Compared with the local labor market
Legal Assistant pay vs. Rhode Island
Across all employers in Rhode Island, the median wage for Paralegals and Legal Assistants — about 2,070 people — is $56,250. Department of Revenue pays a median base salary of $52,234 for this role, 7% below that figure — about the 41st percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Department of Revenue sits in the local pay range
$43,370
$44,860
$56,250
$66,120
$79,650
Department of Revenue median · $52,234
The bar is the range of annual wages for Paralegals and Legal Assistants across every employer in Rhode Island, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Revenue’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. Department of Revenue’s median base salary is 17% below that national figure, about the 29th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$44,740
$50,340
$62,890
$80,080
$101,500
Department of Revenue median · $52,234
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 Rhode Island range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Department of Revenue is $52,234, 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 jurisdictions
Legal Assistant beyond Rhode Island
This role is reported in 19 jurisdictions. In Rhode Island, the median of $14,075 ranks #18 of 19. See Legal Assistant across all of Rhode Island →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Legal Assistant roles 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.