Paralegals Salary: $79,010 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 367,220 paralegals nationally earn a mean of $79,010. Employment in the series shown rose about 17% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.4% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Paralegals: what the data shows
Common questions about paralegals careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a paralegals?
Paralegals is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 23-2011.
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 367,220 workers.
What does a paralegals do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Working with Computers, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Performing Administrative Activities, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a paralegals make?
BLS national median annual wage: $61,010 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $79,010 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $49,305 |
| 25th percentile | $58,590 |
| Median (50th) | $74,943 |
| 75th percentile | $98,517 |
| 90th percentile | $108,213 |
What education do you need?
For Paralegals, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, and knowledge areas including Administrative, English Language, Law and Government, Customer and Personal Service. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is paralegals in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.4% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 18.5%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 40.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 367,220.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do paralegalss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 367,220 | 19.4% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 319,460 | 16.9% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 286,280 | 15.1% |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 286,280 | 15.1% |
| Legal Services | 281,870 | 14.9% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 47,760 | 2.5% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Paralegals in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 747,750 | $151,160 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | 25,580 | $156,210 |
| Biological Scientists, All Other | 59,710 | $93,330 |
| Soil and Plant Scientists | 16,600 | $71,410 |
| Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health | 84,930 | $80,060 |
| Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 154,540 | $54,140 |
| Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators | 7,860 | $67,710 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Paralegals workforce.
Employment Over Time
367,220 Workforce in 2023
The Paralegals workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Paralegals.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$79,010 Average Wage
In 2023, Paralegals earned an average of $79,010.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Paralegals.
Salary distribution for Paralegals.
Employment Growth Projections
3.4% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
214,917 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 18.5%
254,628 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 40.4%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.4% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Paralegals.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Paralegals and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Paralegals employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Paralegals.
Wage Trends by Industry
-2.3% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Paralegals.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Paralegals.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 44,100 employees, $79,290 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Paralegals.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 16,120 employees, $75,644 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 5,170 employees, $73,599 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 4,390 employees, $98,069 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 3,690 employees, $79,062 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 2,970 employees, $87,237 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 2,930 employees, $78,620 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 2,630 employees, $66,253 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 2,050 employees, $104,526 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 920 employees, $66,705 avg wage
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura MSA: 590 employees, $75,631 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Paralegals.
Diversity
Demographic information on Paralegals in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Paralegals in 2023 was 367,220 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Paralegals.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Paralegals.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Paralegals.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Paralegals in 2023 were Paralegal Studies, Criminal Justice, Political Science.
Common majors for Paralegals.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Paralegals workers.
Education level distribution for Paralegals.
Skills
Paralegals need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking.
Required skills for Paralegals.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Paralegals.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Paralegals include Administrative, English Language, Law and Government, Customer and Personal Service, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Paralegals.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Paralegals include Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision.
Required abilities for Paralegals.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Paralegals.
Daily Activities
Paralegals spend their time on activities such as Working with Computers, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Getting Information, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards.
Most important work activities for Paralegals.
About
Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The average yearly wage for Paralegals was $79,010 in 2023.
SOC Code
23-2011 - Paralegals
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Paralegals reports an average salary of $79,010.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 367,220 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.4%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.