What Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earn in Miami-Dade County, FL
The median pay for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Miami-Dade County, FL is $45,060 per year, which works out to $21.66 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area, the labor market that Miami-Dade County, FL belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $44,960, which is 0.2% below the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 27,020 people working in this occupation across the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Miami-Dade County, FL has roughly 2,738,356 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,190 a year ($17.40 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $58,640 or more ($28.19 an hour). That is a gap of $22,450 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $38,170 at the 25th percentile and $47,950 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.66 an hour or $45,060 a year at the median for Miami-Dade County, FL. Before any deductions, that is $3,755 a month, $1,733 every two weeks and $867 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.43 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Miami-Dade County, FL compares
Compared with the Florida average
A worker in this occupation in Miami-Dade County, FL earns $2,373 more than the Florida average of $42,687, a premium of 5.6%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,373 before tax and roughly $2,019 after tax. Within Florida, Miami-Dade County, FL already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is $45,555 across the contiguous United States. At $45,060, Miami-Dade County, FL pays $495 less, which is 1.1% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Miami-Dade County, FL
Among the 572 occupations with published wages in Miami-Dade County, FL, Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants ranks number 425 by median pay, ahead of about 26% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Financial Managers at $164,230 a year, which is $119,170 more than the median for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earning the Miami-Dade County, FL median of $45,060, they add up to $6,726. The result is $38,334 of take-home pay a year ($3,195 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 14.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $29,310. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,279, an effective 7.3% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,794 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $653. FICA totals $3,447, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Florida
Florida does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Miami-Dade County, FL is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $2,253 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $188 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Miami-Dade County, FL
IRS Statistics of Income data for Miami-Dade County, FL show an average adjusted gross income of $93,606 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 18.1% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.1%, compared with the 7.3% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Miami-Dade County, FL
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Miami-Dade County, FL: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $38,334 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Miami-Dade County, FL, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,121 a month ($25,452 a year), and at $2,564 for two bedrooms. For Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, a one-bedroom absorbs 66.4% of take-home pay and 56.5% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.6% of gross pay for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Miami-Dade County, FL. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Florida residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,494 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $1,005, for $2,498 in total. Gasoline in Florida averages $3.08 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,427.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $32,814 a year in Miami-Dade County, FL. Subtract that from $38,334 of take-home pay and $5,521 remains, which is $460 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 12.3% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants afford to live in Miami-Dade County, FL?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $45,060 that ceiling is $1,127 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,121 is $995 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $40.79 an hour; the median for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is $21.66, which is 47% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.43 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 26.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,564 a month means $1,282 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $10,068 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $15,589.
How fast you can save
At $460 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 22 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 44 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay in Miami-Dade County, FL
How much do Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants make per hour in Miami-Dade County, FL?
The median is $21.66 per hour, based on $45,060 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.40 at the 10th percentile to $28.19 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants take home after taxes in Miami-Dade County, FL?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $45,060 becomes $38,334 a year. That is $3,195 a month, $1,474 every two weeks or $737 a week.
How much tax do Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants pay in Miami-Dade County, FL?
Total taxes are $6,726 a year, an effective rate of 14.9%: $3,279 federal income tax, $3,447 FICA and no Florida income tax.
Do Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants earn more in Miami-Dade County, FL than elsewhere in Florida?
Yes. The local median of $45,060 is +5.6% versus the Florida average of $42,687, a difference of $2,373 a year.
Can Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants afford a one-bedroom apartment in Miami-Dade County, FL?
A one-bedroom costs $2,121 a month against take-home pay of $3,195, which is 66.4% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,127 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants in Miami-Dade County, FL?
About $460 a month ($5,521 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $32,814 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Miami-Dade County, FL at the 30% guideline?
$40.79 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $25,452 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants is $21.66.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Florida rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.