Los Angeles County / Public Defender / Senior Paralegal

Job-title file

Senior Paralegal

Provide legal advice, draft and review documents, and represent the agency in legal matters.

35 employees hold this title in Public Defender. Median total compensation for the role is $156,480, below the department median of $178,093.

Employees: 35
Total payroll: $4.6M
Role median: $156,480
Agency median: $178,093
Comparison: Below

What the records show

Role pay distribution

Pay distribution for this role

$2,048$189,507+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How total compensation varies among the 35 people in this role. Even for one job title, pay differs with seniority, step, overtime, and tenure. Each bar is a pay range; the far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Compared with the local labor market

Senior Paralegal pay vs. the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area

Across all employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, the median wage for Paralegals and Legal Assistants — about 22,240 people — is $77,520. Public Defender pays a median base salary of $95,948 for this role, 24% above that figure — about the 72nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Public Defender sits in the local pay range

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$51,200

$59,690

$77,520

$98,440

$112,160

Public Defender median · $95,948

The bar is the range of annual wages for Paralegals and Legal Assistants across every employer in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Public Defender’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Paralegals and Legal Assistants — about 392,880 people — is $62,890. Public Defender’s median base salary is 53% above that national figure, about the 86th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$44,740

$50,340

$62,890

$80,080

$101,500

Public Defender median · $95,948

Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA range relative to the national one.

Computed over the 31 of 35 people in this role paid at least $25,000in base salary. The rest are part-year or part-time records, whose actual pay isn’t comparable to a full-time annual wage.

Median total compensation for this role at Public Defender is $156,480, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.

Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.

Compare departments

This role across Los Angeles County

Senior Paralegal is held in 5 Los Angeles County departments. In Public Defender, the median of $156,480 ranks #5 of 5.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Alternate Public Defender

$165,641 · 8

District Attorney

$164,258 · 7

Child Support Services

$162,604 · 2

County Counsel

$161,943 · 11

Median total compensation for the Senior Paralegal role in other Los Angeles Countydepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

Senior Paralegal beyond Los Angeles County

This role is reported in 7 jurisdictions. In Los Angeles County, the median of $161,943 ranks #1 of 7. See Senior Paralegal across all of Los Angeles County →

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

$67,670 · 15

$64,010 · 10

$61,249 · 9

$50,085 · 55

$46,144 · 15

New York Public Authorities

$16,017 · 14

Median total compensation for comparable Senior Paralegalroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.

Record list