What Paralegals and Legal Assistants earn in San Francisco County, CA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $84,030: the median annual pay for Paralegals and Legal Assistants in San Francisco County, CA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $40.40 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $92,830, which is 10.5% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 7,630 people working in this occupation across the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. San Francisco County, CA has roughly 830,235 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Paralegals and Legal Assistants in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $58,590 a year ($28.17 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $131,820 or more ($63.38 an hour). That is a gap of $73,230 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $74,050 at the 25th percentile and $103,060 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.2 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $40.40 an hour or $84,030 a year at the median for San Francisco County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $7,003 a month, $3,232 every two weeks and $1,616 each week. After taxes the same job pays $30.76 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Paralegals and Legal Assistants this way: "Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent. Conduct research to support a legal proceeding, to formulate a defense, or to initiate legal action."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Gather and analyze research data, such as statutes, decisions, and legal articles, codes, and documents"; "Prepare affidavits or other documents, such as legal correspondence, and organize and maintain documents in paper or electronic filing system"; "Prepare for trial by performing tasks such as organizing exhibits"; "Meet with clients and other professionals to discuss details of cases".
Job outlook for Paralegals and Legal Assistants
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 404,900 jobs in 2025 to 403,800 in 2035, a change of -0.3%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 40,800 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 10.1% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: associate's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $62,890 for this occupation; the San Francisco County, CA median of $84,030 is 33.6% above it.
How pay in San Francisco County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
A worker in this occupation in San Francisco County, CA earns $6,401 more than the California average of $77,629, a premium of 8.3%. Over a year that premium is worth $6,401 before tax and roughly $4,873 after tax. Within California, San Francisco County, CA already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Paralegals and Legal Assistants is $65,930 across the contiguous United States. At $84,030, San Francisco County, CA pays $18,100 more, which is 27.4% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in San Francisco County, CA
Among the 600 occupations with published wages in San Francisco County, CA, Paralegals and Legal Assistants ranks number 292 by median pay, ahead of about 51% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $232,890 a year, which is $148,860 more than the median for Paralegals and Legal Assistants.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Paralegals and Legal Assistants earning the San Francisco County, CA median of $84,030, they add up to $20,057. The result is $63,973 of take-home pay a year ($5,331 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $24 goes to taxes and $76 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $68,280. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $9,936, an effective 11.8% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $5,210 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,218. FICA totals $6,428, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $3,693 a year, or 4.4% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 37% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $308 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for San Francisco County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for San Francisco County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $200,406 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 21.8% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.3%, compared with the 11.8% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in San Francisco County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in San Francisco County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $63,973 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For San Francisco County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $3,003 a month ($36,036 a year), and at $3,697 for two bedrooms. For Paralegals and Legal Assistants, a one-bedroom absorbs 56.3% of take-home pay and 42.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.1% of gross pay for Paralegals and Legal Assistants in San Francisco County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $45,647 a year in San Francisco County, CA. Subtract that from $63,973 of take-home pay and $18,326 remains, which is $1,527 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 21.8% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for San Francisco County, CA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in San Francisco County, CA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for San Francisco County, CA, set beside the California and national medians.
Property taxes in San Francisco County, CA
Homeowners in San Francisco County, CA pay a median of $9,862 a year in real estate taxes, 92% above the California median of $5,124 and 216% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $1,394,500, the median tax bill is 0.71% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Paralegals and Legal Assistants median of $84,030, a tax bill of that size would equal 11.7% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in San Francisco County, CA
Renters in San Francisco County, CA pay a median gross rent of $2,476 a month in the Census survey, 22% above the California median of $2,036. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $3,003 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $1,394,500, 90% above the California median of $734,700. Median household income is $140,970, 42% above the California median of $99,122, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 25.6% of that income.
Commuting in San Francisco County, CA
Workers in San Francisco County, CA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 30.4 minutes each way, 6% above the California average of 28.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.1 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 31.0% of workers in San Francisco County, CA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Paralegals and Legal Assistants afford to live in San Francisco County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $84,030 that ceiling is $2,101 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $3,003 is $902 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $57.75 an hour; the median for Paralegals and Legal Assistants is $40.40, which is 30% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $30.76 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 22.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $3,697 a month means $1,849 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $13,854 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $32,180.
How fast you can save
At $1,527 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 7 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 14 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in San Francisco County, CA
How much do Paralegals and Legal Assistants make per hour in San Francisco County, CA?
The median is $40.40 per hour, based on $84,030 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $28.17 at the 10th percentile to $63.38 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Paralegals and Legal Assistants take home after taxes in San Francisco County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $84,030 becomes $63,973 a year. That is $5,331 a month, $2,461 every two weeks or $1,230 a week.
How much tax do Paralegals and Legal Assistants pay in San Francisco County, CA?
Total taxes are $20,057 a year, an effective rate of 23.9%: $9,936 federal income tax, $6,428 FICA and $3,693 California income tax.
Do Paralegals and Legal Assistants earn more in San Francisco County, CA than elsewhere in California?
Yes. The local median of $84,030 is +8.3% versus the California average of $77,629, a difference of $6,401 a year.
Can Paralegals and Legal Assistants afford a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $3,003 a month against take-home pay of $5,331, which is 56.3% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,101 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Paralegals and Legal Assistants in San Francisco County, CA?
About $1,527 a month ($18,326 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $45,647 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in San Francisco County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$57.75 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $36,036 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Paralegals and Legal Assistants is $40.40.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the California rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.