Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,441
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$12,979
20.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,919
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$62,420
Kept after tax
$49,441
Worth in national money
$50,919
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $62,420, ranking 21 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 209 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $62,420 the take-home is $49,441, which is worth about $50,919 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $64,260, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine occupies the middle band for paralegals and legal assistants: a median of $62,420, ranking 21 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 209 of 484 in Maine places paralegals and legal assistants in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for paralegals and legal assistants on its $62,420 median: $49,441 retained after tax becomes $50,919 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $64,260 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,260 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,550 |
| This salary | $62,420 |
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 Maine | $49,441 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,334 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,937 |
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 | $58,819 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,551 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of paralegals and legal assistants in Maine earn under $62,420 and half over. The published range runs $48,260 at the tenth percentile to $80,550 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $49,441, worked from $62,420. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 209 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,919 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 209.
- Figures are distribution medians for paralegals and legal assistants in Maine, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,260 to $80,550; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Maine take-home of $49,441, on $62,420 for work ranking 209 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 209 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,919, worked from $62,420, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 209 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,260 at the tenth percentile, $80,550 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $50,919 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,441 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,260 to $80,550) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $50,919 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 $49,441 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.