What does it cost to hire an office support supervisor in Washington?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $76,400 median wage in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,280 to $22,920 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for an office support supervisor in Washington look like?

Employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers a median of $76,400, with the middle half of the market between $61,110 and $96,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $61,110 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Hiring an office support supervisor in Washington, DC

Employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers a median of $76,400 a year, with the middle half of the market between $61,110 and $96,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-1011). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Washington residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay?

Washington residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $54,223 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,360 as the median of the 53 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 2%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole office and administrative support group, not this one role. In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area the group covers 53 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks at $37,690 to executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $90,320 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers at $76,400 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 53 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Washington and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does an office support supervisor earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers by employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-1011.
25th percentile	$61,110
Median	$76,400
75th percentile	$96,110

Half of first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers in this area earn between $61,110 and $96,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $61,110 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-1011 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Washington residents earn

$54,223

Median annual earnings of Washington residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 27,193 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

Supervise the work of office, administrative, or customer service employees to ensure adherence to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures, correcting errors or problems.
Resolve customer complaints or answer customers' questions regarding policies and procedures.
Provide employees with guidance in handling difficult or complex problems or in resolving escalated complaints or disputes.
Review records or reports pertaining to activities such as production, payroll, or shipping to verify details, monitor work activities, or evaluate performance.
Discuss job performance problems with employees to identify causes and issues and to work on resolving problems.

Task statements for SOC 43-1011, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, Apple macOS, Facebook, Google Docs.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-1011 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Washington?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-1011.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 63.6% of Washington adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Washington aged 25 and over.

The average Washington commute runs 30.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 29.4% of Washington workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Washington.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In District of Columbia, administrative and support services employs 47,993 and turns over 12.4% a quarter, with 10,207 hires against 10,293 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,728 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $76,400 median in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $15,280 to $22,920 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring an office support supervisor in Washington

What does it cost to hire an office support supervisor in Washington?: Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $76,400 median wage in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $15,280 to $22,920 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for an office support supervisor in Washington look like?: Employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers a median of $76,400, with the middle half of the market between $61,110 and $96,110 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $61,110 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Washington residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area pay?: Washington residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $54,223 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,360 as the median of the 53 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 2%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Washington?: This is a job zone 3 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 63.6% of Washington adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring an office support supervisor somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Washington

Washington is the largest of 1 District of Columbia cities in this dataset.