Source: https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/united-states/ Title: Chief of Staff hourly rate in the United States | Deftridge Summary: Chief of Staff pay in the United States: median wage $69 an hour, typical part-time contractor rate $145. The rate is on every task, before you apply. United States · **Updated November 4, 2026** # Chief of Staff hourly rate in United States The market median wage for a Chief of Staff in the United States is **$69.01 an hour**. A senior part-time contractor typically receives **$145 an hour** on Deftridge. **$145/hr** typical contractor rate, senior **$69.01/hr** median wage **$47-109** middle half of wages **$3,140** a month at 5 hours a week ## Chief of Staff wage percentiles in United States Employee wages for the role. The yellow row is the median. | Percentile | Per hour | 5 h a week, per month | Full time, per year | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 10th | $32.68 | $710 | $68,000 | | 25th | $47.18 | $1,020 | $98,100 | | Median | $69.01 | $1,500 | $143,500 | | 75th | $109.13 | $2,360 | $227,000 | | 90th | $165.31 | $3,580 | $343,800 | Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025; aged to October 2026; about 3,584,420 people employed in the role. [How rates are built](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/). ## United States in numbers What sets the United States apart for a Chief of Staff, from the same sources as the table above. - **$115.42** highest median wage, District of Columbia - **$44.35** lowest median wage, Arkansas - **3,584,420** people employed in the role - **$126.46** median wage in the San Jose metro area, the highest in the country - **$35** country floor: no United States rate is published below it - Self-employment tax is 15.3%: 12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare; the employer-equivalent half is deductible in working out adjusted gross income. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) - For 2026 the first $184,500 of combined wages, tips and net self-employment earnings is subject to the Social Security part. [Source](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/self-employment-tax-social-security-and-medicare-taxes) ## What contractors receive The Deftridge rate for a Chief of Staff in the United States by level and by format. The company adds 15% on top; you keep all of the rate shown. | Level | Per hour | Per month at 5 h/week | | --- | --- | --- | | Manager | $120 | $2,600 | | Director | $145 | $3,140 | - Regular role **$145** - One-off task **$165** - Task bundle **$150** ## Chief of Staff pay by region in United States Typical contractor rate for a senior Chief of Staff, highest first; 9 of 51 places shown. | Place | Median wage | Contractor rate | | --- | --- | --- | | District of Columbia | $115.42 | $245 | | California | $97.48 | $205 | | Delaware | $94.47 | $200 | | New Jersey | $94.17 | $200 | | South Dakota | $92.07 | $195 | | New York | $90.33 | $190 | | Washington | $86.08 | $180 | | Colorado | $86.02 | $180 | | Rhode Island | $84.20 | $175 | ## Highest-paying metro areas Median employee wage for the role in the metro area (BLS OEWS). - [San Jose $126.46/hr median wage · range $81-185](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) - [San Francisco $118.38/hr median wage · range $77-170](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) - [Washington, D.C. $104.48/hr median wage · range $67-134](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/district-of-columbia/) - [New York City $103.71/hr median wage · range $67-154](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/new-york/) - [Trenton $100.74/hr median wage · range $72-159](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/new-jersey/) - [Los Angeles $99.32/hr median wage · range $66-161](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) - [San Diego $97.48/hr median wage · range $64-152](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) - [Napa $97.22/hr median wage · range $69-138](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) - [Sioux Falls $95.87/hr median wage · range $72-135](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/south-dakota/) - [Sacramento $93.54/hr median wage · range $63-132](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/california/) ## Questions about pay, fees and privacy The same rules apply to every task, so they live on two pages: [Pricing](https://deftridge.com/pricing/) explains the 15% fee, prepayment and when you are paid; [How it works](https://deftridge.com/how-it-works/) covers matching, what a company sees and side work next to a job. [Chief of Staff rates in every country](https://deftridge.com/rates/chief-of-staff/) · [Chief of Staff jobs in United States](https://deftridge.com/jobs/chief-of-staff/united-states/) · [Methodology](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/)