Key Takeaways: The 2027 State of Virtual Assistance Report
- 61% of small businesses plan to increase their outsourcing in 2027.
- The average virtual assistant costs $10 to $15 per hour, a fraction of a US-based hire.
- Owners save 15 to 25 hours per week once a virtual assistant is fully onboarded.
- Most outsourced jobs include admin, customer service, social media, and bookkeeping.
- Real estate, e-commerce, professional services, and healthcare are hiring the most VAs.
- AI tools are amplifying what a single virtual assistant can accomplish.
Hiring a virtual assistant has quickly become one of the smartest moves a small business can make. The way American small businesses build their teams is changing faster than at any point in the last decade. To understand exactly how, GO Hire Virtual surveyed hundreds of business owners across the United States about how they use virtual assistants, what they pay, what they outsource, and where they plan to invest next. The results paint a clear picture: outsourcing is no longer a cost-cutting experiment reserved for a handful of tech-savvy founders. It has become a mainstream growth strategy, and the momentum is accelerating.
The headline number from our 2027 State of Virtual Assistance Report is impossible to ignore: 61% of small businesses plan to increase their outsourcing in 2027. That single statistic reflects a broad shift in how owners think about their time, their payroll, and their capacity to grow. This report walks through what we found, what it means for the market, and why real stories from real clients matter just as much as the numbers.
Why We Ran This Study
Every year the conversation around virtual assistants gets louder, but the hard data stays thin. Business owners hear anecdotes from a friend who hired a VA, or they read a testimonial on a company website, and they are left guessing whether those experiences reflect the broader market. We wanted to replace guesswork with evidence, so we surveyed hundreds of business owners across a wide range of industries and company sizes. We asked practical questions about cost, hours, tasks, concerns, and future plans. The goal was simple: give owners a realistic benchmark they can use to make smarter staffing decisions.
How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?
Cost is almost always the first question owners ask, and the data confirms why virtual assistants have become so popular. Across the businesses we surveyed, the average cost of a virtual assistant landed in the range of $10 to $15 per hour for general administrative support, with specialized roles such as bookkeeping, marketing, or medical support commanding somewhat higher rates. For many owners, that translates to a monthly investment that is a fraction of what a comparable in-house hire would cost once salary, benefits, taxes, equipment, and office space are factored in. The affordability is not just about a lower hourly number; it is about paying only for the hours and skills a business actually needs, without the fixed overhead of a full-time domestic employee.
US Employee vs. Virtual Assistant Cost
The gap becomes even clearer when owners compare a virtual assistant directly against a US-based employee. A full-time domestic administrative hire in the United States frequently costs a business well over $45,000 to $55,000 per year once benefits, payroll taxes, paid time off, and workspace are included. By contrast, many of the owners we surveyed reported staffing similar support functions with a virtual assistant for a small fraction of that annual figure. The savings are substantial enough that owners consistently described outsourcing as the single change that freed up the most budget for reinvestment. Rather than viewing it as choosing a cheaper worker, most framed it as reallocating money away from overhead and back into growth, whether that meant advertising, product development, or hiring for revenue-generating roles.
The Most Outsourced Jobs
When we asked owners which tasks they hand off first, a consistent pattern emerged. Administrative work topped the list, including inbox and calendar management, data entry, and scheduling. Close behind were customer service and support, social media management, bookkeeping and invoicing, lead generation, and general research. What these roles share is that they are essential, repeatable, and time-consuming, yet they rarely require the owner’s personal touch. By delegating them to a virtual assistant, owners reclaim the hours they need to focus on strategy, sales, and the relationships that actually move a business forward. Increasingly, owners also reported outsourcing more specialized work such as content writing, graphic design, and e-commerce store management as they grew comfortable trusting remote team members with higher-stakes projects.
Average Hours Saved Each Week
Time savings were one of the most striking findings in the study. Owners working with a virtual assistant reported reclaiming a significant chunk of their week, with many estimating they save between 15 and 25 hours every week once a VA is fully onboarded. For a busy founder, that is the equivalent of adding two or three full working days back into the month. Just as important as the raw number is how owners described using that reclaimed time. Instead of drowning in administrative busywork, they were meeting clients, developing new offers, and finally stepping back to work on the business rather than in it. Several owners noted that the time savings also improved their quality of life, giving them back evenings and weekends they had previously sacrificed to keep operations running.
Industries Hiring the Most Virtual Assistants
While virtual assistants show up in nearly every corner of the small business economy, a handful of industries stood out for their heavy adoption. Real estate professionals were among the most active, relying on VAs to manage listings, coordinate showings, and nurture leads. E-commerce and retail businesses leaned on VAs for order processing, product listings, and customer support. Professional services firms, including law offices, accounting practices, and consultants, used VAs to handle scheduling and client intake. Coaches, agencies, and online educators rounded out the list, using remote support to manage content, communities, and administrative overhead. The common thread is that these are relationship-driven, high-volume businesses where owner time is the scarcest resource.
Healthcare VA Adoption
One of the fastest-growing categories in our data was healthcare. Medical, dental, and optometry practices are turning to virtual assistants to handle the administrative load that pulls clinical staff away from patients. Appointment scheduling, insurance verification, patient follow-up, billing support, and records management are all being delegated to trained remote assistants. Practices reported that this shift not only reduced overhead but also cut down the after-hours administrative work that contributes to staff burnout. Because healthcare carries strict privacy and compliance expectations, owners in this space emphasized the importance of working with VAs who are trained in secure, compliant workflows, a demand that has shaped how modern virtual assistance providers structure their services.
