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Administrative Assistant exam guide by state
Administrative assistant and clerical candidates take a civil service exam measuring the skills needed for office work in a government agency — filing, correspondence, grammar, and basic math.
Hiring outlook
Broadest volume of recurring openings
Average salary
$49k median track
Exam difficulty
Beginner friendly
Featured state
Florida
Typical agencies
State agencies, courts, school districts, local departments
Exam length
1.5–2.5 hours
Written civil service exam
Competitive score
Passing-score rules vary by agency — confirm the official announcement
State coverage
50 role pages
Searchable by state and region
State pages
Open a state guide to compare salary patterns, exam sections, and the administering civil service body.
Show all 50 statesHide state groups
State pages
Open a state guide to compare salary patterns, exam sections, and the administering civil service body.
Northeast
11 statesConnecticutCT · Connecticut Department of Administrative ServicesDelawareDE · Delaware Department of Human ResourcesMaineME · Maine Bureau of Human ResourcesMarylandMD · Maryland Department of Budget and ManagementMassachusettsMA · Massachusetts Human Resources DivisionNew HampshireNH · New Hampshire Division of PersonnelNew JerseyNJ · New Jersey Civil Service CommissionNew YorkNY · New York Department of Civil ServicePennsylvaniaPA · Pennsylvania State Civil Service CommissionRhode IslandRI · Rhode Island Department of AdministrationVermontVT · Vermont Department of Human Resources
South
12 statesAlabamaAL · Alabama State Personnel DepartmentArkansasAR · Arkansas Office of Personnel ManagementFloridaFL · Florida Department of Management ServicesGeorgiaGA · Georgia State Personnel AdministrationKentuckyKY · Kentucky Personnel CabinetLouisianaLA · Louisiana Department of Civil ServiceMississippiMS · Mississippi State Personnel BoardNorth CarolinaNC · North Carolina Office of State Human ResourcesSouth CarolinaSC · South Carolina Division of State Human ResourcesTennesseeTN · Tennessee Department of Human ResourcesVirginiaVA · Virginia Department of Human Resource ManagementWest VirginiaWV · West Virginia Division of Personnel
Midwest
12 statesIllinoisIL · Illinois Department of Central Management ServicesIndianaIN · Indiana State Personnel DepartmentIowaIA · Iowa Department of Administrative ServicesKansasKS · Kansas Department of AdministrationMichiganMI · Michigan Civil Service CommissionMinnesotaMN · Minnesota Department of Employee RelationsMissouriMO · Missouri Office of AdministrationNebraskaNE · Nebraska Department of Administrative ServicesNorth DakotaND · North Dakota Office of Management and BudgetOhioOH · Ohio Department of Administrative ServicesSouth DakotaSD · South Dakota Bureau of Human ResourcesWisconsinWI · Wisconsin Department of Administration
Southwest
4 statesWest
11 statesAlaskaAK · Alaska Department of AdministrationCaliforniaCA · California Department of Human Resources (CalHR)ColoradoCO · Colorado Department of Personnel & AdministrationHawaiiHI · Hawaii Department of Human Resources DevelopmentIdahoID · Idaho Division of Human ResourcesMontanaMT · Montana Department of AdministrationNevadaNV · Nevada Department of AdministrationOregonOR · Oregon Department of Administrative ServicesUtahUT · Utah Department of Human Resource ManagementWashingtonWA · Washington Department of Enterprise ServicesWyomingWY · Wyoming Department of Administration and Information