Paralegal Studies Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Paralegal Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about $79,010, with roughly 50,000 workers nationwide in those roles. About 812 bachelor's completions in IPEDS 2023; modeled 10-year ROI is about 684% on median net price.
Key Statistics
Paralegal Studies: what the data shows
Common questions about paralegal studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a paralegal studies degree?
A Paralegal Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 22.0302 in the Legal Support Services field family (22.03).
A program that prepares individuals to perform research, drafting, investigatory, record-keeping and related administrative functions under the supervision of an attorney or court. Includes instruction in legal research, drafting legal documents, appraising, pleading, courthouse procedures, and legal specializations.
IPEDS counted 812 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of paralegal studies degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 22.03 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Court Interpreter (CIP 22.0304)
- Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter (CIP 22.0303)
- Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary (CIP 22.0301)
- Scopist (CIP 22.0305)
How long does it take to get a paralegal studies degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 22.0302 in our file:
- 4,414 Associate (82.8% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 812 Bachelor's (15.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 102 Master's (1.9% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
- 2 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)—varies by program
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What do you learn in paralegal studies?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Active Learning, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Paralegals (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a paralegal studies degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Paralegal Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Paralegals | 367,220 | $61,010 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a paralegal studies degree worth it?
About 2.6% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $11,790 and median net price is $15,944.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Paralegal Studies and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$11,790 Median In-State Public
$44,360 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Paralegal Studies majors are, on average, $11,790 for in-state public colleges, and $44,360 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Paralegal Studies programs.
Institutions awarding the most Paralegal Studies degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Gateway Community College | OH | 317 |
| 2 | Center for Advanced Legal Studies | TX | 207 |
| 3 | Liberty University | VA | 200 |
| 4 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 195 |
| 5 | Bryant & Stratton College-Online | NY | 159 |
| 6 | University of San Diego | CA | 121 |
| 7 | Purdue University Global | IN | 109 |
| 8 | Santa Ana College | CA | 104 |
| 9 | Pasadena City College | CA | 92 |
| 10 | Florida SouthWestern State College | FL | 88 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
812 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Paralegal Studies from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Paralegal Studies.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 3 | Arizona State University Digital Immersion | AZ | 49,000 |
| 4 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 44,617 |
| 5 | University of Arizona | AZ | 40,769 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Paralegal Studies programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Folsom Lake College | CA | $1,288 |
| 2 | Phoenix College | AZ | $2,358 |
| 3 | Southeastern Community College | NC | $2,600 |
| 4 | St Petersburg College | FL | $2,682 |
| 5 | Colorado Mountain College | CO | $2,700 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Paralegal Studies programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern Regional Technical College | GA | $1,085 |
| 2 | Northern Marianas College | MP | $2,795 |
| 3 | Florida Gateway College | FL | $2,915 |
| 4 | Folsom Lake College | CA | $3,661 |
| 5 | Southeastern Community College | NC | $4,474 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Paralegal Studies programs.
Graduation Rates
52.00% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
51.08% Average Graduation Rate
497 Institutions Reporting
35.53% - 64.92% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Paralegal Studies programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Paralegal Studies is in FL (162 completions). That state represents about 19.9% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is MS (0.10% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL | 162 | 19.9% | 0.07% |
| VA | 100 | 12.3% | 0.08% |
| NY | 66 | 8.1% | 0.02% |
| MI | 65 | 8.0% | 0.06% |
| OH | 62 | 7.6% | 0.04% |
| IL | 53 | 6.5% | 0.04% |
| TX | 45 | 5.5% | 0.01% |
| GA | 36 | 4.4% | 0.03% |
| KY | 35 | 4.3% | 0.07% |
| MS | 30 | 3.7% | 0.10% |
| MD | 26 | 3.2% | 0.04% |
| AZ | 23 | 2.8% | 0.02% |
| IN | 22 | 2.7% | 0.02% |
| PA | 18 | 2.2% | 0.01% |
| CA | 14 | 1.7% | 0.00% |
| DE | 13 | 1.6% | 0.09% |
| RI | 11 | 1.4% | 0.04% |
| ID | 9 | 1.1% | 0.03% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 22.03 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Court Interpreter CIP 22.0304
- Court Reporting and Captioning/Court Reporter CIP 22.0303
- Legal Administrative Assistant/Secretary CIP 22.0301
- Scopist CIP 22.0305
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 22.0302 in the survey year used in our extract (5,330 total across levels below).
- 4,414 Associate (82.8% of IPEDS total)
- 812 Bachelor's (15.2% of IPEDS total)
- 102 Master's (1.9% of IPEDS total)
- 2 Doctorate (0.0% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $79,010. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Paralegal Studies graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Paralegals | $79,010 | 367,220 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Legal Support Services CIP family (n/a programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Paralegal Studies graduate.
- $53,266 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 2.6% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$79,010 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Paralegal Studies majors is $79,010.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Paralegal Studies majors.
Occupations by Share
50,000 2023 Workforce
The number of Paralegal Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Paralegal Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
Return on Investment & Value
Debt and earnings fields below come from College Scorecard where present in our degree extract.
Financial value (extract)
$18,750 Median Student Debt
$50,000 Median Annual Earnings (10 years after enrollment)
37.50% Debt-to-Earnings Ratio
3.8 years Estimated Payback Period (assuming 10% of income)
683.99% Return on Investment (10-year earnings vs 4-year cost)
Ten-year earnings in this extract exceed four years of median net price.
$63,776 Estimated Total Cost (4 years at median net price)
Financial value comparison for Paralegal Studies degree.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Paralegal Studies in the United States.
Workforce Age
40.0 Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Paralegal Studies.
Age distribution for Paralegal Studies degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
812 Total Degrees Awarded
162 Male (19.95%)
650 Female (80.05%)
Gender distribution of Paralegal Studies degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
430 White (52.96%)
133 Hispanic or Latino (16.38%)
130 Black or African American (16.01%)
40 Two or More Races (4.93%)
23 Asian (2.83%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Paralegal Studies degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Paralegal Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Paralegal Studies.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Paralegal Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Paralegal Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Paralegal Studies majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Paralegal Studies majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals to perform research, drafting, investigatory, record-keeping and related administrative functions under the supervision of an attorney or court. Includes instruction in legal research, drafting legal documents, appraising, pleading, courthouse procedures, and legal specializations.
In 2023, 812 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Paralegal Studies.
CIP Code
22.0302 - Paralegal Studies
What the data shows
Women earned 84.1% of 9,493 Paralegal Studies completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $79,010. The largest mapped role by headcount is Paralegals (367,220 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $11,790 in-state at public colleges and $44,360 at private institutions for programs in this field.
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 U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.