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Best states for a corporate paralegal

Quoted expert
Emily Allen-Hornblower
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Are you wondering which place in the United States is the best state for corporate paralegals? Knowing how challenging it is to figure out where to start your career or where to move to advance your career, we decided to bring you a list of best states for corporate paralegal jobs.We wanted to look at the best states for corporate paralegals -- where there are plenty of corporate paralegal jobs to go around and corporate paralegals get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To do that, we looked at the most recent data we have available for the following criteria -- average annual wages, and availability of jobs for corporate paralegals.We found that Washington is the best state for corporate paralegal jobs, whereas South Carolina is the worst.

10 best states for corporate paralegals in 2026

  1. Washington #1 best state for corporate paralegals

    1. Washington

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:321
    Average annual salary:$82,682
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$56,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$121,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.71
  2. California #2 best state for corporate paralegals

    2. California

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:1,108
    Average annual salary:$84,287
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$54,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$130,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.48
  3. Oregon #3 best state for corporate paralegals

    3. Oregon

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:115
    Average annual salary:$80,224
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$54,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$118,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.08
  4. Nevada #4 best state for corporate paralegals

    4. Nevada

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:58
    Average annual salary:$75,404
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$48,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$117,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.08
  5. New Jersey #5 best state for corporate paralegals

    5. New Jersey

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:210
    Average annual salary:$76,833
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$49,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$119,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.03
  6. Illinois #6 best state for corporate paralegals

    6. Illinois

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:355
    Average annual salary:$71,240
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$45,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$112,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.16
  7. New York #7 best state for corporate paralegals

    7. New York

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:589
    Average annual salary:$73,016
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$46,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$113,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.79
  8. District of Columbia #8 best state for corporate paralegals

    8. District of Columbia

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:195
    Average annual salary:$77,148
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$48,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$123,000
    Location Quotient:
    4.53
  9. Utah #9 best state for corporate paralegals

    9. Utah

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:90
    Average annual salary:$69,468
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$45,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$105,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.1
  10. Massachusetts #10 best state for corporate paralegals

    10. Massachusetts

    Total corporate paralegal jobs:317
    Average annual salary:$69,366
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$45,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$105,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.34

Corporate paralegal jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a corporate paralegal

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a corporate paralegal

RankStateAverage salaryLowest 10% earnPopulationJob count
1Washington$82,682$56,0007,405,743321
2California$84,287$54,00039,536,6531,108
3Oregon$80,224$54,0004,142,776115
4Nevada$75,404$48,0002,998,03958
5New Jersey$76,833$49,0009,005,644210
6Illinois$71,240$45,00012,802,023355
7New York$73,016$46,00019,849,399589
8District of Columbia$77,148$48,000693,972195
9Utah$69,468$45,0003,101,83390
10Massachusetts$69,366$45,0006,859,819317
11Pennsylvania$70,751$44,00012,805,537236
12Delaware$67,488$42,000961,93939
13New Hampshire$76,054$50,0001,342,79515
14West Virginia$65,077$40,0001,815,85733
15Colorado$66,901$43,0005,607,154194
16Alaska$71,631$56,000739,79516
17Rhode Island$65,873$43,0001,059,63925
18Minnesota$65,824$43,0005,576,606144
19Idaho$67,109$44,0001,716,94322
20Connecticut$69,013$44,0003,588,18451
21Michigan$63,287$40,0009,962,311141
22Arizona$62,856$39,0007,016,270129
23North Dakota$58,731$40,000755,39327
24Vermont$62,385$41,000623,65714
25Virginia$60,484$37,0008,470,020251
26Nebraska$61,593$40,0001,920,07629
27South Dakota$62,096$41,000869,66612
28Texas$56,780$32,00028,304,596516
29Georgia$55,816$32,00010,429,379280
30Hawaii$62,226$48,0001,427,53821
31Kentucky$58,601$35,0004,454,18950
32Maine$59,900$39,0001,335,90718
33Ohio$56,703$35,00011,658,609175
34Maryland$61,515$38,0006,052,177114
35Wisconsin$56,007$36,0005,795,48395
36Iowa$57,807$37,0003,145,71142
37New Mexico$59,497$36,0002,088,07017
38Wyoming$53,943$35,000579,31515
39Montana$57,333$39,0001,050,49320
40Tennessee$53,403$31,0006,715,984104
41Mississippi$54,471$31,0002,984,10030
42Florida$44,507$24,00020,984,400507
43Missouri$53,719$33,0006,113,53294
44Kansas$55,018$34,0002,913,12325
45North Carolina$49,147$29,00010,273,419189
46Arkansas$48,714$29,0003,004,27945
47Alabama$50,570$29,0004,874,74742
48Oklahoma$52,141$31,0003,930,86419
49Indiana$47,971$29,0006,666,81889
50Louisiana$47,389$26,0004,684,33336
51South Carolina$46,479$26,0005,024,36952

