Best Paralegal programs in Pennsylvania, ranked by enrollment
Assist lawyers by investigating facts, preparing legal documents, or researching legal precedent.
24 schools in Pennsylvania run programs that feed this job, graduating 275 people a year. The job pays a median of $63,370 in Pennsylvania across about 14,670 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Pennsylvania that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Pennsylvania (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Pennsylvania page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Legal Assistant/Paralegalmain feeder CIP 22.0302In Pennsylvania → | 210 | 76.4% | 17 | $37,542 | $25,166 |
| 2 | Legal Studiesmain feeder CIP 22.0000In Pennsylvania → | 65 | 23.6% | 8 | $39,558 | $25,252 |
Top 24 schools in Pennsylvania
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 24 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pennsylvania State University - World Campus University Park, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Legal Studies | $53,237 | 34% | — | 91% |
| 2 | Community College of Allegheny County Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 31 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 24% | — | — |
| 3 | Community College of Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 24% | — | — |
| 4 | Harrisburg Area Community College Harrisburg, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | $40,240 | 21% | — | — |
| 5 | Lehigh Carbon Community College Schnecksville, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 30% | — | — |
| 6 | Peirce College Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | $46,406 | 10% | $12,905 | — |
| 7 | Bucks County Community College Newtown, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 19 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 32% | — | — |
| 8 | Dickinson College Carlisle, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Legal Studies | — | 80% | $22,831 | 42% |
| 9 | Delaware County Community College Media, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 24% | — | — |
| 10 | Northampton County Area Community College Bethlehem, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 24% | — | — |
| 11 | Institute of Medical Careers Pittsburgh, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 76% | $20,376 | — |
| 12 | Gannon University Erie, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 9 | Legal Studies | — | 66% | $21,409 | 74% |
| 13 | Widener University Chester, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 68% | $29,049 | 71% |
| 14 | Luzerne County Community College Nanticoke, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 23% | — | — |
| 15 | Westmoreland County Community College Youngwood, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 31% | — | — |
| 16 | Central Penn College Summerdale, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 5 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 51% | $19,136 | 18% |
| 17 | Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 4 | Legal Studies | — | 49% | $29,887 | 74% |
| 18 | Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Legal Studies | — | 82% | $23,620 | 81% |
| 19 | University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Legal Studies | — | 85% | — | 58% |
| 20 | Elizabethtown College Elizabethtown, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Legal Studies | — | 76% | $22,907 | 78% |
| 21 | Lansdale School of Business North Wales, PA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 85% | $26,109 | — |
| 22 | Pennsylvania Highlands Community College Johnstown, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 38% | — | — |
| 23 | Pennsylvania Western University California, PA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Legal Assistant/Paralegal | — | 52% | — | 94% |
| 24 | Point Park University Pittsburgh, PA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Legal Studies | — | 59% | $23,704 | 97% |
All 24 schools in Pennsylvania
Every school in Pennsylvania with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania State University - World Campus | University Park | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Community College of Allegheny County | Pittsburgh | Public | 31 | 1 |
| Community College of Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Public | 29 | 1 |
| Harrisburg Area Community College | Harrisburg | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Lehigh Carbon Community College | Schnecksville | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Peirce College | Philadelphia | Private not-for-profit | 20 | 1 |
| Bucks County Community College | Newtown | Public | 19 | 1 |
| Dickinson College | Carlisle | Private not-for-profit | 14 | 1 |
| Delaware County Community College | Media | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Northampton County Area Community College | Bethlehem | Public | 12 | 1 |
| Institute of Medical Careers | Pittsburgh | Private for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| Gannon University | Erie | Private not-for-profit | 9 | 1 |
| Widener University | Chester | Private not-for-profit | 8 | 1 |
| Luzerne County Community College | Nanticoke | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Westmoreland County Community College | Youngwood | Public | 6 | 1 |
What paralegals and legal assistants earn in Pennsylvania
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $62,890. Pennsylvania pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Pennsylvania
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Paralegals and Legal Assistants page.
How to become a Paralegal
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Pennsylvania
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Paralegals and Legal Assistants2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 22.0000Legal Studies
- 22.0302Legal Assistant/Paralegal
Common questions
Answers for people weighing paralegals and legal assistants programs in Pennsylvania.
What degree do you need to become a Paralegal?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Legal Assistant/Paralegal, which awarded 210 degrees in Pennsylvania in 2024-25, 76.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Paralegal?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Legal Support Services, Non-Professional Legal Studies. Together they graduate about 275 people a year in Pennsylvania.
How much do paralegals and legal assistants earn in Pennsylvania?+
The median is $63,370 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 0.8% above the U.S. median of $62,890. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for paralegals and legal assistants growing?+
BLS projects a +0.2% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 39,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Pennsylvania?+
24 institutions in Pennsylvania reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do paralegals and legal assistants work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Paralegal, Legal Clerk, Legal Assistant, Paralegal Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 23-2011.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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