2027 Salary Guide · Legal & Compliance
The median paralegal salary was $62,890 in May 2025, or $30.24 an hour, according to BLS. Carried forward to 2027 at recent wage growth, that is about $67,000. Three in four paralegals work in legal services, so law firm pay scales set most of the market, and Seattle pays the most of the 29 metros here at $92,900.
Career ladder
BLS does not report pay by years of experience. This ladder places common paralegal stages on the BLS percentiles as a planning guide.
About $44,700 to $50,300 (10th to 25th percentile)
Document management, filing, cite-checking and exhibit preparation under close supervision. BLS says paralegals typically need an associate's degree or a certificate in paralegal studies; some employers want a bachelor's degree.
About $50,300 to $80,100 (25th to 75th percentile)
Drafts pleadings, discovery responses or transaction documents, manages a caseload for one or more attorneys and handles routine client contact.
About $80,100 to $101,500 (75th to 90th percentile)
Runs trial preparation, large closings or a practice group's workflow. Senior titles usually require deep knowledge of one practice area and its court or agency rules.
Above $101,500 (top tenth)
Manages paralegal staff, assignments and training for a firm or legal department.
Local pay
Seattle's median is $92,900, about $30,000 above the national figure. New York City has by far the most paralegals, about 33,850, with a median of $75,330. Providence ($57,100) and Buffalo ($58,270) are at the low end of the list.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $92,900 +48% | $59,320 – $119,820 | 6,310 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | $84,030 +34% | $58,590 – $131,820 | 7,630 |
| Washington, DC | $81,590 +30% | $57,160 – $126,020 | 12,990 |
| Denver | $80,500 +28% | $60,590 – $111,560 | 3,740 |
| Boston | $79,850 +27% | $50,340 – $126,470 | 6,300 |
| Los Angeles | $77,520 +23% | $51,200 – $112,160 | 22,240 |
| San Diego | $76,300 +21% | $48,210 – $107,380 | 4,440 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $76,220 +21% | $49,230 – $105,220 | 5,990 |
| Portland | $75,430 +20% | $48,970 – $100,350 | 3,510 |
| New York City | $75,330 +20% | $49,180 – $121,170 | 33,850 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | $70,550 +12% | $50,160 – $106,040 | 11,590 |
| Philadelphia | $70,430 +12% | $48,970 – $97,950 | 11,150 |
| Hartford | $67,500 +7% | $46,370 – $103,030 | 1,930 |
| Baltimore | $65,640 +4% | $49,930 – $97,510 | 3,880 |
| Austin | $64,140 +2% | $44,200 – $100,460 | 4,390 |
| Atlanta | $64,080 +2% | $45,500 – $105,310 | 10,290 |
| Pittsburgh | $63,620 +1% | $45,710 – $94,680 | 2,620 |
| Detroit | $63,400 +1% | $49,500 – $97,710 | 4,550 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $63,220 +1% | $38,730 – $100,920 | 8,320 |
| Houston | $62,730 +-0% | $42,160 – $101,370 | 7,320 |
| Phoenix | $62,620 +-0% | $47,720 – $97,670 | 6,280 |
| Miami | $62,090 -1% | $38,500 – $91,990 | 17,820 |
| Raleigh | $61,880 -2% | $38,690 – $85,560 | 2,540 |
| Nashville | $60,800 -3% | $45,780 – $94,280 | 2,660 |
| Albany | $60,680 -4% | $47,250 – $81,320 | 1,340 |
| Tampa | $60,150 -4% | $43,260 – $80,880 | 6,630 |
| Charlotte | $59,870 -5% | $43,160 – $99,530 | 4,140 |
| Buffalo | $58,270 -7% | $45,730 – $81,050 | 2,060 |
| Providence | $57,100 -9% | $43,370 – $80,850 | 2,420 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
What moves pay
BLS says 75% of paralegals work in legal services. Local, state and federal government together employ about 12%, and finance and insurance about 3%. Government pay schedules are public, which makes those offers easy to compare.
Duties vary by area, from bankruptcy filings to intellectual property to trial preparation in litigation. Paralegals who know a specialty's forms, deadlines and software are harder to replace.
Some employers prefer or require a paralegal certification. BLS says certification usually requires an exam plus education or experience, and continuing education to keep it.
The metro median ranges from $57,100 in Providence to $92,900 in Seattle, a $35,800 gap for the same occupation.
Pay distribution
BLS counts paralegals and legal assistants as one occupation, so these figures include both titles. The shaded band is the middle half, $50,340 to $80,080, where most working paralegals fall.
Typical for the Paralegal title: $50,340 to $80,080 (25th to 75th percentile of Paralegals and Legal Assistants)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $44,740 | $47,500 |
| 25th percentile | $50,340 | $53,500 |
| Median | $62,890 | $67,000 |
| 75th percentile | $80,080 | $85,000 |
| 90th percentile | $101,500 | $108,000 |
Outlook
BLS expects little or no change in paralegal and legal assistant employment through 2035, yet projects about 40,800 openings a year in a workforce of about 404,900. With flat headcount, those openings come from people leaving the occupation, so hiring stays active.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Paralegals and Legal Assistants as a whole.
For hiring managers
A litigation paralegal and a real estate paralegal draw on different candidate pools. Benchmark against the local percentile that matches the experience you need, not the national median.
State whether the role is hourly or salaried and whether it is eligible for overtime. BLS wage figures exclude overtime pay, so a role with regular overtime pays more than its base rate suggests.
E-filing, document management and e-discovery platforms differ by firm. Listing yours attracts candidates who can work without retraining.
A growing number of states and cities require pay ranges in job postings. Check the rules where the job is based before you post.
Compare
Paralegals out-earn legal secretaries at the median by about $7,300 and trail court reporters ($72,420) and compliance officers ($80,730).
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralegal | $62,890 | $67,000 | Little or no change |
| Legal Assistant | $62,890 | $67,000 | Little or no change |
| Legal Secretary | $55,570 | $59,000 | Decline |
| Court Reporter | $72,420 | $77,000 | Little or no change |
| Compliance Officer | $80,730 | $86,000 | Average |
FAQ
The BLS median for paralegals and legal assistants was $62,890 in May 2025. The middle half earned between $50,340 and $80,080, and the top tenth earned more than $101,500. Adding two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year gives a 2027 planning median of about $67,000.
The median hourly wage was $30.24 in May 2025, from BLS data reported by O*NET. That is what the paralegal is paid, not what a firm bills clients for paralegal time, which the firm sets separately. BLS hourly figures are straight-time pay and leave out overtime premiums.
Starting paralegal offers are not a BLS figure. The 10th percentile was $44,740 and the 25th percentile $50,340 in May 2025, which brackets most entry offers nationally. In higher-paying metros the floor is higher: the 10th percentile was $59,320 in Seattle and $57,160 in Washington, DC.
No BLS series ties paralegal pay to certification. It does say some employers prefer or require a paralegal certification, which typically means passing an exam and meeting education or experience requirements. A credential carries the most weight when a posting lists it as required.
Among the 29 metros in this guide, Seattle had the highest paralegal median at $92,900 in May 2025, followed by the San Francisco Bay Area ($84,030), Washington, DC ($81,590), Denver ($80,500) and Boston ($79,850).
Careerscape's legal recruiters can send a pre-screened shortlist matched to your practice area, for direct hire, contract or contract-to-hire roles.
How can we help?
We got it!
A recruiter will reach out shortly.
Application Submitted!
Thank you for applying. We'll review your application and get back to you soon.