Paralegals & legal assistants

Detailed Occupation

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2023 Workforce
460k
Average Age
43.6
Estimated Job Growth
0.159%
10-year projection
Average Salary
$61,409
Average Male Salary
$66,110
Average Female Salary
$60,588

About

Paralegals & legal assistants are most often employed by the Legal services industry. The average yearly wage for Paralegals & legal assistants was $61,409 in 2023.

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Paralegals & legal assistants workforce. Paralegals & legal assistants workforce in 2023 was 460,315 people, of which 85.1% were women and 14.9% were men. Paralegals & legal assistants are paid most in DuPage County (Northeast)--Addison & Bloomingdale (North) Townships PUMA, IL but are relatively concentrated in District of Columbia (South Central) PUMA, DC.

Employment Over Time

Metric
Grouping
68,422
Male Workforce
± 6.42k
391,893
Female Workforce
± 15.3k

The Paralegals & legal assistants workforce in 2023 was 460,315 people (85.1% women and 14.9% men). This implies an average annual growth of 21.4% between 2014 (379,236) and 2023 (460,315).

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Employment by Location

Level
Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Paralegals & legal assistants.

During 2023, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were District of Columbia ($86,361), Delaware ($77,160), and Maryland ($70,773).

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Yearly Wage Ranking

$61,409
AVERAGE WAGE
#243 in the ranking (2023)
$67,727
NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE
For all occupations across the US

In 2023, Paralegals & legal assistants earned an average of $61,409, $6,318 less than the average national salary of $67,727

The graph shows the ranking of Paralegals & legal assistants in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2023.

Wage Distribution

Gender
0.328
WAGE GINI

In 2023, Paralegals & legal assistants had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.328, which is lower than the national average of 0.476. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Paralegals & legal assistants (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Paralegals & legal assistants compared to the entire workforce in the country.

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Industry

Information on the industries that employ Paralegals & legal assistants and on wages 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 Aircraft & parts manufacturing ($306,982).

Occupations by Industries

Metric
Value
460k
2023 Workforce
± 16,632
3.46%
1 YEAR GROWTH
± 4.98%

This graphic shows the share of Paralegals & legal assistants employed by various industries. Legal services employs the largest share of Paralegals & legal assistants at 89.4%, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities with 6.2% and uninformed with 2.77%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Paralegals & legal assistants in the US. The workforce of Paralegals & legal assistants in 2023 was 460,315 people, with 85.1% woman, and 14.9% men. The average age of male Paralegals & legal assistants in the workforce is 38.6 and of female Paralegals & legal assistants is 44.5, and the most common race/ethnicity for Paralegals & legal assistants is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Paralegals & legal assistants in 2023 was 460,315 people, with 85.1% woman, and 14.9% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 25 to 29 years (55,748 people), 30 to 34 years (53,356  people), and 50 to 54 years (51,306 people). Among them they concentrated 34.9% of the total workforce.

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Ethnicity

Gender

In 2023, 18.8% of Paralegals & legal assistants workers were Hispanic and 81.2% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (48.9%), Puerto Rican (12.3)%, and Cuban (6.6)%

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Races

In 2023, 69.7% of the Paralegals & legal assistants workforce were White, of which 87% were women and 13% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Two or More Races (10.7%) and Black (9.38%).

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Education & Skills

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 the most specialized major according to RCA in 2023 were Legal.

Among the necessary skills for Paralegals & legal assistants, Reading Comprehension stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Paralegals & legal assistants need more than the average amount of Writing.

Majors

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

The most common majors achieved by Paralegals & legal assistants in 2023 (counting all academic degrees) were Social Sciences (43,471 people), Business (36,510 people), and Protective Services (19,274 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

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Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Paralegals & legal assistants workers were Bachelors Degree (181,130 people), Some college (99,536 people), and Associates Degree (80,904 people).

The graphic shows the Paralegals & legal assistants workforce by gender and educational level.

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Skills

Chart
Value

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 Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing.

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Projections

Projections on job growth for Paralegals and Legal Assistants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10-year national workforce is projected to grow 3.07%, but Paralegals and Legal Assistants are expected to see a growth of 0.159% over the same period. This occupation is expected to grow less than the national average.

Job Growth

For growth projections, the closest comparible industry reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is Paralegals and Legal Assistants.
0.159%
Estimated Job Growth
10-year Projection
3.07%
National Growth
10-year Projection

This line chart shows the projected 10-year growth in the number of jobs for Paralegals & legal assistants. This profession is expected to grow less than than 3.07%, the average rate of national job growth.

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