Answer-first summary (2026)
In 2026 the global human virtual assistant services market is worth about $19.5 billion and is projected to reach $55.4 billion by 2035 (Future Market Insights), with small and midsize businesses the largest client segment at 44.4 percent of the market. About 37 percent of small businesses outsource at least one function (Clutch), and entrepreneurs lose roughly 16 hours a week to admin tasks (Time etc). A fully loaded in-house US administrative seat lands near $30 per hour on BLS figures, versus $12 to $18 all-in for a Call Force Global nearshore virtual assistant. The statistics below are grouped by theme and individually sourced.
This page collects the virtual assistant statistics that small-business owners, writers, and analysts ask about most, each as a standalone, year-stamped sentence you can quote. The scope covers SMB adoption of virtual assistants, virtual assistant cost versus an in-house hire, hours delegated, market size, and remote-staffing trends. Each statistic is written as a self-contained sentence and grouped by topic so any single figure can be cited on its own without the surrounding context. Figures labeled Call Force Global are our own first-party operational ranges, consistent with our virtual assistant service pages, and are presented as ranges rather than single point estimates. Every external figure carries its named source and publication year inline so the original methodology can be checked, and dollar figures are stated in US dollars. Numbers we could not verify against a named source were left out.
US dollars per hour. Bars scaled against a $30 maximum; ranges show the top of each band.
CFG nearshore VA band and the ~$30 fully loaded figure: Call Force Global, 2026. US admin median base wage ($22.82/hr): US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS / OOH SOC 43-6014, May 2024. The loaded seat adds roughly 31 percent in employer benefits (BLS ECEC, June 2025).
Virtual Assistant Market Size and Growth (2026)
How big the human virtual assistant market is, who buys, and the broader outsourcing market it sits inside. All figures here are external and named.
The global virtual assistant services (human VA) market was valued at about USD 19.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 55.4 billion by 2035, a CAGR near 11.0 percent.
Source: Future Market Insights, Virtual Assistant Services Market report, 2025Small and midsize businesses are forecast to hold about 44.4 percent of the virtual assistant services market in 2025, the largest client segment.
Source: Future Market Insights, Virtual Assistant Services Market report, 2025Administrative VAs are projected to be the largest role category, at about 38.4 percent of virtual assistant services market revenue in 2025.
Source: Future Market Insights, Virtual Assistant Services Market report, 2025The global business process outsourcing market was valued at about USD 328 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow to USD 696 billion by 2033 at a 9.9 percent CAGR, the broader market VA staffing sits inside.
Source: Grand View Research, BPO Market report, 2025 (via PR Newswire)Human VAs vs AI virtual assistants
The figures above are for human virtual assistant services. The separate AI or "intelligent" virtual assistant market (chatbots, smart speakers, voice assistants) is a different category and is projected to reach about USD 14.10 billion by 2030 at a 24.3 percent CAGR (Grand View Research, Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market, 2023). The two are not mixed in the human-VA numbers on this page.
VA Cost vs In-House Hire (2026)
What an administrative seat costs in-house, and how a nearshore virtual assistant compares. The in-house figures are federal wage data; the Call Force Global band is an operational range.
The median wage for U.S. secretaries and administrative assistants was $47,460 per year (about $22.82 per hour) in May 2024, the unloaded base before benefits and overhead.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS / OOH SOC 43-6014, May 2024Employer-paid benefits add roughly 31 percent on top of wages for U.S. civilian workers, with total compensation averaging $48.05 per hour and benefits $15.03 of that, in June 2025.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2025The SHRM benchmark average cost-per-hire is $4,129 (SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking, 2016 report), and rises well beyond that for specialized or senior roles.
Source: SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking report (2016)Replacing an employee costs between 50 percent and 200 percent of their annual salary once recruiting, training, lost productivity, and ramp time are counted.
