95 | 2,150 |
| Longview-Kelso WA | $57,580 | $27.68 | 0.96 | 430 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $57,510 | $27.65 | 0.89 | 960 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury CT | $57,440 | $27.62 | 1.31 | 5,800 |
| Salinas CA | $57,340 | $27.57 | 0.73 | 1,500 |
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $56,980 | $27.40 | 0.88 | 510 |
| Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area | $56,340 | $27.09 | 1.24 | 560 |
| Vallejo CA | $56,270 | $27.06 | 0.7 | 1,110 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford CT | $55,940 | $26.90 | 1.06 | 6,980 |
| Salem OR | $55,660 | $26.76 | 1.55 | 3,220 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $55,380 | $26.62 | 0.71 | 12,070 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro OR-WA | $55,360 | $26.62 | 1.02 | 13,510 |
| Modesto CA | $55,140 | $26.51 | 0.86 | 1,830 |
| Barnstable Town MA | $55,040 | $26.46 | 0.96 | 990 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom CA | $55,020 | $26.45 | 0.71 | 8,450 |
| Kahului-Wailuku HI | $54,820 | $26.35 | 0.98 | 790 |
| Norwich-New London-Willimantic CT | $54,340 | $26.12 | 1.01 | 1,410 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $54,320 | $26.11 | 1.47 | 2,110 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area | $22,390 | $10.76 | 1.7 | 550 |
| Aguadilla PR | $22,970 | $11.04 | 1.95 | 1,040 |
| Mayaguez PR | $23,300 | $11.20 | 1.96 | 1,120 |
| Arecibo PR | $23,580 | $11.34 | 1.65 | 630 |
| Ponce PR | $24,130 | $11.60 | 2.13 | 1,480 |
| Guayama PR | $24,220 | $11.64 | 1.55 | 210 |
| San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas PR | $26,780 | $12.87 | 1.67 | 12,690 |
| Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area | $33,860 | $16.28 | 1.7 | 1,450 |
| East Arkansas nonmetropolitan area | $34,250 | $16.47 | 0.77 | 580 |
| West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area | $34,270 | $16.48 | 1.37 | 1,390 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Fe NM | $50,170 | $24.12 | 3.55 | 2,410 |
| Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | $47,550 | $22.86 | 3.51 | 3,250 |
| Carson City NV | $49,270 | $23.69 | 2.73 | 960 |
| Las Cruces NM | $41,030 | $19.73 | 2.69 | 2,360 |
| Albuquerque NM | $46,950 | $22.57 | 2.48 | 11,020 |
| Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area | $42,850 | $20.60 | 2.45 | 4,470 |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area | $38,290 | $18.41 | 2.39 | 9,830 |
| Farmington NM | $45,860 | $22.05 | 2.39 | 1,250 |
| Southwest Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $38,120 | $18.33 | 2.34 | 1,660 |
| Topeka KS | $39,500 | $18.99 | 2.29 | 2,920 |
| Montgomery AL | $40,260 | $19.36 | 2.24 | 4,060 |
| Lawrence KS | $42,630 | $20.49 | 2.16 | 1,230 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $51,440 | $24.73 | 1.18 | 122,680 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $53,550 | $25.75 | 0.85 | 58,800 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $50,440 | $24.25 | 1.01 | 50,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $47,450 | $22.81 | 0.84 | 37,550 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $53,660 | $25.80 | 1.08 | 37,010 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $46,750 | $22.48 | 0.93 | 33,710 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach FL | $47,450 | $22.81 | 1.08 | 33,380 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $48,850 | $23.49 | 1.03 | 32,850 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MD | $49,220 | $23.66 | 2 | 29,780 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $59,330 | $28.53 | 0.96 | 28,540 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell GA | $45,270 | $21.76 | 0.8 | 25,280 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler AZ | $48,800 | $23.46 | 0.84 | 22,010 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 43-6014. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 527 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.