LOA Salary: What It Really Costs to Hire In-House
The average loan officer assistant salary in the US is about $48,700 a year, or roughly $23 an hour, based on early 2026 data from ZipRecruiter and Salary.com. That's the number on the job posting. It's not the number that actually shows up on your books once benefits, training time, and turnover risk get added in.
What Does an LOA Actually Get Paid?
Two of the most reliable salary sources land close together. ZipRecruiter puts the average at $48,682 a year ($23.40/hour) as of March 2026, with most LOAs falling between $37,500 and $51,000 depending on experience, and top earners reaching $75,000. Salary.com's March 2026 data shows a similar picture: $49,675 a year ($24/hour), with a typical range of $42,459 to $59,250. Pay shifts based on experience, location, and whether the assistant is licensed.
Why Does Glassdoor Show a Much Higher Number?
You may run across a Glassdoor figure closer to $73,000. That number blends "Loan Officer Assistant" job titles across every industry that uses the term, including Information Technology, where a similarly titled role averages $93,516. Glassdoor's own Financial Services-specific figure is $50,891, which lines up closely with ZipRecruiter and Salary.com. If you're hiring for mortgage-specific work, the roughly $48,700 to $50,900 range is the number to actually plan around.
What Does Base Salary Leave Out?
Base pay is only part of the cost. Employer benefits, including health insurance, retirement contributions, and legally required costs like Social Security and Medicare, typically add close to 30% on top of wages for the average US employer. Applied to a $48,700 salary, that pushes the real cost to somewhere around $69,600 a year, coincidentally close to the fully loaded math we've broken down in detail for a $70,000 role.
See the full benefits-load math → What Does a $70,000 Employee Actually Cost? The Real Math
What Else Adds to the Real Cost?
Two more costs rarely make it into a hiring budget until they show up. Recruiting and hiring an employee typically costs $4,700 to $4,800 in direct expenses alone, job postings, interview time, background checks, before that person has done a single day of work. And if the hire doesn't work out, replacement cost runs even higher: a common industry estimate puts turnover cost at six to nine months of salary, which for a $48,700 role works out to $24,350 to $36,525, with some research putting the range as high as 50% to 200% of annual salary depending on the role and how the departure is handled.
So What's the Real Number for an In-House LOA?
Put together: roughly $48,700 in base salary becomes close to $69,600 once standard benefits are factored in. Add the one-time cost of hiring, another $4,700 to $4,800, and you're looking at closer to $74,000 to $75,000 before the role has worked a full year. Add the real, if occasional, risk of turnover, potentially another $24,000 to $37,000 or more if it happens, and the honest cost of an in-house LOA sits well above the number most job postings advertise.
Why This Matters When Weighing In-House vs. Outsourced Support
This isn't a case against hiring in-house. It's a case for comparing the real number, not just the salary line, against what outsourced support actually costs before deciding which model fits your business.
Read the full comparison → Loan Officer Assistant vs. In-House Hire: Which Fits Your Business
FAQ
What is the average salary for a loan officer assistant? Around $48,700 to $49,700 a year based on 2026 data from ZipRecruiter and Salary.com, or roughly $23 to $24 an hour. Pay varies by experience, location, and licensing.
Does the LOA salary include benefits and taxes? No. The salary figure is base pay only. Standard employer benefits typically add close to 30% on top, which pushes the real annual cost of a $48,700 role to roughly $69,600.
Is it cheaper to hire an LOA in-house or outsource the role? It depends on your volume and how you weigh cost against control. In-house carries the full benefits, training, and turnover cost outlined above. Outsourced support shifts much of that overhead off your books, but comes with its own tradeoffs worth comparing directly.
See what a loan officer assistant could actually cost for your business. Contact us.