Paralegal · Virginia · SOC 23-2011
Paralegals in Virginia: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-07.
TL;DR
- BLS reports Virginia Paralegal median pay at $61,200. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $60,396.
- Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
- BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $44,100 · P25 $48,620 · P75 $79,470 · P90 $97,520.
- Paralegal ranking: #18 on the BLS table, #26 once cost of living is in.
Wage breakdown — Virginia
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $44,100 | $43,521 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $48,620 | $47,981 |
| P50 (median) | $61,200 | $60,396 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $79,470 | $78,426 |
| P90 (top tier) | $97,520 | $96,239 |
| Mean | $66,570 | $65,696 |
| Employment | 8,570 Paralegals in Virginia | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Virginia index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 101.3 |
| Goods | 101.1 |
| Services | 92.4 |
| Rents | 105.6 |
Virginia's overall RPP (101.3) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Virginia (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Paralegal) | $61,200 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$5,206 | 8.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$2,773 | 2–5.75% (graduated) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$4,682 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $48,539 | 79.3% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $47,902 | ÷ (101.3 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Virginia state-tax burden means for Paralegal take-home
Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $48,539 (79.3% of gross). After the 101.3 RPP, real take-home is $47,902.
Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).
National context
Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $61,010 for Paralegals with mean pay of $66,510 and total employment of 367,220. Virginia sits at #18 on nominal pay and #26 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Virginia falls 8 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Paralegal make in Virginia?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $61,200 for Paralegals in Virginia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $48,620 and the 75th-percentile is $79,470.
- How are Virginia Paralegal salaries calculated on this page?
- Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
- Where does Virginia rank for Paralegal pay?
- On nominal BLS wages alone, Virginia ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
- How wide is the wage spread in Virginia?
- P10 to P90 spans $44,100 to $97,520. That spread captures entry-level to top-quartile pay, including specialty differentials and metro-area variance within the state.
- When does this data update?
- BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
- Does paralegal certification (NALA/NFPA) raise pay in Virginia?
- BLS does not segment certified from non-certified paralegals. In Virginia, NALA Certified Paralegal (CP) or NFPA Registered Paralegal (RP) credentials typically command a 5-15% pay premium versus uncertified paralegals at comparable experience, concentrated in litigation and corporate practice. The premium is largest in major-market BigLaw firms with formal paralegal levels (paralegal I/II/III, senior paralegal, paralegal manager), where certification often gates promotion. In small Virginia firms and solo practices, certification has minimal pay impact.
- Litigation vs corporate vs IP paralegal pay in Virginia?
- BLS aggregates SOC 23-2011 (paralegals and legal assistants) without segmenting by practice area. In Virginia, intellectual-property paralegals — particularly patent paralegals with USPTO procedural fluency — typically earn well above the BLS P75 due to the credential scarcity. Corporate-transactional paralegals at major firms earn at or above median with strong overtime during deal cycles. Litigation paralegals cluster near the BLS median; family law, immigration, and personal-injury paralegals in smaller Virginia firms typically fall below median. Senior paralegal manager roles at AmLaw 100 firms exceed BLS P90.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-2011, 2024 reference period.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
- Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
- See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.
Cross-comparison: see how Virginia Paralegal pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.