Paralegals and Legal Assistants Salary in Miami, FL (2024)
Paralegals and Legal Assistants in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area earn a median of $63,050 per year ($30.31 per hour) based on 15,160 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +3.3% against the national median of $61,010 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where paralegals and legal assistants actually sit across the pay range in Miami, FL, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $18.00 | $37,440 | |
| 25th percentile | $22.81 | $47,440 | |
| Median | $30.31 | $63,050 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $36.84 | $76,630 | |
| 90th percentile | $43.25 | $89,950 | |
| Average (mean) | $31.09 | $64,660 |
How Miami, FL compares
The local median of $63,050 runs +3.3% above the US median of $61,010 for this occupation; it pays 31.6% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($47,920); within the metro it ranks 238th of 675 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Miami, FL — this occupation | $63,050 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $61,010 | +3.3% |
| Miami, FL — all occupations | $47,920 | +31.6% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $85,230 | -26.0% |
Miami, FL has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.29 means the job is roughly 229% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 3.3%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 238th of 675 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Miami, FL
To put $63,050 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 238th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Physicists | $219,070 | — |
| Nurse Anesthetists | $204,220 | — |
| Pediatricians, General | $185,730 | 240 |
| Architectural and Engineering Managers | $168,160 | 1,530 |
| Dentists, General | $167,270 | 2,350 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $165,910 | 8,840 |
| Air Traffic Controllers | $164,240 | 710 |
| Commercial Pilots | $157,580 | 3,340 |
| Financial Managers | $154,470 | 15,290 |
| Fire Inspectors and Investigators | $149,870 | 1,780 |
Where paralegals and legal assistants earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $52,990 to $85,230. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $85,230 | 7,670 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $84,950 | 6,420 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $80,550 | 11,080 |
| Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $79,240 | 3,660 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $77,550 | 3,690 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $77,470 | 6,050 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $74,750 | 5,490 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $74,470 | 3,350 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $73,470 | 29,300 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | $68,390 | 3,400 |
See the full national picture on the Paralegals and Legal Assistants salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for paralegals and legal assistants in Miami, FL?
The median annual wage is $63,050, or $30 per hour. That means half of the paralegals and legal assistants working in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $64,660.
What do the highest and lowest paid paralegals and legal assistants in Miami, FL earn?
The bottom 10% earn $37,440 or less, while the top 10% earn $89,950 or more — a spread of $52,510 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $47,440 and $76,630.
Is paralegals and legal assistants pay in Miami, FL above the local average?
Yes, it is 31.6% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $47,920. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Miami, FL pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $63,050 the metro median is 3.3% higher than the US median of $61,010 for paralegals and legal assistants. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $52,990 to $85,230.
How many paralegals and legal assistants work in Miami, FL?
BLS counts about 15,160 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 5.45 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. Miami, FL has an unusually deep bench in this occupation — the location quotient of 2.29 means the job is roughly 229% as common here as it is nationally, which usually reflects a specialised local industry cluster.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 10.0%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.