Real salary data
What Paralegals actually earn in 2026.
The median for Paralegal is $65,000 across 416 real salary records (H-1B visa filings and tech job postings), updated Aug 10, 2026.
01 / By source
Real salary bands, by source.
Bands come from 416 real records. Each source has a different bias, disclosed below.
Density curve fitted to the observed quartiles (log-normal). $54,174–$76,800 contains the middle 50% of records in the best-represented source; the shape between them is an approximation.
| Source | Records | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| H-1B visa filings | 416 | $54,174 | $65,000 | $76,800 |
- H-1B visa filings (DOL) — over-represents visa-eligible roles (typically high-skill, high-wage)
Salary data updated Aug 10, 2026. Bands are percentiles, not averages; n is the number of underlying records.
02 / By city
What Paralegals earn, by city.
Real records; cities with at least 10 observations.
| City | Records | Range (p25–p75) | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | 103 | $59,987 – $81,560 | $66,331 |
| Washington, DC | 16 | $50,482 – $102,127 | $55,241 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 15 | $59,987 – $80,902 | $70,000 |
| Chicago, IL | 13 | $54,080 – $65,000 | $56,160 |
| San Francisco, CA | 10 | $66,481 – $80,000 | $75,026 |
03 / By state
What Paralegals earn, by state.
| State | Records | Range (p25–p75) | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| NY | 132 | $58,990 – $80,101 | $66,446 |
| CA | 94 | $62,046 – $78,603 | $66,560 |
| TX | 26 | $54,080 – $86,250 | $60,965 |
| NJ | 21 | $61,000 – $80,250 | $70,000 |
| IL | 20 | $54,075 – $65,500 | $58,080 |
| FL | 17 | $55,474 – $76,800 | $67,000 |
| DC | 16 | $50,482 – $102,127 | $55,241 |
| MA | 12 | $60,913 – $70,760 | $65,582 |
| WA | 10 | $53,265 – $77,134 | $65,448 |
04 / Context
How Paralegals pay compares with similar roles.
| Profession | Risk | Median | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compliance Officer | Medium | $86,778 | +3.0% (2024–34) |
| Contract Reviewer | Critical | $65,000 | +0.2% (2024–34) |
| Labor Relations Specialist | Medium | $95,420 | -0.1% (2024–34) |
| Lawyer | Medium | $225,000 | +4.1% (2024–34) |
| Legal Assistant | High | $65,000 | +0.2% (2024–34) |
05 / Next step
How to move up the pay band.
The skills below appear most often in higher-paid roles:
- udemyAdvokasi dan Paralegal PerempuanIntermediate
- udemyCertified Paralegal ProfessionalAdvanced
- udemyParalegal Certification CourseAdvanced
- udemyThe Paralegal ProfessionAdvanced
- udemyParalegal Professional Certification (PPC)Advanced
- udemyParalegal Exam Questions Practice TestIntermediate
- udemyCertified Accredited Tax Preparer (ATP)Intermediate
- udemyATP Accredited Tax Preparer Mock TestsIntermediate
06 / FAQ
Salary questions, answered.
01Why are the bands different from the BLS median?
The BLS median covers all Paralegal in the US. These bands come from real records with known biases — H-1B filings skew to visa-eligible (high-skill) roles and tech postings skew to tech employers — so they sit above the national median. We disclose the source of every band.
02How often is this data updated?
The dataset refreshes weekly from live job postings and quarterly from new H-1B disclosures.