Legal salary guide 2026
A focused set of 2 widely recognized jobs in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ legal occupations group. A role inside a combined BLS occupation is labelled as combined data rather than presented as a role-only estimate. Open a direct occupation for a separately labelled 2026 trend estimate only when the post-2020 history contains at least 4 consecutive exact annual medians and the latest BLS employment estimate is at least 1,000. Take home estimates assume a single filer before state and local income taxes.
| Occupation | An hour | Median | Federal take home |
|---|---|---|---|
Lawyer23-1011 | $76.76 | $159,670 | $120,394 |
Paralegal23-2011 | $30.24 | $62,890 | $52,720 |
Wages are BLS medians. Take home is an estimate calculated here from federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare; choose an occupation to calculate a specific state.