Paralegals and Legal Assistants in Durham-Chapel Hill

BLS metro-level wage data places Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in Durham-Chapel Hill, NC at a median of $52,500 per year ($25.24/hr/hour), drawn from the OEWS May 2025 release for this Metropolitan Statistical Area. Compared to the national median of $62,890, Durham-Chapel Hill pays 17% below, which typically tracks with a lower local cost of living or smaller specialized-employer cluster. Approximately 890 paralegals and legal assistantss are employed across the Durham-Chapel Hill MSA in SOC 23-2011.

The Durham-Chapel Hill pay distribution spans from $46,280 at the 10th percentile to $89,720 at the 90th, a 1.9× spread that reflects experience tenure, specialization, employer size, and the difference between public-sector, nonprofit, and private-sector compensation inside the metro. The 25th percentile sits at $50,490 and the 75th at $63,910, so half of Durham-Chapel Hill-based paralegals and legal assistantss earn within that middle band.

Metro figures capture where you actually work, not just where you live, which matters for commuters. BLS draws metro boundaries from the OMB MSA definitions, so Durham-Chapel Hill, NC covers the central city plus outlying counties tied to the metro economically. Remember that OEWS wages reflect base pay only: employer-provided health insurance, retirement matches, stock options, signing bonuses, overtime, and tips are excluded and can add 20-40% to real total compensation. Before using this metro median as a negotiation anchor, triangulate against the same occupation's national profile (linked below), its state-wide NC data, and peer-metro comparisons, a median is a starting point, not a ceiling.