Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in the U.S.
$69,700avg. a year
$33.51 an hour · 392,880 employed
Paralegals and Legal Assistants in the U.S. earn an average of $69,700 a year and a median of $62,890. Pay is highest in District of Columbia ($95,400) and lowest in Mississippi ($49,500).
$62,890Median pay
$33.51Average hourly
+23%Avg. pay since 2020
392,880Jobs in the U.S.
Top-paying states for paralegals and legal assistants
Average pay by state. Swipe to see the top 10.
16,400 jobs
District of Columbia
$95,400
$45.87 an hour
29,460 jobs
Washington
$83,740
$40.26 an hour
347,130 jobs
California
$81,320
$39.09 an hour
47,800 jobs
Massachusetts
$81,160
$39.02 an hour
55,620 jobs
Colorado
$80,760
$38.83 an hour
634,220 jobs
New York
$76,890
$36.96 an hour
77,400 jobs
Minnesota
$73,960
$35.56 an hour
8570 jobs
Alaska
$73,440
$35.31 an hour
96,460 jobs
Maryland
$73,060
$35.13 an hour
1012,010 jobs
New Jersey
$72,550
$34.88 an hour
Why people trust JobPayFacts
Official government dataEvery number comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey of employers, not self-reported salaries.
Every state and city830 jobs across all 50 states, D.C. and 199 large metro areas.
Updated every yearNew figures each spring when BLS releases them. This site uses May 2025 data.
Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay, charted
Pay over time
United States, annual wage, May of each year
AverageMedian
Where the jobs are
Employment by state, May 2025
Average pay by state
May 2025 · tap a state
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Under $59k$59k–$64k$64k–$71k$71k+
Top-paying metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 (areas with 100+ jobs)
| Metro area | Avg. pay | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $103,080 | $49.56 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $92,830 | $44.63 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $92,230 | $44.34 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $87,900 | $42.26 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $85,240 | $40.98 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $84,580 | $40.66 |
| Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $81,560 | $39.21 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $80,260 | $38.59 |
Related jobs
Average U.S. pay, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS
Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in every state
States without a figure had too few jobs or too little survey data for BLS to publish.
| State | Avg. pay | Median | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $52,730 | $47,260 | 5,700 |
| Alaska | $73,440 | $68,700 | 570 |
| Arizona | $67,850 | $61,630 | 7,890 |
| Arkansas | $60,110 | $47,420 | 1,610 |
| California | $81,320 | $77,390 | 47,130 |
| Colorado | $80,760 | $78,190 | 5,620 |
| Connecticut | $69,040 | $63,820 | 5,210 |
| Delaware | $69,860 | $63,110 | 2,480 |
| District of Columbia | $95,400 | $89,750 | 6,400 |
| Florida | $63,250 | $61,000 | 40,950 |
| Georgia | $71,210 | $62,400 | 14,160 |
| Hawaii | $65,400 | $62,840 | 1,170 |
| Idaho | $54,640 | $49,690 | 2,030 |
| Illinois | $72,310 | $63,670 | 14,130 |
| Indiana | $61,830 | $57,030 | 5,910 |
| Iowa | $58,780 | $54,550 | 2,980 |
| Kansas | $57,680 | $55,000 | 2,210 |
| Kentucky | $59,240 | $59,830 | 3,540 |
| Louisiana | $59,360 | $60,250 | 4,890 |
| Maine | $64,260 | $62,420 | 1,210 |
| Maryland | $73,060 | $65,640 | 6,460 |
| Massachusetts | $81,160 | $77,640 | 7,800 |
| Michigan | $67,240 | $62,170 | 7,730 |
| Minnesota | $73,960 | $75,570 | 7,400 |
| Mississippi | $49,500 | $46,180 | 2,270 |
| Missouri | $64,380 | $61,410 | 7,130 |
| Montana | $58,930 | $57,290 | 1,010 |
| Nebraska | $63,480 | $63,250 | 1,630 |
| Nevada | $66,350 | $64,680 | 3,620 |
| New Hampshire | $66,940 | $62,040 | 1,430 |
| New Jersey | $72,550 | $71,500 | 12,010 |
| New Mexico | $61,530 | $59,840 | 1,740 |
| New York | $76,890 | $68,410 | 34,220 |
| North Carolina | $60,770 | $57,500 | 13,650 |
| North Dakota | $58,880 | $59,430 | 730 |
| Ohio | $64,180 | $60,420 | 9,270 |
| Oklahoma | $55,510 | $53,170 | 3,110 |
| Oregon | $69,830 | $61,490 | 4,870 |
| Pennsylvania | $68,510 | $63,370 | 14,670 |
| Rhode Island | $58,630 | $56,250 | 2,070 |
| South Carolina | $55,790 | $53,880 | 7,420 |
| South Dakota | $62,260 | $58,320 | 600 |
| Tennessee | $60,790 | $58,820 | 6,080 |
| Texas | $65,480 | $62,310 | 29,540 |
| Utah | $67,810 | $63,220 | 3,250 |
| Vermont | $69,020 | $67,160 | 660 |
| Virginia | $70,740 | $63,990 | 10,250 |
| Washington | $83,740 | $79,400 | 9,460 |
| West Virginia | $63,590 | $59,000 | 1,660 |
| Wisconsin | $61,270 | $58,500 | 4,780 |
| Wyoming | $52,540 | $49,490 | 600 |
Metro areas with the most jobs
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
$80,260
33,850 jobsLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$79,550
22,240 jobsMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL$66,130
17,820 jobsWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV$87,900
12,990 jobsChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN$74,920
11,590 jobsPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD$72,410
11,150 jobsAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA$76,560
10,290 jobsDallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX$68,520
8,320 jobsQuestions and answers
How much do paralegals and legal assistants make?
The average is $69,700 a year across the U.S. Half earn more than $62,890 and half earn less (the median).
What is the hourly pay?
The average hourly wage is $33.51, and the median is $30.24 an hour.
Which state pays paralegals and legal assistants the most?
District of Columbia, with an average of $95,400 a year. The best-paying metro area is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA at $103,080.
What is the pay range?
The lowest-paid 10% earn under $44,740 a year, and the top 10% earn over $101,500.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 (trend: May 2020–May 2025), occupation code 23-2011. Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. Year-to-year changes can partly reflect survey method changes, so treat the trend as a guide. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.