Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
$74,920avg. a year
$36.02 an hour · 11,590 employed
Paralegals and Legal Assistants in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area earn an average of $74,920 a year. That is $2,610 (4%) more than the Illinois average of $72,310. The U.S. average is $69,700.
$70,550Median pay
$36.02Average hourly
+4%vs. Illinois average
11,590Jobs in this metro
Other Illinois metro areas
Average pay for paralegals and legal assistants in other Illinois metro areas. Swipe to see all 10.
1370 jobs
Peoria, IL
$66,090
$31.77 an hour
24,030 jobs
St. Louis, MO-IL
$64,720
$31.12 an hour
3260 jobs
Bloomington, IL
$63,660
$30.61 an hour
4230 jobs
Springfield, IL
$62,490
$30.04 an hour
530 jobs
Decatur, IL
$61,830
$29.73 an hour
6200 jobs
Rockford, IL
$61,790
$29.71 an hour
7100 jobs
Champaign-Urbana, IL
$61,400
$29.52 an hour
8280 jobs
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL
$58,240
$28.00 an hour
990 jobs
Paducah, KY-IL
$57,640
$27.71 an hour
1060 jobs
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL
$51,630
$24.82 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.
How Chicago-Naperville-Elgin compares
Pay range: metro vs. state vs. U.S.
Annual wage percentiles, May 2025
This metroIllinoisU.S.
Illinois metro areas
Average pay, May 2025 · this metro highlighted
Related jobs in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin
| Job | Avg. pay in this metro |
|---|---|
| Lawyers | $187,420 |
| Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers | $59,140 |
| Legal Support Workers, All Other | $71,250 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $144,060 |
| Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers | $126,180 |
| Judicial Law Clerks | $61,340 |
Questions and answers
How much do paralegals and legal assistants make in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
The average is $74,920 a year, and the median is $70,550. About 11,590 people work in this job in the metro area.
Is that more than the Illinois average?
That is $2,610 (4%) more than the Illinois average of $72,310.
Is this job common in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin?
It makes up 2.6 of every 1,000 jobs in the metro area, 1.02 times the national share.
Sources and notes. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025, occupation code 23-2011. Metro area: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metropolitan statistical area (BLS area code 16980). Wages are gross pay before taxes and don't include overtime premiums, tips, bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers aren't included. How we use the data. JobPayFacts isn't affiliated with BLS.