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Paralegal Pay In Texas, From The BLS
Paralegal Salary In Texas
Where Paralegal Pay Sits In Texas
Annual pay in May 2025. Half of Texas's paralegals and legal assistants earned between $47,410 and $77,740.
The bar runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile; the solid band is the middle half. BLS
Paralegal Salary In Texas At A Glance
- Paralegals and legal assistants in Texas earned a median $62,310 in May 2025, $580 below the national median of $62,890, 23rd highest of the 51 states and districts BLS reports.
- The Midland, TX metro area pays the highest median, $64,500, and the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area employs the most paralegals, 8,320, at a median of $63,220.
- 4 of the 24 metro areas BLS reports in Texas pay above the state median, and 20 below it.
- The least expensive ABA-approved certificate ranked in Texas, at Collin College, costs $3,514 a year in state, 6% of a year's median paralegal pay there.
Every wage on this page is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release, for the occupation BLS calls Paralegals and Legal Assistants (SOC 23-2011), which counts the two job titles as one. The state figures are BLS's for Texas; the metro figures are the same release for each metropolitan area, named as the Census Bureau's 2023 delineation names it. They are what employers reported paying, so they include every paralegal, new or senior, and they are not adjusted for living costs. The national picture, with every state, is on the paralegal salary page.
Paralegal Salary By Metro Area In Texas
BLS reports a median for 24 metro areas in Texas. The Midland, TX metro area leads at $64,500, $2,190 above the state median, and the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area is lowest at $45,480. The largest, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area, employs 8,320 paralegals at a median of $63,220. One metro crosses a state line and is counted whole, as BLS counts it: Texarkana, TX-AR.
| Metro area | Median pay, a year | Against the state | Paralegals employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Midland, TX | $64,500 | +$2,190 | 100 |
| 2Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | $64,140 | +$1,830 | 4,390 |
| 3Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $63,220 | +$910 | 8,320 |
| 4Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $62,730 | +$420 | 7,320 |
| 5Odessa, TX | $59,890 | -$2,420 | 100 |
| 6Amarillo, TX | $59,740 | -$2,570 | 190 |
| 7Killeen-Temple, TX | $58,970 | -$3,340 | 220 |
| 8Abilene, TX | $58,700 | -$3,610 | 80 |
| 9Waco, TX | $58,620 | -$3,690 | 250 |
| 10College Station-Bryan, TX | $57,510 | -$4,800 | 180 |
| 11Tyler, TX | $57,320 | -$4,990 | 360 |
| 12El Paso, TX | $55,830 | -$6,480 | 490 |
| 13San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | $53,300 | -$9,010 | 2,900 |
| 14Texarkana, TX-AR | $52,590 | -$9,720 | 60 |
| 15Corpus Christi, TX | $51,290 | -$11,020 | 410 |
| 16Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX | $48,890 | -$13,420 | 220 |
| 17Sherman-Denison, TX | $48,110 | -$14,200 | 60 |
| 18Longview, TX | $47,990 | -$14,320 | 140 |
| 19Wichita Falls, TX | $47,360 | -$14,950 | 50 |
| 20McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | $47,330 | -$14,980 | 560 |
| 21Laredo, TX | $47,060 | -$15,250 | 140 |
| 22Eagle Pass, TX | $46,030 | -$16,280 | 50 |
| 23Lubbock, TX | $45,780 | -$16,530 | 340 |
| 24Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | $45,480 | -$16,830 | 320 |
How Texas Compares With The Nation
At every point of the range, here is Texas beside the national figures. Texas's median is $580 below the national one; its highest-paid 10% start at $98,440, $3,060 below the national $101,500, and its lowest-paid 10% earn under $39,190, $5,550 below the national $44,740. The mean, which the best-paid pull up, is $65,480 in Texas and $69,700 nationally.
| Point in the range | Texas | United States | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $39,190 | $44,740 | -$5,550 |
| 25th percentile | $47,410 | $50,340 | -$2,930 |
| Median | $62,310 | $62,890 | -$580 |
| 75th percentile | $77,740 | $80,080 | -$2,340 |
| 90th percentile | $98,440 | $101,500 | -$3,060 |
What A Paralegal Certificate Costs In Texas
This site ranks 2 ABA-approved certificates in Texas. The least expensive, at Collin College, charges $3,514 a year in in-state tuition and fees, 6% of a year's median paralegal pay in the state, and the median across the 2 certificates is $4,529. Tuition is the federal figure for a full-time year; a certificate can take more or less than a year. The ranking of the best paralegal certificate programs in Texas scores each one on price, graduation rate and graduates.
Common Questions About Paralegal Salary In Texas
How much do paralegals make in Texas?
Which Texas metro area pays paralegals the most?
How much do paralegals make an hour in Texas?
Do paralegals in Texas earn more than the national median?
Sources For Texas Paralegal Pay
State and national wages are BLS's OEWS figures for SOC 23-2011. Metro wages are the same May 2025 release, read through the BLS Public Data API for each metropolitan statistical area, whose names and boundaries are the Census Bureau's July 2023 delineation. Program costs are IPEDS tuition and required fees for 2023-24.