Paralegal salary in Wilmington, NC

Pay in Wilmington against North Carolina and the US

The middle half of paralegals in Wilmington earns $46,750–$64,570. Pay is tightly grouped: the top tenth starts at $75,600, only 1.9 times the bottom tenth, against 2.3 times across the US, so the going rate is easier to read. From the 25th to the 75th percentile, the local range is only $17,820 wide, against $24,290 across North Carolina and $29,740 nationally: employers in Wilmington pay within a narrower band.

What to budget for a paralegal here

The step from the 25th percentile to the median is $9,310 a year; from the median to the 75th it is $8,510, or about $10,981 once benefits are added. These percentiles describe what people in the job earn locally, not experience levels, so place your offer by the tasks and seniority you need.

For scale, the US median of $62,890 falls between the median and the 75th percentile in Wilmington, and the North Carolina statewide median of $57,500 falls there too.

What a hire really costs in Wilmington

Pay is only part of it. Benefits and payroll taxes other than paid leave are 22.5% of total compensation in US private industry², which adds about $16,275 to the $56,060 median and brings it to $72,335 a year. Recruiting, equipment and office space come on top. Benefit levels vary by employer, so treat this as an estimate.

We place executive assistants, customer support and e-commerce staff today; for paralegals we answer within one business day whether we can help. Enter the monthly pay you have in mind to compare it with a local hire. The fee field shows our standard fee³; Deel's contractor plan is the default payroll tool⁴.

Other roles in Wilmington

Of the 17 roles we track in Wilmington, this one ranks #8 by median pay, between office managers ($60,430) and payroll specialists ($51,480). Project Coordinator is the highest at $89,120.

Measured against the US median, paralegals rank #9 of the 17 roles we track in Wilmington (-10.9%), between virtual receptionists (-9.9%) and payroll specialists (-11.6%). The typical role here is at -10.9%, so this job follows the area's general pay level. Paralegals hold 2.9% of the jobs in these 17 roles in Wilmington, 2.6% across North Carolina and 2.5% nationally. The job is a bigger part of the local workforce in these roles than it is nationally.

Other areas in North Carolina

Across the 18 areas of North Carolina with data for this job, the median runs from $46,520 in the Western North Carolina nonmetro area to $61,880 in Raleigh-Cary, a gap of $15,360 a year. Of the 7 areas in North Carolina with more paralegals than Wilmington, 3 pay less: Durham-Chapel Hill, NC ($52,500), Winston-Salem, NC ($50,680) and the Eastern North Carolina nonmetro area ($55,860).

Wilmington against other US metro areas

By number of jobs, Wilmington is #93 of 503 US areas for this job. It is one of the larger markets for this job, with pay near the middle of the US range. Outside North Carolina, Sioux City and Norwich-New London pay just above Wilmington and Erie and Clarksville just below. All four are within $60 a year of the median in Wilmington. Of the three markets with about as many paralegals, all three pay more.

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Sources

How these pages are built: methodology and data sources. Last updated 2026-11-12.