National Salary Info » Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Highest Paying Industries for Paralegals and Legal Assistants

The top 100 highest paying industries 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 in those industries are also shown. As shown in the table, with an average annual salary of $76,010, software publishers is the highest paying industry for paralegals and legal assistants. It is followed by publishing industries (except internet) industry (average annual salary $74,130). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in May 2015 [1]. For more information about salaries of paralegals and legal assistants in a specific industry, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest Paying Industries for Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Rank	Industry	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	Software Publishers	$76,010	$48,580	270
2	Publishing Industries (except Internet)	$74,130	$43,530	350
3	Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	$72,920	$46,560	100
4	Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing	$72,340	$35,420	90
5	Wired Telecommunications Carriers	$71,230	$44,940	n/a
6	Postal Service (federal government)	$70,760	$56,310	50
7	Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing	$70,170	$50,850	150
8	Telecommunications	$69,440	$45,120	560
9	Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing	$68,810	$45,260	430
10	Information	$67,960	$42,860	1,720
11	Natural Gas Distribution	$67,400	$36,070	n/a
12	Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite)	$67,070	$46,750	n/a
13	Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	$67,010	$41,750	140
14	Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage	$66,720	$40,880	570
15	Land Subdivision	$66,720	$40,620	30
16	Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers	$66,430	$32,260	80
17	Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries	$66,380	$42,370	40
18	Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	$65,970	$46,950	100
19	Transportation Equipment Manufacturing	$65,690	$44,630	n/a
20	Cable and Other Subscription Programming	$65,250	$45,130	30
21	Chemical Manufacturing	$65,230	$39,460	180
22	Hospitals - State government owned	$65,090	$41,560	50
23	Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	$64,940	$38,150	1,560
24	Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$64,560	$49,940	30
25	Transportation and Warehousing	$64,480	$40,600	310
26	Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences	$64,470	$38,330	510
27	Manufacturing	$64,410	$41,840	1,200
28	Scientific Research and Development Services	$64,370	$38,160	510
29	Scheduled Air Transportation	$64,200	$39,040	90
30	Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals	$64,040	$50,440	50
31	Air Transportation	$63,990	$39,250	90
32	Utilities	$63,680	$40,090	190
33	Other Information Services	$63,540	$42,560	n/a
34	Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	$63,530	$38,100	280
35	Other Financial Investment Activities	$63,460	$36,860	970
36	Federal government, including USPS	$63,420	$48,310	13,030
37	Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	$63,330	$48,310	12,970
38	Drugs and Druggists' Sundries Merchant Wholesalers	$63,100	$41,090	90
39	Oil and Gas Extraction	$63,020	$35,930	290
40	Mining	$62,820	$36,760	310
41	Rail Transportation	$62,770	$38,080	100
42	Specialty hospitals - Privately owned	$62,460	$47,620	30
43	Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods	$62,380	$41,010	210
44	Management of Companies and Enterprises	$62,350	$39,810	6,760
45	Broadcasting (except Internet)	$62,290	$42,720	60
46	Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods	$62,240	$39,850	380
47	Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution	$62,170	$42,280	120
48	Offices of Physicians	$61,870	$38,850	60
49	Wholesale Trade	$61,820	$39,830	620
50	Nonresidential Building Construction	$61,680	$47,690	40
51	Machinery Manufacturing	$61,080	$45,480	150
52	Computer Systems Design and Related Services	$61,070	$34,650	380
53	Ambulatory Health Care Services	$60,280	$35,730	130
54	Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services	$60,270	$38,130	140
55	Grantmaking and Giving Services	$59,740	$44,020	70
56	Lessors of Real Estate	$59,710	$31,970	180
57	Construction of Buildings	$59,230	$40,420	90
58	Radio and Television Broadcasting	$59,130	$41,570	n/a
59	Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing	$58,830	$38,660	110
60	Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$58,800	$37,510	150
61	Construction	$58,700	$37,370	180
62	Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing	$58,650	$36,010	40
63	Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services	$58,170	$39,890	50
64	Household Appliances and Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	$58,170	$43,210	40
65	Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing	$57,780	$47,040	n/a
66	Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations	$57,620	$36,090	100
67	Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services	$57,610	$38,440	240
68	Real Estate	$57,470	$28,710	390
69	Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction	$57,390	$33,610	70
70	Activities Related to Real Estate	$57,280	$26,570	160
71	Finance and Insurance	$57,250	$37,800	8,940
72	Depository Credit Intermediation	$57,210	$40,150	1,220
73	Insurance Carriers	$57,110	$39,640	3,720
74	Residential Building Construction	$56,740	$39,310	60
75	Insurance Carriers and Related Activities	$56,510	$38,550	4,710
76	Office Administrative Services	$56,460	$33,790	650
77	Colleges, universities, and professional schools - Privately owned	$56,140	$37,420	310
78	Educational Services - Privately owned	$56,120	$37,110	340
79	Direct Insurance (except Life, Health, and Medical) Carriers	$56,010	$38,870	2,530
80	Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing	$55,660	$40,660	30
81	Engineering Services	$55,590	$36,290	200
82	Hospitals (including private, state, and local government hospitals)	$55,510	$32,400	500
83	Activities Related to Credit Intermediation	$55,380	$36,060	140
84	Insurance Agencies and Brokerages	$55,360	$37,150	370
85	Direct Health and Medical Insurance Carriers	$55,100	$38,460	430
86	Retail Trade	$55,010	$30,830	150
87	Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation	$55,000	$38,060	90
88	Real Estate and Rental and Leasing	$54,990	$30,500	600
89	Hospitals - Privately owned	$54,950	$30,330	390
90	Credit Intermediation and Related Activities	$54,920	$36,510	2,560
91	Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations	$54,780	$32,510	390
92	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	$54,320	$31,300	430
93	General Medical and Surgical Hospitals - Privately owned	$54,240	$28,130	350
94	Health Care and Social Assistance	$54,120	$31,770	850
95	Junior colleges - Local government owned	$54,040	$35,640	50
96	Electronic Shopping and Mail-Order Houses	$54,020	$33,580	90
97	Public sector -- Federal, state, and local government, including government owned schools and hospit	$53,900	$32,590	39,110
98	Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation)	$53,890	$32,550	38,520
99	Federal, State, and Local Government	$53,890	$32,550	38,520
100	Agencies, Brokerages, and Other Insurance Related Activities	$53,890	$34,610	990