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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

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" (43-6012).


National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
309,940 1.1 % $26.20 $54,500 0.5 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $15.10 $18.68 $24.49 $31.29 $39.45
Annual Wage (2) $31,400 $38,860 $50,940 $65,080 $82,050


Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 238,040 20.92 $25.20 $52,410
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 13,930 0.25 $26.36 $54,820
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,900 0.64 $33.91 $70,540
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 10,340 0.47 $23.66 $49,220
Management of Companies and Enterprises 6,520 0.27 $33.19 $69,040

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 238,040 20.92 $25.20 $52,410
Other Investment Pools and Funds 120 1.38 $27.60 $57,410
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 170 0.78 $29.99 $62,380
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 12,900 0.64 $33.91 $70,540
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 10,340 0.47 $23.66 $49,220

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Grantmaking and Giving Services 90 0.07 $45.54 $94,710
Software Publishers 360 0.09 $39.76 $82,700
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 30 0.01 $39.69 $82,560
Natural Gas Distribution 70 0.07 $39.50 $82,160
Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing 180 0.06 $38.61 $80,320


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 33,390 1.96 0.92 $29.44 $61,240
Florida 30,230 3.51 1.64 $24.10 $50,120
New York 25,500 2.72 1.27 $28.25 $58,750
Texas 24,290 2.01 0.94 $27.05 $56,270
Illinois 13,540 2.26 1.06 $27.49 $57,180




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 5,330 7.48 3.49 $38.69 $80,470
Florida 30,230 3.51 1.64 $24.10 $50,120
South Carolina 6,060 2.94 1.37 $21.87 $45,480
Connecticut 4,780 2.88 1.34 $30.17 $62,760
New York 25,500 2.72 1.27 $28.25 $58,750




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 5,330 7.48 3.49 $38.69 $80,470
Connecticut 4,780 2.88 1.34 $30.17 $62,760
California 33,390 1.96 0.92 $29.44 $61,240
Washington 6,220 1.91 0.89 $29.30 $60,940
Massachusetts 7,330 2.05 0.96 $29.00 $60,320





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

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 26,250 2.76 1.29 $29.18 $60,700
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 15,960 2.61 1.22 $26.73 $55,590
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 13,100 5.06 2.36 $25.74 $53,540
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 11,680 2.52 1.18 $27.68 $57,570
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 11,540 3.68 1.72 $33.09 $68,820
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 8,820 3.09 1.45 $26.80 $55,740
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 7,290 2.72 1.27 $26.86 $55,870
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 7,280 2.04 0.95 $31.20 $64,900
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 6,160 2.06 0.96 $28.75 $59,800
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 6,040 2.19 1.02 $29.89 $62,170




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Columbia, SC 1,980 5.21 2.43 $22.26 $46,310
New Bern, NC 220 5.10 2.38 $21.58 $44,890
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 13,100 5.06 2.36 $25.74 $53,540
Charleston, WV 520 4.68 2.19 $23.69 $49,270
Tyler, TX 470 4.59 2.14 $20.74 $43,150
Tallahassee, FL 740 4.28 2.00 $21.55 $44,830
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC 310 4.06 1.90 $21.28 $44,250
Port St. Lucie, FL 570 3.92 1.83 $25.94 $53,960
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 2,110 3.82 1.78 $27.04 $56,230
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 11,540 3.68 1.72 $33.09 $68,820




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 1,880 1.68 0.78 $41.65 $86,630
Napa, CA 50 0.62 0.29 $37.73 $78,480
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 340 1.10 0.51 $35.99 $74,860
Trenton, NJ 640 2.75 1.28 $33.38 $69,430
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 11,540 3.68 1.72 $33.09 $68,820
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 5,540 2.29 1.07 $33.04 $68,730
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 2,840 1.94 0.91 $32.90 $68,440
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 4,110 2.07 0.97 $31.72 $65,980
Reno, NV 330 1.43 0.67 $31.59 $65,700
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT 2,130 3.65 1.70 $31.38 $65,280

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Piedmont North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 390 1.49 0.70 $15.69 $32,630
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 380 0.97 0.45 $16.89 $35,130
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area 370 1.58 0.74 $17.87 $37,160
Southeast Coastal North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 350 1.40 0.65 $19.66 $40,900
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 330 3.43 1.60 $26.24 $54,580

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 330 3.43 1.60 $26.24 $54,580
West Montana nonmetropolitan area 190 2.52 1.18 $17.45 $36,290
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 220 2.24 1.05 $17.74 $36,900
South Florida nonmetropolitan area 150 2.02 0.94 $19.47 $40,490
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 270 1.95 0.91 $21.72 $45,170

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 90 0.77 0.36 $31.69 $65,920
Alaska nonmetropolitan area 90 0.89 0.42 $30.53 $63,500
Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area 70 0.78 0.36 $28.13 $58,510
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $27.93 $58,090
Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area 30 0.43 0.20 $27.68 $57,580


About May 2018 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2018 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 29, 2019