Source: SHRM (replacement-cost estimate)Call Force Global nearshore virtual assistants run $12 to $18 per hour, all-in, for native-English support staff in the Caribbean and Latin America on U.S. time zones.
Source: Call Force Global, 2026Against a U.S. administrative-assistant base of about $22.82 per hour before benefits (BLS, May 2024) plus roughly 31 percent in employer benefits (BLS ECEC, June 2025), a fully loaded in-house admin seat lands near $30 per hour, so a $12 to $18 CFG nearshore VA is a meaningful loaded-cost reduction without offshore time-zone or accent friction.
Source: Call Force Global, using the BLS figures above, 2026Call Force Global Cost Snapshot (2026)
- $12 to $18 per hour, all-in for a Call Force Global nearshore virtual assistant, native-English on U.S. time zones.
- Against a fully loaded in-house U.S. admin seat near $30 per hour, built from the BLS base wage plus the BLS benefits load.
- No far-offshore time-zone or accent friction, because the work runs from the Caribbean and Latin America on U.S. business hours.
Stated as arithmetic on public BLS data, not a guaranteed savings claim. Free to cite with attribution to Call Force Global.
For how a Call Force Global virtual assistant is scoped and priced, see our virtual assistant service and small business virtual assistant pages, or build your VA to spec the role. When the delegated work shifts from admin into front-line tickets and calls, the same nearshore team also runs outsourced customer service at the same $12 to $18 band.
SMB Adoption and Why They Outsource (2026)
How many small businesses outsource, and the reasons they give. All figures here are external and named.
About 37 percent of small businesses outsource at least one business function, per a survey of 517 U.S. small-business leaders.
Source: Clutch small-business survey, 2024 (via PR Newswire)Cost reduction (59 percent) and access to expertise (57 percent) are the two leading reasons small businesses give for outsourcing, in a near tie.
Source: Clutch small-business survey, 2024Among executives, 42 percent now name access to specialized talent as the top driver of outsourcing, while cost reduction has fallen from 70 percent in 2020 to 34 percent.
Source: Deloitte 2024 Global Outsourcing Survey80 percent of executives plan to maintain or increase investment in third-party outsourcing.
Source: Deloitte 2024 Global Outsourcing SurveyCall Force Global VAs are fronters and support staff, not licensed professionals: they handle reception, scheduling, intake, lead pre-qualification, data entry, and overflow, and they do not give licensed, regulated, or professional advice.
Source: Call Force Global scope, 2026Hours and Tasks SMBs Delegate (2026)
The admin load owners carry, and the specific tasks they hand off first. The hours figure and the task breakdown are from the same named survey.
Entrepreneurs at growing businesses spend about 36 percent of a 45.5-hour work week (roughly 16 hours) on administrative tasks, in a survey of 251 U.S. entrepreneurs.
Source: Time etc / Censuswide survey, 2023Tasks SMBs delegate first
In the same Time etc survey, the administrative tasks entrepreneurs spend the most time on, and most commonly hand to a virtual assistant, were:
- Managing expenses: 59 percent
- Research: 49 percent
- Scheduling: 45 percent
- Invoicing: 44 percent
- Data entry: 43 percent
Remote and Freelance Staffing Trends (2026)
The size of the remote-capable and independent labor pool that virtual assistant staffing draws on. All figures here are external and named.
More than 1 in 4 (28 percent) U.S. skilled knowledge workers now freelance or work independently, generating about $1.5 trillion in earnings in 2024.
Source: Upwork, Freelance Forward / investor press release, 202458 percent of U.S. workers can work from home at least one day a week and 35 percent can work remotely full time, evidence of a large, established remote-capable labor pool.
Source: McKinsey American Opportunity Survey, 2023Free to cite
Every Call Force Global figure on this page is free to cite with attribution to Call Force Global. Please link back to this page or to our virtual assistant service page. External figures should be attributed to their named original source.
