Paralegal

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Total Degrees
Awarded in 2016

13,472

declining 10.1%

Median In-State
Public Tuition

$4,950

growing 7.21%

Median Out-of-State
Private Tuition

$25,950

growing 3.92%

Average Wage

$70,899

declining 3.97%

People in Workforce

92,387

growing 4.8%

Average Employee Age

42.8

growing 3.71%

About

Institutions

Employment

Diversity

Skills

About

The locations with the highest concentration of Paralegal degree recipients are Davenport, IA, Phoenix, AZ, and New York, NY. The locations with a relatively high number of Paralegal degree recipients are Lake Mary, FL, Warrensville Heights, OH, and Parkersburg, WV. The most common degree awarded to students studying Paralegal is a associates degree.

Photo by Clyde Robinson

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Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Paralegal and the types of students that study this field. Kaplan University-Davenport Campus awards the most degrees in Paralegal in the US, but Center for Advanced Legal Studies and National Paralegal College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Paralegal.

Tuition costs for Paralegal majors are, on average, $4,950 for in-state public colleges, and $25,950 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Paralegal programs are Public, 2-year institutions (314 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 2-year (6,609 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Paralegal

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Paralegal, is Public, 2-year (6,609 completions).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Paralegal programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$4,950

Median In-State Public

$25,950

Median Out of State Private

Kaplan University-Davenport Campus has the most Paralegal degree recipients, with 393 degrees awarded in 2016.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Paralegal.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution

Center for Advanced Legal Studies
100%
National Paralegal College
71.7%
Court Reporting Institute of St Louis
62.5%

Out of all institutions that offer Paralegal programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Center for Advanced Legal Studies and National Paralegal College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Paralegal, with 100% and 71.7%, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Paralegal

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Paralegal by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Paralegal.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Legal graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Legal majors is $70,899 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Miscellaneous managers.

The industry that employs the most Legal majors is Legal services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Computer Systems Design.

Wages

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Paralegal is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

$70,899

Average Wage in Workforce

± $6,172

3.97%

1 Year Growth

± 13.2%

The average salary for Legal majors is $70,899 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Miscellaneous managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Legal majors.

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± 7,460

4.8%

1 Year Growth

± 11%

The number of Legal graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 4.8%, from 88,156 in 2016 to 92,387 in 2017.

The industry which employs the most Legal graduates by share is Legal services, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities . This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Legal.

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Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Paralegal is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Legal majors

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Legal majors.

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Diversity

Demographic information on those who earn a degree in Legal in the US. The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Legal is 42.8, and the most common degree type these workers hold is a Associates Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Legal degrees, and White students earn the majority (7,541) of the degrees.

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Paralegal is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

42.8

Average Age in 2017

± 0.966 Years

3.71%

1 Year Change

± 3.1%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Legal. The most common ages of employees with this major are 44 and 35 years old, which represent 3.8% and 3.69% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Paralegal are Associates Degree, 1 to 2 Year Postsecondary Certificate, and Bachelors Degree.

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Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Paralegal is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Legal are Bachelors Degree, Professional degree, and Masters Degree.

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Gender Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (84.1%)

Most Common Gender with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by gender at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Paralegal.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity

White
7,541 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino
2,252 degrees awarded
Black or African American
2,039 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Paralegal for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Gender

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Gender Combination

White Female
782 degrees awarded
Black or African American Female
270 degrees awarded
Hispanic or Latino Female
185 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by gender for each race & ethnicity of Bachelors Degree recipients in Paralegal. White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and gender.

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Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Paralegal is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

Most Common Countries of Origin

Mexico
1,354 degree recipients
China
589 degree recipients
Philippines
525 degree recipients

High Relative Number of Students

Jamaica
2.27 times more than expected
China
1.18 times more than expected
Philippines
0.95 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Jamaica that hold Legal degrees (2.27 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Mexico (1,354 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Paralegal field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Paralegal majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Paralegal majors need more than the average amount of Reading Comprehension, Time Management, and Active Listening.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Paralegal majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Reading Comprehension is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking are the three most important skills for people in the field.