Best Cities for Paralegals and Legal Assistantss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where paralegals and legal assistantss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.31	$99,250	$82,571	38%
2	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.29	$92,900	$81,277	28%
3	District of ColumbiaState	1.25	$89,750	$78,521	28%
4	MinnesotaState	1.23	$75,570	$77,112	20%
5	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	1.22	$76,220	$76,603	23%
6	ColoradoState	1.18	$78,190	$74,184	28%
7	WashingtonState	1.18	$79,400	$73,998	29%
8	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.15	$81,590	$72,332	29%
9	MassachusettsState	1.14	$77,640	$71,558	35%
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NHMetro	1.12	$79,850	$70,352	38%
11	CaliforniaState	1.11	$77,390	$69,910	35%
12	West VirginiaState	1.11	$59,000	$70,071	17%
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.11	$63,400	$69,518	23%
14	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.11	$75,430	$69,972	29%
15	MissouriState	1.10	$61,410	$69,312	20%
16	NebraskaState	1.10	$63,250	$69,126	20%
17	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.09	$63,880	$68,836	24%
18	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.09	$63,620	$68,778	22%
19	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.08	$70,430	$68,048	27%
20	KentuckyState	1.07	$59,830	$67,605	19%
21	MichiganState	1.07	$62,170	$67,356	22%
22	GeorgiaState	1.06	$62,400	$66,809	27%
23	LouisianaState	1.06	$60,250	$66,870	21%
24	OhioState	1.06	$60,420	$66,836	21%
25	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.06	$77,520	$66,541	35%
26	AlaskaState	1.05	$68,700	$65,868	24%
27	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	1.05	$64,080	$66,198	30%
28	IllinoisState	1.04	$63,670	$65,370	25%
29	New JerseyState	1.04	$71,500	$65,717	30%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.04	$63,370	$65,330	25%
31	TexasState	1.04	$62,310	$65,178	27%
32	VermontState	1.04	$67,160	$65,522	25%
33	NevadaState	1.03	$64,680	$64,551	27%
34	New MexicoState	1.03	$59,840	$65,043	21%
35	Columbus, OHMetro	1.03	$60,430	$64,631	26%
36	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	1.03	$63,220	$65,041	30%
37	North DakotaState	1.02	$59,430	$64,179	20%
38	South DakotaState	1.02	$58,320	$64,229	20%
39	TennesseeState	1.02	$58,820	$64,284	26%
40	WisconsinState	1.01	$58,500	$63,380	22%
41	IndianaState	1.00	$57,030	$63,017	22%
42	UtahState	1.00	$63,220	$63,094	28%
43	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.00	$60,800	$63,202	31%
44	DelawareState	0.99	$63,110	$62,485	26%
45	MaineState	0.99	$62,420	$62,545	25%
46	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.99	$65,640	$62,042	31%
47	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	0.99	$59,870	$62,495	30%
48	VirginiaState	0.98	$63,990	$61,826	30%
49	ArizonaState	0.97	$61,630	$61,080	29%
50	IowaState	0.97	$54,550	$61,155	21%
51	KansasState	0.97	$55,000	$61,111	23%
52	New YorkState	0.97	$68,410	$60,809	32%
53	North CarolinaState	0.97	$57,500	$60,911	27%
54	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.97	$60,150	$61,066	34%
55	FloridaState	0.96	$61,000	$60,099	34%
56	MarylandState	0.96	$65,640	$60,110	31%
57	OklahomaState	0.96	$53,170	$60,079	22%
58	OregonState	0.95	$61,490	$59,699	31%
59	ConnecticutState	0.94	$63,820	$59,312	29%
60	MontanaState	0.94	$57,290	$59,429	24%
61	New HampshireState	0.93	$62,040	$58,528	31%
62	South CarolinaState	0.93	$53,880	$58,565	28%
63	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.92	$53,300	$57,935	29%
64	HawaiiState	0.91	$62,840	$57,127	46%
65	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.91	$62,090	$57,226	39%
66	Rhode IslandState	0.89	$56,250	$55,970	32%
67	ArkansasState	0.87	$47,420	$54,948	22%
68	MississippiState	0.87	$46,180	$54,458	23%
69	AlabamaState	0.86	$47,260	$54,259	24%
70	WyomingState	0.85	$49,490	$53,215	24%
71	IdahoState	0.82	$49,690	$51,492	29%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).