Paralegal Salary in Tyler, TX: Median $86,284 in 2026
Tyler (TX) · COL index 87 · Unemployment 3.8% · Metro pop 235,000 · Rank #232 of 283 for Paralegal salary
A Paralegal in Tyler earns an estimated median of $86,284 per year. That figure starts from the Texas state-level BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics median[1]($96,340) and scales it by Tyler's composite cost-of-living index of 87 (US = 100). The 10th percentile comes in around $39,541; the 90th percentile reaches $172,191. After federal, Texas state (no state income tax), and FICA taxes, a single-filer Paralegal takes home approximately $69,252/year — about $5,771/month or $2,664 every other week.
Compared to the national Paralegal median of $59,200, Tyler pays +45.8%. Relative to the Tyler median household income of $52,800, a Paralegalsalary runs +63.4%. Local unemployment is 3.8%[3], with an estimated 38 annual Paralegal openings inferred from metro population share and national employment (358,700).
Paralegal Snapshot — Tyler (2026)
Every row cites a primary public dataset. Rent + home values use Zillow where the metro is in the ZHVI/ZORI coverage set; otherwise ACS + census tract fallbacks.
| Metric | Tyler | National | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paralegal median salary | $86,284 | $59,200 | [1] |
| 10th percentile | $39,541 | $44,270 | [1] |
| 90th percentile | $172,191 | $100,330 | [1] |
| Annual take-home (single filer) | $69,252 | — | [8][10] |
| Median home value (ZHVI) | $269,253 | — | [5] |
| Median rent (ZORI) | $1,346/mo | — | [5] |
| HUD Fair Market Rent (2BR) | $1,250/mo | — | [6] |
| Median household income (ACS) | $71,923 | — | [7] |
| Cost-of-living index | 87.0 | 100.0 | [4] |
| Unemployment rate | 3.8% | — | [3] |
How Paralegal Salaries Work in Tyler
City-level wages aren't published directly by BLS for most SOC codes. We build them by anchoring to the Texas state-level OEWS median ($96,340) and scaling by Tyler's composite cost-of-living index (87)[1][4]. That index combines Census ACS rent, Zillow ZHVI, BLS CPI, and AdvisorSmith / ApartmentAdvisor inputs to produce one number per metro. When BLS publishes a separate metro-level wage (MSA-level OEWS), that takes priority — a handful of large metros including New York, LA, Chicago, and DC have this coverage.
On top of the gross wage, the standard US payroll stack applies: federal income tax using 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction[8], FICA (Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45%)[9], and no Texas state income tax — a meaningful wedge worth $4,314–$6,040 per year vs average-tax states[10].
Tyler also sits inside a larger metro labor market where commute patterns, remote-work policies, and adjacent-metro wages compete. A tight labor market (unemployment below 4%) gives candidates pricing power in negotiations. Median household income in the metro is $71,923, which frames what "a good Paralegal salary" means locally: a $$86,284 wage pays about 120% of the median household income on a single earner.
The deterministic identity: take_home = gross − federal − state − FICA − pre_tax. All math runs client-side; nothing is sent to our servers.
Cost of Living Breakdown — Tyler
Estimated annual expense shares on a $69,252 take-home, using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey baseline shares scaled to Tyler's COL index of 87. Housing uses the actual median rent.
BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares[1], scaled by Tyler's COL index of 87[4]. Housing uses actual median rent of $1,050/month.
Salary vs Housing Affordability in Tyler
Renting
Buying
At $5,771/mo take-home, the 30% rent rule caps housing at $1,731/mo. Tyler's typical 1–2BR rent runs $1,346/mo[5] (HUD 2BR FMR: $1,250/mo), making rent very affordable on a median Paralegal salary. For homebuyers, the 2.7× price-to-income ratio is comfortable — a median {p.title} salary supports the median home in {city.name} well inside standard lender DTI caps.
How Tyler Stacks Up for Paralegals
Against 283 major US cities: Tyler ranks #232 for nominal Paralegal salary, #116 for rent affordability, and #55 for overall purchasing power. Tyler is mid-pack: solid nominal salaries partly absorbed by cost of living. Whether it "pays well" depends heavily on housing choices.
Nearby Cities — Paralegal Salary Comparison
Tyler's closest metros, scaled by each city's cost-of-living index. Useful for relocation decisions where commute or remote-work policies allow a neighboring metro trade-off.
| City | Est. salary | COL | Rent | vs TX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler, TX ★ | $86,284 | 87 | $1,050 | — |
| Houston, TX | $59,792 | 101 | $1,262 | -30.7% |
| Dallas, TX | $62,160 | 105 | $1,275 | -28.0% |
| San Antonio, TX | $54,464 | 92 | $899 | -36.9% |
| Austin, TX | $71,632 | 121 | $1,300 | -17.0% |
| Fort Worth, TX | $58,608 | 99 | $1,354 | -32.1% |
Paralegal Job Market in Tyler
Tyler has an estimated 38 annual Paralegalopenings, extrapolated from the metro's share of 358,700 national Paralegals[1]. The 3.8% unemployment rate[3] signals a competitive labor market where skilled professionals can push for top-of-band offers.
About the profession: Paralegals assist lawyers by performing legal research, drafting documents, and organizing case files. They are essential to law firm operations across all practice areas. Typical entry requirement: associate's degree. Projected growth through 2034: 4%[2].
Career Progression & Related Professions in Tyler
Early-career Paralegals in Tyler start around $39,541, reach the city median ($86,284) after 4–8 years, and hit 90th-percentile territory ($172,191) at senior / specialized levels.
