Legal Assistants


Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security > Legal Assistants > Wages & Trends
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Legal Assistants

Legal Assistants - Wages & Trends

Wages vary by the paralegal's education, training, and experience. In general, the more education and training paralegals have, the higher their wages. The type and size of the employer and the area of the country also affect wages. Those who work for large firms in large cities generally earn the highest wages.

Many paralegals also receive bonuses when cases are successful or the firm has shown a profit that year.

Paralegals who work full time usually receive benefits. Typical benefits include sick leave, paid vacation, and health insurance. Some paralegals also receive a retirement plan.

Paralegals and legal assistants (SOC 23-2011)
Location
Pay Period
25%
Median
75%
Illinois Hourly $23.44 $30.14 $38.19
Yearly $48,741 $62,690 $79,442
    Champaign Area Hourly $22.41 $24.04 $31.10
Yearly $46,605 $50,003 $64,698
    Charleston-Effingham-Centralia Area Hourly $14.74 $23.81 $32.23
Yearly $30,647 $49,523 $67,045
    Cook County Hourly $23.88 $31.69 $39.38
Yearly $49,680 $65,918 $81,911
    Decatur Area Hourly $21.98 $23.89 $29.19
Yearly $45,726 $49,690 $60,724
    Dekalb-Elgin-Aurora Area Hourly $23.22 $24.21 $32.35
Yearly $48,303 $50,359 $67,288
    Edwardsville Area Hourly $20.20 $24.39 $30.79
Yearly $42,013 $50,729 $64,041
    Jacksonville-Carlinville-Litchfield Area Hourly $19.37 $29.76 $31.04
Yearly $40,287 $61,904 $64,561
    Kankakee-Morris-Pontiac Area Hourly $20.97 $24.13 $28.69
Yearly $43,609 $50,202 $59,688
    Lake County Hourly $24.21 $31.46 $41.22
Yearly $50,359 $65,436 $85,719
    McHenry County Hourly $21.35 $24.21 $31.69
Yearly $44,400 $50,359 $65,918
    Mt. Vernon-Marion-Carbondale Area Hourly $17.91 $22.34 $26.11
Yearly $37,257 $46,470 $54,299
    Northwest Illinois Area Hourly $14.76 $20.35 $25.90
Yearly $30,694 $42,337 $53,873
    Peoria-Bloomington Area Hourly $23.14 $24.51 $35.02
Yearly $48,114 $50,964 $72,836
    Quincy-Macomb-Galesburg Area Hourly $14.70 $19.37 $25.04
Yearly $30,578 $40,287 $52,073
    Rock Island-Moline Area Hourly $20.56 $25.59 $32.58
Yearly $42,770 $53,217 $67,757
    Rockford Area Hourly $21.36 $23.95 $30.23
Yearly $44,425 $49,808 $62,868
    Springfield Area Hourly $20.30 $24.49 $31.72
Yearly $42,227 $50,929 $65,982
    St. Louis-Belleville Area Hourly $23.89 $24.39 $31.57
Yearly $49,705 $50,729 $65,653
    Vermilion County Hourly $20.28 $26.27 $32.54
Yearly $42,191 $54,657 $67,683
    Will County Hourly $22.76 $24.21 $31.66
Yearly $47,340 $50,359 $65,864
United States Hourly $22.52 $28.46 $36.33
Yearly $46,850 $59,200 $75,560

Source: Illinois Career Information System (CIS) brought to you by Illinois Department of Employment Security.