The Biggest Outsourcing Concerns
No honest report would ignore the hesitations owners feel before they delegate. The concerns owners raised most often were communication and time zones, data security and confidentiality, training and onboarding time, and the fear of losing quality or control. These worries are legitimate, and they explain why so many first-time outsourcers start with a single, low-risk task before expanding. What the data showed, however, is that these concerns tend to fade quickly once a strong virtual assistant is in place. Owners who invested a little time up front in clear processes and expectations reported that their assistants became trusted, self-directed team members within weeks. The concern that once felt like a barrier was, in hindsight, a manageable onboarding phase rather than a permanent limitation.
AI Tasks Being Assigned to VAs
One of the most forward-looking findings in the study is how virtual assistants and artificial intelligence are increasingly working side by side. Rather than replacing VAs, AI tools are making them dramatically more productive. Owners reported that their assistants now use AI to draft first versions of emails and social posts, summarize long documents and meeting notes, organize and clean data, generate content outlines, and handle repetitive research at speed. The assistant remains the human in the loop, applying judgment, quality control, and brand voice while the AI handles the heavy lifting. This pairing is quietly reshaping expectations: owners no longer see a choice between hiring a person or adopting AI. The most effective setup is a skilled virtual assistant who knows how to use AI tools well, delivering more output per hour than either could produce alone.
Client Success Story: Tracy Williams
Numbers tell you what is happening across the market. Stories tell you why it matters. Tracy Williams’ experience is a powerful example of what a virtual assistant can mean when life takes an unexpected turn.
When Tracy suffered a stroke, her focus had to shift entirely to her recovery. Like many business owners, she faced a difficult question: who would keep the business running while she was away? Fortunately, Tracy had already hired Anne, her virtual assistant through GO Hire Virtual.
During Tracy’s recovery, Anne stepped up and kept day-to-day operations moving forward. She managed essential business tasks, ensured everything stayed organized, and helped maintain business continuity while Tracy concentrated on getting better. Today, Tracy has recovered and is back to running her business, incredibly grateful for Anne’s dedication, reliability, and support during one of the most challenging times in her life.
Having Anne by my side gave me peace of mind. Even while I was recovering from a stroke, I knew my business was in good hands. I can’t imagine going through that experience without her support.
— Tracy Williams, GO Hire Virtual Client
Tracy’s story is a reminder that a virtual assistant isn’t just an extra pair of hands. They are a dependable partner who can help keep your business moving, even when life takes an unexpected turn. This is exactly the kind of resilience the data points to: when owners build a real, trusted support system, their businesses become far less fragile.
What This Means for 2027
Put the findings together and a clear narrative emerges. Virtual assistants are affordable, they save owners a substantial number of hours every week, and they cost a fraction of a comparable US-based employee. They are being adopted across real estate, e-commerce, professional services, and increasingly healthcare. Early concerns around communication, security, and control are real but manageable, and they fade quickly once a strong assistant is in place. On top of all that, AI tools are amplifying what a single virtual assistant can accomplish. It is no surprise, then, that 61% of small businesses plan to increase their outsourcing in 2027. The owners in our survey aren’t chasing a trend; they are responding to results.
The Bottom Line
The 2027 State of Virtual Assistance Report shows a market that has matured. What began as a way to save money has become a strategy for building more capable, more resilient businesses. The data tells the what, and stories like Tracy’s tell the why: a great virtual assistant can be the difference between a business that stalls when the unexpected happens and one that keeps moving forward. If you are among the 61% planning to outsource more in the year ahead, the question is no longer whether virtual assistance works. It is how quickly you can put the right partner in place.
Frequently Asked Questions About Virtual Assistants
How much does a virtual assistant cost in 2027?
A virtual assistant typically costs between $10 and $15 per hour for general administrative support, with specialized roles such as bookkeeping, marketing, or medical support costing more. Most small businesses pay a fraction of what a comparable in-house employee would cost once salary, benefits, taxes, and office space are included.
How many hours can a virtual assistant save per week?
Business owners in our survey reported saving between 15 and 25 hours per week once their virtual assistant was fully onboarded. That is the equivalent of adding two to three full working days back into each month.
What tasks can you outsource to a virtual assistant?
The most commonly outsourced tasks include administrative support, inbox and calendar management, customer service, social media management, bookkeeping and invoicing, lead generation, research, content writing, and data entry. Many virtual assistants also use AI tools to speed up drafting, summarizing, and research.
Are virtual assistants cheaper than US employees?
Yes. A full-time US-based administrative employee often costs over $45,000 to $55,000 per year once benefits, payroll taxes, and workspace are included. A virtual assistant handling similar work typically costs a small fraction of that annual amount, freeing up budget to reinvest in growth.
Can virtual assistants work in healthcare practices?
Yes. Medical, dental, and optometry practices increasingly use virtual assistants for appointment scheduling, insurance verification, patient follow-up, billing support, and records management. Because healthcare requires strict privacy and compliance, practices should work with VAs trained in secure, compliant workflows.
