"Every year, more and more lawyers are entering the workforce. At the same time, more organizations are seeing the benefits of having skilled paralegals on staff to support them." Virginia College Online Campus President Dr. David Vaillancourt

A paralegals salary depends on the following factors.

• Market Demand

Facts have proven that the paralegal average salary only seems to increase each year. Let's look at the National Association of Legal Assistants' surveys from 1989 through 1997.

Survey Year	Average Salary
1997	33,018
1995	29,437
1993	27,329
1991	27,082
1989	23,782

Similar trends can be seen when describing the data in terms of billing rates.

Survey Year	Average Billing Rate
1997	$63
1995	$59
1993	$57
1991	$53

As you can see, according to the survey conducted by the National Association of Legal Assistants, paralegal salaries increased by an average of $1,700 per year.

Here're three ways to understand the ever-increasing demand for paralegals. They will blow your mind!

1. Every business will go into recession and boom all the time. There's no way to escape that fact. For example - whenever the real estate bubble bursts, the demand for paralegal service in real estate planning will decline. But the number of bankruptcies and other legal problems will increase at the same time. This will be a great opportunity to increase the income of paralegals.
2. The population of the poor will increase whenever the economy turns bad. Most community legal services won't be able to handle such a situation. They will look into the possibility of cutting costs by hiring paralegals. But when the economy booms, more elderly will live longer. Legal services that help this group will also need to hire more paralegals in order to cut costs!
3. More companies realize the danger of being sued by consumers. For example, in the pharmacy business, there's an increasing need for more paralegals that specialized in product liability. In the volatile world of finance, companies that offer consultations need better disclaimers to protect themselves. That requires the help of paralegals who need only indirect supervision of licensed attorneys.

• Educational level

A student with a Bachelor's degree as a paralegal working in a large city or for the federal government can expect to earn as much as sixty thousand dollars a year.

Also, students who are trained in AAfPE-recognized schools will earn higher salaries.

• Paralegal certification program

Paralegals that have certificates such as "PACE Registered Paralegal" from National Federation of Paralegal Associations (NFPA) or "Certified Legal Assistant" from National Association of Legal Assistants (NALA) will command higher salaries in companies that are members of these regulatory bodies. The yearly increase of salary will also be faster than those paralegals that do not go through certification programs.

• Experience

The number of years of experience is also an important factor.

Here's the breakdown of the median paralegal salary according to PayScale in 2007:

Less than 1 year	$33,000
1 - 4 years	$35,000
5 - 9 years	$43,000
10 - 19 years	$47,500
20 years or more	$48.500

• Geographic location

If you want more money, it is better to work in large metropolitan areas. Paralegals employed in less populated regions usually get lesser pay. This is because larger areas tend to have more crimes and legal issues.

According to a PayScale Inc. 2007 survey, the median salary of a paralegal in Los Angeles is $48,000. The median salary in less populated regions such as Boston is $42,000.

Let's look at PayScale's data that is tabulated according to population of a state...

The median salary in California is $47,000 whereas it is only $40,000 in Georgia. As you can see, the location you seek employment will have a large impact on your salary.

• Type of firm

The paralegal average salary varies for large firms, small legal firms and government agencies.

Paralegals working for the government seem to have a higher salary and better benefits. Large law firms tend to pay higher salaries than the smaller ones. Some firms that are specialized offer higher salaries to paralegals with specific qualifications.

Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of paralegals in 2000 were as follows:

Federal Government	$48,560
Legal services	$34,230
Local government	$34,120
State government	$32,680
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2002 - 2003

• Bonus

Attorneys usually give discretionary bonuses to paralegals based on the quantity and quality of their work. Overtime pay is also available to nonexempt paralegals. But the compensation depends on state laws. This also affects the salary of paralegals.