The median annual wage for paralegals and legal assistants was $61,010 as of May 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bottom 10% of earners made less than $39,710, while the top 10% earned more than $98,990 — a wide range that mostly comes down to practice area, geography, and years of experience.
On the employment side, the picture is stable rather than booming: the BLS projects little or no change in overall paralegal employment from 2024 to 2034. That does not mean the job market is stagnant, though. About 39,300 openings are projected each year on average over the decade, the large majority coming from workers transferring occupations or leaving the workforce — not from net-new job creation. In practice, that means steady turnover-driven hiring across law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies, even without headline growth.
What this means for your search
A flat growth projection is not a red flag — it is normal for a mature, established profession. The more useful number for job seekers is the 39,300 annual openings figure, since that is closer to how many real hiring opportunities exist across the market in a given year.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook · ParalegalEDU, 2026 Paralegal Job Outlook
