Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

23-2011 Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action. Excludes "Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants" (43-6012).

National estimates for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Industry profile for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
Geographic profile for Paralegals and Legal Assistants

National estimates for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
332,720	1.1 %	$ 27.22	$ 56,610	0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$ 15.82	$ 19.54	$ 25.44	$ 32.25	$ 40.94
Annual Wage (2)	$ 32,900	$ 40,640	$ 52,920	$ 67,080	$ 85,160

Industry profile for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Paralegals and Legal Assistants are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Paralegals and Legal Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services	256,840	22.58	$ 26.06	$ 54,200
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	14,670	0.71	$ 35.06	$ 72,930
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	14,430	0.27	$ 27.47	$ 57,130
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	10,100	0.46	$ 24.71	$ 51,390
Management of Companies and Enterprises	7,070	0.29	$ 35.76	$ 74,390

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services	256,840	22.58	$ 26.06	$ 54,200
Other Investment Pools and Funds	80	0.73	$ 36.81	$ 76,560
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation)	14,670	0.71	$ 35.06	$ 72,930
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works)	140	0.64	$ 30.50	$ 63,440
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation)	10,100	0.46	$ 24.71	$ 51,390

Top paying industries for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods (4244 and 4248 only)	50	(7)	$ 64.52	$ 134,210
Land Subdivision	30	0.10	$ 43.44	$ 90,360
Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	150	0.04	$ 41.08	$ 85,440
Grantmaking and Giving Services	120	0.08	$ 41.03	$ 85,350
Natural Gas Distribution	70	0.06	$ 40.53	$ 84,300

Geographic profile for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Paralegals and Legal Assistants are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Paralegals and Legal Assistants, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Florida	33,760	4.00	1.67	$ 25.05	$ 52,100
California	33,490	2.04	0.85	$ 31.85	$ 66,250
Texas	27,630	2.28	0.95	$ 27.41	$ 57,020
New York	27,540	3.17	1.32	$ 30.06	$ 62,530
Illinois	13,320	2.37	0.99	$ 29.03	$ 60,390

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	5,870	8.55	3.57	$ 40.06	$ 83,330
Florida	33,760	4.00	1.67	$ 25.05	$ 52,100
Delaware	1,620	3.80	1.59	$ 24.94	$ 51,870
New York	27,540	3.17	1.32	$ 30.06	$ 62,530
Connecticut	4,860	3.16	1.32	$ 29.36	$ 61,070

Top paying states for Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	5,870	8.55	3.57	$ 40.06	$ 83,330
California	33,490	2.04	0.85	$ 31.85	$ 66,250
Washington	6,620	2.07	0.87	$ 30.31	$ 63,050
Colorado	5,520	2.14	0.89	$ 30.26	$ 62,950
New York	27,540	3.17	1.32	$ 30.06	$ 62,530

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	27,600	3.12	1.31	$ 31.18	$ 64,850
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	15,250	2.62	1.09	$ 30.48	$ 63,390
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	13,280	5.30	2.21	$ 27.13	$ 56,420
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	12,760	4.22	1.77	$ 33.99	$ 70,700
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	11,480	2.63	1.10	$ 29.39	$ 61,140
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	9,160	3.48	1.45	$ 27.10	$ 56,370
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	8,860	3.29	1.37	$ 28.78	$ 59,860
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	7,690	2.14	0.90	$ 32.18	$ 66,940
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA	6,390	2.74	1.15	$ 36.45	$ 75,820
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	5,920	2.81	1.17	$ 25.98	$ 54,040

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Paralegals and Legal Assistants:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Tallahassee, FL	950	5.62	2.35	$ 22.66	$ 47,120
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	13,280	5.30	2.21	$ 27.13	$ 56,420
New Bern, NC	220	5.29	2.21	$ 21.11	$ 43,910
Charleston, WV	510	4.98	2.08	$ 28.56	$ 59,410
Columbia, SC	1,800	4.82	2.02	$ 22.76	$ 47,330
New Orleans-Metairie, LA	2,250	4.37	1.83	$ 25.20	$ 52,410
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	5,670	4.35	1.82	$ 23.16	$ 48,180
Port St. Lucie, FL	620	4.24	1.77	$ 23.47	$ 48,820
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	12,760	4.22	1.77	$ 33.99	$ 70,700
Roanoke, VA	590	4.08	1.70	$ 19.49	$ 40,550