Essential Virtual Assistant Statistics for 2023

By Bill Peatman | Updated: 01 Mar, 2023

The virtual assistant business is booming. As remote work has become the norm, executives are turning to remote administrative, sales, and back-office assistants to handle their ice support teams and help them offload day-to-day tasks. You might want to know more about the virtual assistant industry and how executives use VAs to make their lives easier.

Let's start with a definition: A virtual assistant is a remote administrative assistant. That's a general category. Everyday tasks VAs can take on include:

  • Scheduling meetings
  • Email and phone correspondence
  • Planning travel and filing expenses
  • CRM data entry and management
  • Following up with sales leads
  • Email marketing
  • Social media management
  • Invoicing and payment processing
  • Data entry and cleanup
  • Bookkeeping
  • Other general administrative tasks

Other virtual assistants provide more specialized services. These aren't admins but professionals with training in disciplines such as:

Now, onto the virtual assistant statistics!

Essential Virtual Assistant Statistics

1. There are either 25,000—or 30+ million virtual assistants in the world.

It depends on how you count. If you consider any remote freelancer as a virtual assistant, there are 10s of millions. There are 12 million freelancers on Upwork, 20 million on Freelancer, and 3 million on Fiverr. Wikipedia says the number of people with the title "Virtual Assistant" is closer to 25,000.

2. There are 5,600 members of the International Virtual Assistant Association (IVAA).

Virtual assistants even have their own trade association.

"The organization strives to promote, support, and preserve the integrity of this rapidly growing industry through interactive online programs and one-on-one networking," IVAA's mission statement says. IVAA is without stock and is governed by volunteer professionals worldwide who are in practice as and/or mentor virtual assistants and freelancers."

3. The Philippines has most of the world's virtual assistants at 13%.

It's difficult to get hard numbers on virtual assistant populations because there isn't a global Bureau of Labor Statistics that measures employment, and many virtual assistants work independently, under the radar of governments.

If you use Upwork as a proxy, the largest percentage (13) of the marketplace's virtual assistants are in the Philippines. That number is representative of the overall virtual assistant market.

4. The hiring of offshore virtual assistants through offshore agencies increased 41% in 2020. 

The demand for virtual assistants is only growing! Much of this growth came as businesses closed offices in 2020, and many realized that virtual offices benefit from virtual assistants.

5. Freelance virtual assistants working through online marketplaces increased their bookings by 16% in 2020.

During the pandemic, solo practitioners also found their businesses growing as demand grew for people experienced in remote work.

6. The Philippines is the unofficial best country for virtual assistants.

What country has the "best" virtual assistants? This is another question that is hard to answer objectively. Many people cite the Philippines as offering the most educated, literate, and hardworking virtual assistants. The country has a 96% literacy rate and free college. The country also ranks as the world's best outsourcing destination for business English.

7. Virtual assistants make $2 to $20 per hour.

According to Indeed, a U.S.-based virtual assistant makes about $24 per hour. Glassdoor says salaries for VAs in the Philippines are $14-$16 per hour. That said, you can find job boards that offer virtual assistants in the Philippines for as low as $2 per hour, so GlassDoor's numbers may not represent the whole market.

8. There are three ways to hire a virtual assistant:

  • Hire a freelancer through a marketplace or job board.
  • Use an agency that provides independent contractor VAs.
  • Use a managed service that hires, trains, and manages the VAs for you.

What's the best way to hire? It depends on how much you want to be responsible for employment, management, and quality control. A freelancer will take the most effort on your part and a managed service the least.

Learn More: Types of Virtual Assistants

9. 87% of VAs work for hourly wages.

How do you pay a virtual assistant? It'll depend on how you hire. Virtual assistant industry statistics will look different when you drill down into each type of employment, but you're typically paying hourly. 

  • If you hire a freelancer, you pay through the marketplace or use an online payment app like PayPal or Payoneer if you direct-hire a VA.
  • If you hire a contractor through an agency, you pay the agency.
  • If you use a managed virtual assistant service, you pay the service provider.

Related Reading: How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?

10. 59% of virtual assistants work full-time.

This essential virtual assistant statistic may seem high because VAs are usually part-time roles. However, many virtual assistants support multiple clients, making it a full-time job. It can greatly benefit those who need fractional, as-needed access to virtual assistants. 

11. 60% of virtual assistants have a college education.

This statistic also surprises many people. But in countries like the Philippines and India, working as a virtual assistant can be far more attractive than the most common jobs available to college grads— working in call centers. Virtual assistants enjoy working with executives and building long-term, productive relationships.

12. Virtual assistants costs 78% less than full-time, on-site employees.

It takes about $4,000 and four months to hire an employee in the U.S. You also provide salary, benefits, office space, computers, etc. With a virtual assistant, you pay only the hourly rate. This savings is one of the top benefits of hiring a virtual assistant instead of an in-house employee. 

13. 69% of virtual assistants are married.

This virtual assistant statistic may also surprise those who think VAs are vagabonds who want to work from anywhere. That may have been the case in the past, but the industry is changing. Read on.

14. Executives spend 16 hours per week on day-to-day admin work.

Where does the time go?

  • It takes 25 minutes to schedule a meeting.
  • They spend three hours a day on email correspondence.
  • It takes 12 hours to plan a business trip.

Getting that time back is one of the biggest drivers for virtual assistants. Executives spend too much time on tasks that they can easily outsource. Instead of paying themselves a high salary to do their admin work, executives and HR teams invest in virtual assistants.

Learn More: The 2024 Prialto Executive Productivity Report

15. There are more than 150,000 virtual assistant jobs posted on Ziprecruiter.com in the United States alone.

That's a lot! Though not as many jobs as "software developer "(700,000+) and "website developer" (300,000), for some perspective.

16. The average age of a virtual assistant in the U.S. is 40. 

Another shocker, right? Virtual assistants access vital business information and responsibilities. Executives are looking for seasoned people they can trust.

17. 85% of virtual assistants have a professional website.

This statistic shows further evidence that VAs are serious about their businesses and are investing in online marketing to grow.

18. 28-35% of high-earning executives use a virtual assistant.

Our yearly Executive Productivity Report found that 35% of executives used a virtual assistant in 2023, and 28% did in 2024.

Virtual Assistant Industry Statistics Suggest the Market is Changing

The virtual assistant is an emerging profession, as shown by the fact that most VAs are married, have college degrees, are older, and work full-time. Market analysts measure the virtual assistant industry, and trade associations are forming.

A recent Staffing Industry Analysts report (SIA) identified the virtual assistant landscape as a growing sector in the broader Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry.

SIA also found that virtual assistant businesses grew during the pandemic and are increasingly used by enterprises to improve executive productivity.

The economy and workplace norms are changing fast, and we expect to see the impact continue in the virtual assistant industry over the next couple of years.

Learn more: Curious how hiring virtual assistants with Prialto? Read our guide.