SalaryExplorer

SOC 23-2011 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Paralegals and Legal Assistants — Abilene

Abilene, TX · 10 metro areas compared

$58,700 /year
$28.22per hour
80jobs in area
−6.7%vs US median

The median wage here is $58,700 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $62,890.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $62,89010TH$34,53025TH$44,570MEDIAN$58,70075TH$63,56090TH$76,690

How pay has moved

$63,605$34,1752019202020212022202320242025$58,700
$41,310 in 2019 to $58,700 in 2025, +42.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow more slowly than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+0.2%
Openings per year
39,300
Typical entry-level education
Associate's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Abilene, TX.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage here is $58,700 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $62,890. Half of workers earn between $44,570 and $63,560. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $34,530 and the ninetieth at $76,690.

The area has 80 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 1.0 of every thousand jobs. Midland leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $64,500. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 107th of 287 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Abilene, TX · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$34,530−45.1%
25th$44,570−29.1%
Median (50th)$58,700−6.7%
75th$63,560+1.1%
90th$76,690+21.9%
Mean$56,430−10.3%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Texas

Median annual wage for Paralegals and Legal Assistants, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Midland$64,500100
2Austin$64,1404,390
3Dallas$63,2208,320
4Houston$62,7307,320
5Odessa$59,890100
6Amarillo$59,740190
7Killeen$58,970220
8Waco$58,620250
9College Station$57,510180
10Tyler$57,320360

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Abilene run 9.6% below the national average, so the median of $58,700 goes as far as $64,934 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 3.3% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$58,700as reported by BLS

Local price level

90.4US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$64,934US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $58,700 a year, 6.7% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $34,530 to $76,690 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 80 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Midland, at $64,500.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Abilene, TX?

The median annual wage is $58,700, or $28.22 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $62,890, so pay in Abilene, TX is 6.7% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Abilene, TX earns more than $76,690 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $34,530 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Midland, at $64,500 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 80 jobs in this occupation in Abilene, TX. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.