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Role hub · Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Paralegal: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

Maid DizdarevicCareer coach · 8x LinkedIn Top Voice
Updated Oct 24, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of paralegals earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$62,890
Hourly
$30.24
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Paralegals assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. The median pay is $62,890 a year ($30.24 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a bachelor's degree (37% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$62,890
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
392,880
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 3 of 5
medium preparation
Most common education
Bachelor's Degree
37% of workers

Data Government data groups this job as Paralegals and Legal Assistants (O*NET-SOC 23-2011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

Explore the role

Every page for Paralegals

SalaryParalegal salary

Pay by percentile, state and metro, with a negotiation script.

Open →How to becomeParalegal how to become

Education, training and the skills to build first.

Open →ResumeParalegal resume

Keywords, bullet formulas and the skills to prove.

Open →Interview questionsParalegal interview questions

Questions with what they test, plus practice mode.

Open →Career changeParalegal career change

Where these skills transfer, with skill match and pay change.

Open →Free toolCheck your resume

Parsed text, evidence per bullet, fixes first.

Open →
The work

What paralegals do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system.
  2. Prepare, edit, or review legal documents, including legislation, briefs, pleadings, appeals, wills, contracts, and real estate closing statements.
  3. Investigate facts and law of cases and search pertinent sources, such as public records and internet sources, to determine causes of action and to prepare cases.
  4. Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits.
  5. Meet with clients and other professionals to discuss details of cases.
  6. Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents.
Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

WritingcoreReading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessService OrientationComplex Problem SolvingJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: Law and Government, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management.

Tools and technology

Software paralegals use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Thomson Reuters WestlawInformation retrieval or search softwareIn demand
  • American LegalNet USCourtFormsInformation retrieval or search software
  • Blumbeg Drafting LibrariesDesktop publishing software
  • Bowne JFS Litigator's NotebookCategorization or classification software
  • Case analysis softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • CaseSoft TimeMapPattern design software
  • Computer access catalog softwareLibrary software
  • Dataflight OpticonDesktop publishing software
  • Digital contract softwareDesktop publishing software
  • DropboxCloud-based data access and sharing software
  • Electronic discovery softwareAnalytical or scientific software
  • Fastcase legal softwareInformation retrieval or search software

Also called: Legal Assistant, Immigration Paralegal, Law Associate, Legal Analyst, Legal Clerk, Legal Processing Assistant.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the correlation between the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level, subtract the average across all occupations, and correlate the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 or below means unrelated. Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).