Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,130
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$9,130
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,381
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$47,260
Kept after tax
$38,130
Worth in national money
$42,381
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,260, ranking 50 of 51 states — about 24.85% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 284.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,260 you keep $38,130, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,381 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $52,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 50 of 51 for paralegals and legal assistants, with a median of $47,260 — about 24.85% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, paralegals and legal assistants sits at 284 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for paralegals and legal assistants on $47,260 is $38,130. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,381 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $52,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,100 |
| This salary | $47,260 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $38,130 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,153 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,060 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $44,742 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,282 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,260 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,750 and the ninetieth is $77,100 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $38,130 take-home in Alabama comes from $47,260. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 284 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,381 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 284.
- The Alabama median of $47,260 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,750 to $77,100. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $38,130, from $47,260, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 284 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 50 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,381, worked from $47,260, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 284 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $52,730, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,750 at the bottom tenth to $77,100 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $42,381 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $38,130.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Alabama is $52,730. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($30,750) and the ninetieth ($77,100) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $42,381 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,130 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.