Highest paying states for corporate paralegals

RankStateAvg. Corporate Paralegal Salary
1Washington$82,682
2California$84,287
3Oregon$80,224
4Nevada$75,404
5New Jersey$76,833
6Illinois$71,240
7New York$73,016
8District of Columbia$77,148
9Utah$69,468
10Massachusetts$69,366
11Pennsylvania$70,751
12Delaware$67,488
13New Hampshire$76,054
14West Virginia$65,077
15Colorado$66,901
16Alaska$71,631
17Rhode Island$65,873
18Minnesota$65,824
19Idaho$67,109
20Connecticut$69,013
21Michigan$63,287
22Arizona$62,856
23North Dakota$58,731
24Vermont$62,385
25Virginia$60,484
26Nebraska$61,593
27South Dakota$62,096
28Texas$56,780
29Georgia$55,816
30Hawaii$62,226
31Kentucky$58,601
32Maine$59,900
33Ohio$56,703
34Maryland$61,515
35Wisconsin$56,007
36Iowa$57,807
37New Mexico$59,497
38Wyoming$53,943
39Montana$57,333
40Tennessee$53,403
41Mississippi$54,471
42Florida$44,507
43Missouri$53,719
44Kansas$55,018
45North Carolina$49,147
46Arkansas$48,714
47Alabama$50,570
48Oklahoma$52,141
49Indiana$47,971
50Louisiana$47,389
51South Carolina$46,479

Expert opinions on the best states for corporate paralegals

  • Are there any particularly good places in the United States for corporate paralegals to find work opportunities?

    Emily Allen-HornblowerEmily Allen-Hornblower LinkedIn profile

    Associate Professor of Classics, Director of Undergraduate Studies, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

    I would say, think broadly. Your CV gives you an edge - you chose a course of study that is somewhat atypical, original (and a great conversation starter!) that gave you widely applicable skills.

    I mean, who studies Classics? Who willingly subjects themselves to the rigors of Latin or Greek - or both? Who commits to navigating the intricacies of an interdisciplinary path that combines some of the most vital areas of inquiry for our time: social and cultural history, political science, philosophy, psychology, literary studies, material culture?

    A go-getter. Someone who is passionate. And is Driven.

    And you know what? Employers know that. They see that on your CV, and they think, wow - here is someone interesting and hard-working and who thinks out of the box. And they are right. Xerox saw that. Macy's saw that. The Air Force Intelligence Officer who hired one of our (female!) undergraduates as an officer saw that. The software engineer who hired another one of our grads to join his team as a full-time software engineer saw that. Oxford University Press in New York City saw that - and hired another recent grad as a full-time intern in their Higher Education Editorial Development department. SO: Classics majors, think big and broad. There is no restricted path for what is next.

    So - Graduating seniors in Classics (and other Liberal Arts degrees), as you prepare to go forward into the world, you have good reason to go forth with pride, and enter the world after college, with all its question marks and inevitable bumps in the road, with confidence.
    A Classics major is excellent preparation for the pursuit of a wide range of careers in a large number of fields, including, but not limited to, government, law, education, business, journalism, library science, publishing, foreign service, finance, the entertainment industry, museum, and preservation work, pharmaceutical sciences, music, and the arts, foundations, technology, web design, and labor relations. So think broadly. You've got this.

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