"The most useful number for a small-business owner is rarely the headline hourly rate. It is the fully loaded cost per productive hour after benefits, hiring, and ramp are counted, set against the 16 hours a week most owners are losing to admin. That is the gap these statistics are built to help you reconstruct."
Why Choose
Call Force Global
We operate exclusively in the Caribbean and Latin American nearshore market, delivering dedicated virtual assistants and support staff with all-inclusive pricing that bundles technology, QA, training, and management into one transparent rate.
Your Time Zone
Real-time collaboration with US business hours
No Hidden Fees
All-inclusive rates, no billing surprises
Rapid Deployment
Standard programs live in 2-3 weeks
Related Reading
- Virtual assistant service – how a Call Force Global nearshore VA is staffed, scoped, and priced.
- Small business virtual assistant – the SMB-focused version of the same service, built for owner-led teams.
- Build your VA – spec the role, tasks, and hours and get a written quote.
- Call center and customer service outsourcing statistics 2026 – the companion data asset on voice and contact center cost, attrition, and CSAT.
- Caribbean Nearshore Wage Index 2026 – fully loaded wages by country, role, and tenure behind the cost math.
Download the data
All 15 external statistics on this page, plus the 3 Call Force Global first-party figures, each with named source and year, are available as CSV and JSON for analysis, citation, or AI ingestion. Free to use with attribution to Call Force Global.
Cite This Page
Writers and researchers are welcome to cite the Call Force Global figures on this page with attribution. Use the reference below.
APA
Call Force Global. (2026). Virtual Assistant Statistics and Cost Data for SMBs (2026). Retrieved from https://callforce.global/blog/virtual-assistant-statistics-2026/
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a virtual assistant cost vs an in-house employee in 2026?
On public data, a US in-house administrative assistant costs about $22.82 per hour in base wage (BLS median, $47,460 per year, May 2024), and employer benefits add roughly 31 percent of total compensation (BLS ECEC, June 2025), so a fully loaded in-house admin seat lands near $30 per hour. Call Force Global nearshore virtual assistants run $12 to $18 per hour all-in for native-English support staff on US time zones. The gap is arithmetic on public figures, not a guaranteed savings claim.
What percentage of small businesses use virtual assistants or outsource tasks?
About 37 percent of small businesses outsource at least one business function, per a Clutch survey of 517 US small-business leaders. Small and midsize businesses are also forecast to hold about 44.4 percent of the virtual assistant services market in 2025, the largest client segment, according to Future Market Insights.
How many hours a week do small-business owners spend on admin work?
Entrepreneurs at growing businesses spend about 36 percent of a 45.5-hour work week, roughly 16 hours, on administrative tasks, in a Time etc survey of 251 US entrepreneurs conducted by Censuswide. Those are the hours most commonly handed to a virtual assistant.
How big is the virtual assistant market in 2026?
The global human virtual assistant services market was valued at about USD 19.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach USD 55.4 billion by 2035, a CAGR near 11.0 percent, according to Future Market Insights. This is separate from the AI or chatbot intelligent virtual assistant market, which is a different category and should not be mixed with human-VA figures.
What tasks do SMBs most commonly delegate to a virtual assistant?
In the Time etc survey, the administrative tasks entrepreneurs spend the most time on, and most commonly delegate, are managing expenses (59 percent), research (49 percent), scheduling (45 percent), invoicing (44 percent), and data entry (43 percent). These are typical first tasks handed to a virtual assistant.
Are Call Force Global virtual assistants licensed professionals?
No. Call Force Global VAs are fronters and support staff, not licensed professionals. They handle reception, scheduling, intake, lead pre-qualification, data entry, and overflow, and they do not give licensed, regulated, or professional advice.
Get updated
Subscribe to our newsletter & get the latest BPO insights
No spam, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.
Get a Custom Virtual Assistant Quote
Tell us about the tasks and hours you want covered and we will deliver a transparent, all-inclusive pricing proposal within 24 hours. No setup fees, no hidden costs.