From the biggest metro areas of Huntsville and Mobile to the quieter corners of the state, Alabama’s paralegals are getting the job done – and done right. Their education and expertise ensure strong salaries and plenty of room for growth, whether they’re working for one of the state’s regional law firms or are part of a corporate law department in a growing corporation.
Paralegal Job Market Trends in Alabama
In fact, as of 2020, these legal support professionals earned an average salary of $49,150, which is about $23.63 an hour. Earn yourself a solid reputation in the profession through experience and then specialize your career in an area of law like bankruptcy or litigation and you’ll soon find yourself earning a salary that reflects the state’s top earners (90th percentile) which, as of 2020, was $71,390, or about $34.32 an hour.
Alabama is home to about 4,130 paralegals who work for private companies like Regions Financial in Birmingham; law firms like Adams and Reese LLP, which has offices in Mobile, Birmingham, and Mobile; and nonprofits like Children’s Hospital of Alabama in Birmingham.
The legal services industry in Alabama continues to grow, with the American Bar Association (ABA) revealing a steady rise in the number of active attorneys here in recent years, increasing 7.4% (13,676 to 14,897) between 2011 and 2021. Larger numbers of lawyers, of course, likely translates into increasing opportunities for the paralegals who call Alabama home.
Average Paralegal Salary in Alabama by City
Most of Alabama’s largest metro areas reported average paralegal salaries of $50,000+, as of May 2020, with the highest earners (90th percentile) in Huntsville earning salaries that exceeded $79,000.
Anniston-Oxford-Jacksonville:
Average – $41,750 ($20.07 hourly)
Top 10% – $50,690 ($24.37 hourly
Birmingham-Hoover:
Average – $51,670 ($24.84 hourly)
Top 10% – $74,290 ($35.71 hourly)
Huntsville:
Average – $52,540 ($25.26 hourly)
Top 10% – $79,070 ($38.02 hourly)
Mobile:
Average – $55,670 ($26.77 hourly)
Top 10% – $77,120 ($37.08 hourly)
Montgomery:
Average – $50,170 ($24.12 hourly)
Top 10% – $68,780 ($33.07 hourly)
May 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics salary, growth, and job market trends for paralegals and legal assistants. Figures represent state data, not school specific information. Conditions in your area may vary. Data accessed December 2021.