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Hiring a legal secretary in Denver, CO

Employers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area pay legal secretaries and administrative assistants a median of $54,970 a year, with the middle half of the market between $49,340 and $81,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-6012). Filling it through recruitlocalpros runs Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role rather than by salary or location, and our vetted recruiting partner handles sourcing, screening and placement end to end.

Do Denver residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area pay?

Denver residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $47,286 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $54,970 as the median of the 49 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 14%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole office and administrative support group, not this one role. In the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area the group covers 49 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from library assistants, clerical at $30,800 to first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers at $79,120 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with legal secretaries and administrative assistants at $54,970 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 49 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

Published wages across this group in the metro run above what Denver residents in it earn, which usually means employers here draw this talent from beyond the city line rather than from inside it.

What does a legal secretary earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid to legal secretaries and administrative assistants by employers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area. BLS OEWS, May 2025, SOC 43-6012.
25th percentile$49,340
Median$54,970
75th percentile$81,880

Half of legal secretaries and administrative assistants in this area earn between $49,340 and $81,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $49,340 competes for the bottom quarter of the market. Occupation detail for SOC 43-6012 at O*NET OnLine.

Place of residence

What Denver residents earn

$47,286

Median annual earnings of Denver residents working in office and administrative support occupations, 34,902 people (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011). An occupation group rather than this one role, and where people live rather than where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Organize and maintain law libraries, documents, and case files.
  • Mail, fax, or arrange for delivery of legal correspondence to clients, witnesses, and court officials.
  • Prepare and distribute invoices to bill clients or pay account expenses.
  • Prepare, proofread, or process legal documents, such as summonses, subpoenas, complaints, appeals, motions, or pretrial agreements.
  • Make photocopies of correspondence, documents, and other printed matter.

Task statements for SOC 43-6012, O*NET OnLine 29.1.

Tools and technologies in demand

Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Intuit QuickBooks, Microsoft Access.

Flagged in demand or hot for SOC 43-6012 by O*NET OnLine 29.1. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Denver?

This is a job zone three: medium preparation needed occupation. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. O*NET OnLine, SOC 43-6012.

It does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 55.6% of Denver adults hold one. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Denver aged 25 and over.

The average Denver commute runs 25.4 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 24.4% of Denver workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Denver.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Denver County, administrative and support services employs 37,406 and turns over 16.5% a quarter, with 12,443 hires against 11,934 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $5,370 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 56.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about legal secretaries and administrative assistants. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a high-churn market, where speed matters more than a perfect fit.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $54,970 median in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $10,994 to $16,491 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a legal secretary in Denver

What does it cost to hire a legal secretary in Denver?
Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $54,970 median wage in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $10,994 to $16,491 on the first year salary alone.
What should an offer for a legal secretary in Denver look like?
Employers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area pay legal secretaries and administrative assistants a median of $54,970, with the middle half of the market between $49,340 and $81,880 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $49,340 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.
Do Denver residents in office and administrative support work earn more than employers in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area pay?
Denver residents working in office and administrative support occupations earn a median of $47,286 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $54,970 as the median of the 49 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 14%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.
Is the talent for this role already in Denver?
This is a job zone 3 occupation and does not require a degree, which widens the pool considerably. For context, 55.6% of Denver adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501).

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a legal secretary somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other office and administrative support roles in Denver

Related

Denver is the largest of 3 Colorado cities in this dataset.