Related legal professions in Tyler
Calculators for Paralegals in Tyler
Other professions in Tyler
Frequently Asked Questions — Paralegal in Tyler
How much does a Paralegal make in Tyler, TX?
The estimated median salary for a Paralegal in Tyler is $86,284/year, scaled from the BLS OEWS Texas state median ($96,340) by Tyler's composite cost-of-living index of 87 (US = 100). After federal, Texas state, and FICA taxes, take-home is approximately $69,252/year or $5,771/month.
Can a Paralegal afford to live in Tyler?
On $5,771/month take-home, the 30% rent rule affords $1,731/month. Tyler's Zillow ZORI median rent is $1,346/mo, HUD's 2BR Fair Market Rent is $1,250/mo. The rent-to-income ratio works out to 14.6%, making housing very affordable for a Paralegal at the local median. Home-buyers face 2.7× price-to-income, needing roughly 2.7 years to save a 20% down payment at a 20% savings rate.
How much tax does a Paralegal pay in Tyler?
On $86,284 gross, a Paralegal in Tyler pays approximately $10,431 in federal income tax (12.1% effective), $0 in state income tax (Texas has no state individual income tax), and $6,601 in FICA (Social Security + Medicare). Total effective rate: 19.7%. Some Texas cities levy local income taxes in addition; check your municipal DoR before filing.
How does Tyler rank for Paralegal salaries vs other cities?
Tyler ranks #232 out of 283 tracked metros for nominal Paralegal salary, #116 for rent affordability (rent-to-income), and #55 for purchasing power (salary ÷ COL). The high-purchasing-power cities tend to be mid-size metros with strong local employers and moderate housing costs; the low-ranked cities trade high nominal pay for steep rents.
What is the cost-of-living breakdown for a Paralegal in Tyler?
On $69,252 take-home, a reasonable baseline budget for Tyler looks like: housing $12,600/yr (18.2%); food $7,662/yr; transportation $6,565/yr; healthcare $4,659/yr; utilities $3,238/yr; savings + discretionary $34,528/yr. Numbers use BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shares scaled to Tyler's COL index of 87 and the city's actual median rent.
What's the Paralegal job market like in Tyler?
Tyler's unemployment rate is 3.8% across the metro of 235,000. Estimated annual Paralegal openings: ~38 (extrapolated from 358,700 nationally employed and the metro's population share). The tight labor market favors candidates in salary negotiations.
Do Tyler employers pay above or below the Texas median for Paralegals?
Yes — Tyler's estimated Paralegal median of $86,284 is 45.8% above the national median. Higher nominal pay in this city partially offsets the higher cost of living; the real picture depends on housing costs and state taxes.
Methodology — How we compute this page
Wage estimate. The Tyler median is derived from the Texas state-level BLS OEWS median ($96,340), scaled by Tyler's composite cost-of-living index of 87. When BLS publishes a direct MSA-level wage for the occupation, that takes priority over the scaled state median. Percentile bands inherit the same scale factor.
Housing + rent. Median home value uses Zillow ZHVI; median rent prefers Zillow ZORI and falls back to Census ACS median gross rent. HUD Fair Market Rents (50th-percentile 2BR) are shown where HUD publishes the metro. Price-to-income and rent-to-income ratios use the estimated Paralegalmedian (not the city's overall median household income) — to reflect the specific role-vs-city affordability picture.
Tax math. Federal tax uses 2025 IRS brackets and the $15,000 single standard deduction. FICA is Social Security 6.2% up to the $176,100 wage base + Medicare 1.45% (+ 0.9% Additional Medicare above $200,000). State tax uses Texas's 2026 brackets from the state DoR (mirrored via Tax Foundation where the DoR's publication is paywalled or split). Local income taxes (e.g. NYC, Portland-OR supplemental, OH municipal) are NOT included — check your municipal authority for specifics.
Cost of living. The 87index is the composite used by CalcFi's /data/cities.ts, which merges Census ACS, BLS CPI shelter, Zillow ZORI, and commercial COL estimators. The COL-adjusted salary on this page assumes the statewide RPP = 97.1(BEA) approximates the state's purchasing power; cities are then scaled relative to that.
Refresh cadence. BLS OEWS releases annually (typically March); BEA RPP releases annually in December; IRS brackets adjust in October; Zillow ZHVI/ZORI updates monthly; HUD FMR publishes annually in August for the upcoming fiscal year. The dateModified shown above auto-bumps to the most recent retrievedAt on any sourced value the page consumes.
Known limits. Metro-level OEWS coverage is partial — only ~50 large MSAs have separately published occupation wages; the rest inherit state-level estimates scaled by COL. Rent and home data may trail the real-time market by 1–3 months (Zillow) or 8–12 months (ACS). Rankings are capped to the city set in our dataset (283 metros), not every incorporated US city.
Sources
Every number on this page cites a primary public dataset. Last reviewed (auto-bumped on the next ISR refresh after an ETL run).
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) — state-level occupational wages — www.bls.gov/oes. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Employment Projections — 2024–34 occupational growth rates — www.bls.gov/emp. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics — metro-level unemployment rate — www.bls.gov/lau. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities (state + metro) — www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Zillow Research — ZHVI (home value index) + ZORI (observed rent index) — www.zillow.com/research/data. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- HUD Fair Market Rents — 50th-percentile 2-bedroom FY — www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, metro level — www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Internal Revenue Service — Federal individual income tax brackets and standard deductions — www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-17. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Social Security Administration — OASDI / Medicare contribution and wage-base rules — www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
- Texas Department of Revenue — 2026 individual income tax brackets (accessed via Tax Foundation mirror) — taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/state-income-tax-rates. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
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