Highest-paying Cities for Paralegals and Legal Assistants

The top 100 highest paying cities for paralegals and legal assistants (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of paralegals and legal assistants in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $85,470, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for paralegals and legal assistants. It is followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California (average annual salary $79,790). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of paralegals and legal assistants in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$85,470	$62,600	1,770
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$79,790	$51,400	6,330
3	Western Montana nonmetropolitan area, Montana	$79,520	$39,270	180
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$77,440	$43,110	12,190
5	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$75,870	$49,660	2,780
6	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$74,760	$51,030	3,820
7	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$74,010	$50,410	5,590
8	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$73,600	$43,570	80
9	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$70,770	$48,460	16,530
10	Napa, California	$70,140	$47,910	70
11	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$67,980	$40,330	9,050
12	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$67,310	$44,830	1,900
13	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$66,580	$41,400	5,740
14	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$66,210	$47,900	2,080
15	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$65,830	$50,040	4,110
16	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$65,410	$47,330	29,080
17	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$65,350	$45,380	8,830
18	Eugene-Springfield, Oregon	$65,200	$46,720	380
19	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$64,990	$47,500	3,290
20	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$64,730	$49,000	1,380
21	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$64,410	$41,790	3,230
22	Boulder, Colorado	$63,960	$45,800	650
23	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$63,540	$46,930	780
24	Carson City, Nevada	$63,090	$41,020	60
25	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$62,830	$41,240	10,520
26	Fairbanks, Alaska	$62,790	$44,020	80
27	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$62,720	$43,090	90
28	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$62,720	$40,540	270
29	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$62,590	$35,310	5,200
30	Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida	$62,570	$38,650	5,550
31	Railbelt-Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$62,430	$43,530	40
32	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	$62,350	$37,500	2,390
33	Western South Dakota nonmetropolitan area, South Dakota	$62,330	$45,300	100
34	Tacoma, Washington	$62,230	$51,500	490
35	Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Washington	$62,000	$41,610	80
36	Corvallis, Oregon	$62,000	$46,090	50
37	Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Washington	$61,990	$38,720	3,300
38	Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$61,970	$47,120	170
39	Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$61,910	$46,040	140
40	Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont	$61,640	$49,680	290
41	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$61,480	$46,480	1,280
42	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$61,440	$43,370	5,040
43	Barnstable Town, Massachusetts	$61,350	$33,960	260
44	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$61,350	$41,600	2,450
45	Modesto, California	$61,180	$45,910	240
46	Bend, Oregon	$61,160	$47,110	190
47	Anchorage, Alaska	$61,150	$42,840	490
48	Charlottesville, Virginia	$61,120	$36,760	240
49	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$61,000	$39,790	5,120
50	Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, Massachusetts	$60,870	$45,740	50
51	Yuba City, California	$60,840	$40,160	30
52	Western Washington nonmetropolitan area, Washington	$60,780	$40,090	200
53	Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan	$60,730	$39,200	4,420
54	Greeley, Colorado	$60,700	$36,280	100
55	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$60,690	$49,180	660
56	Northcentral Colorado nonmetropolitan area, Colorado	$60,580	$41,960	140
57	Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area, Massachusetts	$60,550	$49,610	90
58	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$60,510	$36,990	1,610
59	Eastern Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$60,400	$45,040	90
60	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$60,330	$43,260	4,180
61	Springfield, Massachusetts	$60,320	$37,430	640
62	Visalia-Porterville, California	$60,310	$37,440	80
63	Coast Oregon nonmetropolitan area, Oregon	$60,280	$46,310	190
64	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$60,250	$40,320	80
65	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$60,200	$45,290	6,610
66	St Cloud, Minnesota	$60,190	$37,690	160
67	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	$60,170	$35,990	260
68	North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$60,120	$47,750	90
69	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$60,090	$38,900	2,290
70	Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, Alaska	$59,860	$46,260	50
71	New Haven, Connecticut	$59,840	$46,990	730
72	Worcester, Massachusetts	$59,820	$40,400	390
73	Parkersburg-Marietta-Vienna, West Virginia	$59,810	$35,680	240
74	Kingston, New York	$59,800	$38,800	150
75	Salem, Oregon	$59,760	$46,270	390
76	Bellingham, Washington	$59,740	$40,040	110
77	Southwestern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area, Wyoming	$59,700	$39,410	100
78	Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Michigan	$59,650	$37,990	770
79	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Florida	$59,620	$37,870	13,240
80	Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$59,320	$48,030	160
81	Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area, Minnesota	$59,280	$42,820	100
82	Kansas City, Missouri	$59,130	$42,510	3,130
83	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$59,060	$30,180	8,900
84	Savannah, Georgia	$58,980	$24,910	560
85	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$58,910	$38,480	2,410
86	Portsmouth, New Hampshire	$58,690	$37,880	170
87	Salinas, California	$58,680	$46,390	270
88	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$58,650	$34,340	11,550
89	Urban Honolulu, Hawaii	$58,630	$41,380	910
90	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$58,550	$37,660	6,160
91	Olympia, Washington	$58,530	$44,840	470
92	Duluth, Wisconsin	$58,520	$36,930	120
93	Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area, Vermont	$58,510	$47,900	190
94	Bloomsburg-Berwick, Pennsylvania	$58,470	$35,610	40
95	Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa	$58,380	$44,940	1,160
96	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$58,370	$34,050	2,320
97	North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$58,340	$48,140	110
98	Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Michigan	$58,240	$39,260	810
99	Manchester, New Hampshire	$58,240	$33,280	380
100	Danbury, Connecticut	$58,170	$45,820	180

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for paralegals and legal assistants.