Paralegal: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Legal professionals n.e.c. (SOC 2419)
About £32,320 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +11.5% on last year
£3,333 a month About £2,693 a month after tax 67 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £32,076 in 2021 to £40,000 in 2026 (+25%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £18,491 | £22,892 | £32,076 | x | x |
| 2022 | £20,054 | £23,770 | £30,813 | x | x |
| 2023 | £20,104 | £23,578 | £29,998 | x | x |
| 2024 | £22,198 | £25,144 | £33,038 | x | x |
| 2025 | £23,423 | £26,798 | £35,882 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | £28,116 | £40,000 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £40,000 a year and half earn more. That is 2% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 152 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
The mean (£77,863) is well above the median: a minority in this job earn much more than most.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,693 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,688 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £27,113 | £2,259 |
| 25th (P25) | £28,116 | £2,343 |
| 30th | £30,192 | £2,516 |
| 40th | £34,611 | £2,884 |
| Median (50th) | £40,000 | £3,333 |
| 60th | x | x |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £110,973 | 21 |
| Women | £37,148 | £62,163 | 45 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £32,320 | £2,693 |
| Scotland | £32,255 | £2,688 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £40,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 53 job titles to SOC 2419 Legal professionals n.e.c.. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Accountant of court
- Adjudicator
- Adviser
- Arbitrator
- Articled clerk
- Attorney
- Auditor of court
- Chartered legal executive
- Chief clerk
- Children’s reporter
- Clerk of arraigns
- Clerk of the court
- Clerk of the peace
- Clerk to the justices
- Commissioner
- Commissioner of oaths
- Conveyancer
- Counsellor
- Court assistant
- Court clerk
- Court legal adviser
- Data protection adviser
- Data protection legal adviser
- General counsel
- Immigration consultant
- Justice's clerk
- Law agent
- Law clerk
- Legal adviser
- Legal consultant
- Legal coordinator
- Legal counsel
- Legal executive
- Legal officer
- Legal services officer
- Legal team manager
- Licensed conveyancer
- Litigation executive
- Litigation paralegal
- Magistrate's clerk
- Notary
- Owner
- Paralegal
- Parking adjudicator
- Parliamentary agent
- Parliamentary draftsman
- Patent agent
- Patent attorney
- Patent lawyer
- Quarter sessions clerk
- Reporter to the children's panel
- Solicitor's clerk
- Trade mark attorney
Similar occupations
All jobs in Professional occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.