Paralegals & legal assistants

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Total Workforce

398k

Average Age

43

Estimated Job Growth

14.6%

10-year projection

Average Salary

$51,743

Average Male Salary

$57,918

Average Female Salary

$50,567

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

Growth Projections

About

Paralegals & legal assistants are most often employed by the Legal services industry. The average yearly wage for Paralegals & legal assistants was $51,743 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Paralegals & legal assistants by wage are Statistical assistants, Telecommunications line installers & repairers, and New accounts clerks.

Photo by Dave Wilson

Management, business, science, & arts occupationsEducation, legal, community service, arts, & media occupationsLegal Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Paralegals & legal assistants and on wages and locations for those in the field. Legal services is the industry that employs the most Paralegals & legal assistants, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Paralegals & legal assistants, by average wage, is Scientific research & development services. Paralegals & legal assistants are paid most in Carmel City & Fishers Town (West) PUMA, IN but are relatively concentrated in Cutler Bay Town & Palmetto Bay Village PUMA, FL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$51,743

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,652

In 2017, Paralegals & legal assistants earned an average of $51,743, $322 less than than the average national salary of $52,065.

Telecommunications line installers & repairers make somewhat more than Paralegals & legal assistants while Statistical assistants make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Paralegals & legal assistants as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.335

WAGE GINI

In 2017, Paralegals & legal assistants had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.335, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Paralegals & legal assistants (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

  1. Carmel City & Fishers Town (West) PUMA, IN

  2. Sunset District (North) PUMA, CA

  3. Danbury, Ridgefield, Bethel, Brookfield, New Fairfield, Redding & Sherman Towns PUMA, CT

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Paralegals & legal assistants.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Paralegals & legal assistants

  1. West Valley City (East), Taylorsville & Murray (West) Cities PUMA, UT

  2. Oxon Hill, Hillcrest Heights & Temple Hills PUMA, MD

  3. Cutler Bay Town & Palmetto Bay Village PUMA, FL

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Paralegals & legal assistants.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Paralegals & legal assistants, by number of employees, are Legal services, Justice, public order, & safety activities , and Insurance carriers & related activities.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Paralegals & legal assistants, by average wage, are Scientific research & development services, Management of companies & enterprises, and U. S. Army.

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Industries by Share

398k

2017 Workforce

± 15,471

0.514%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.47%

The number of people employed as Paralegals & legal assistants has been growing at a rate of 0.514%, from 396,120 people in 2016 to 398,158 people in 2017.

This graphic shows the share of Paralegals & legal assistants employed by various industries. Legal services employs the largest share of Paralegals & legal assistants at  77.9%, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities  with 4.29% and Insurance carriers & related activities with 1.71%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Paralegals & legal assistants in the US. The average age of male Paralegals & legal assistants in the workforce is 39.3 and of female Paralegals & legal assistants is 43.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Paralegals & legal assistants is White.

Gender Composition

63.7k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 6,196

334k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 14,182

84% of Paralegals & legal assistants are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Paralegals & legal assistants.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Paralegals & legal assistants

  1. White

  2. Black

  3. Asian

79.9% of Paralegals & legal assistants are White, making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 9.79% of Paralegals & legal assistants, Black is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Paralegals & legal assistants.

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Age by Gender

39.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.29

43.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.56

The median age of Paralegals & legal assistants is 43, and Male employees are generally 4.39 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Paralegals & legal assistants from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Paralegals & legal assistants is Social Sciences but a relatively high number of Paralegals & legal assistants hold a major in Legal.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

  1. Social Sciences

  2. Business

  3. Legal

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

  1. Legal

  2. Protective Services

  3. History

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Paralegals & legal assistants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Paralegals & legal assistants need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, and Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Paralegals & legal assistants need more than the average amount of Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Active Listening.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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Growth Projections

Projections on wages and job growth for Paralegals & legal assistants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The ten-year national workforce is projected to grow 7.4%, but Paralegals & legal assistants are expected to see a growth of 14.6% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow higher than the national average.

Job Growth

14.6%

ESTIMATED GROWTH

7.4%

NATIONAL AVERAGE

This line chart shows the 10-year projected employment growth (from 2016 to 2026) for Paralegals & legal assistants. This profession is expected to grow faster than 7.4%, the average rate of national job growth.

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