Legal Support Workers, All Other
Median $72,110
Occupation · SOC 23-2093
Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers: pay and where the jobs are
What title examiners, abstractors, and searchers earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.
National pay, May 2025
$58,650 median annual wage
- Mean (average) annual wage
- $62,350
- Median hourly wage
- $28.20
- Mean hourly wage
- $29.97
- Employment
- 48,580
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 23-2093.
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How much do title examiners, abstractors, and searchers make?
The median annual wage for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers was $58,650 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $38,170 and the highest-paid 10% more than $90,830. As an hourly rate, the median is $28.20. About 48,580 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in Colorado ($77,600), West Virginia ($77,230) and Oregon ($76,930). After taxes and local prices, though, a median paycheck goes furthest in West Virginia.
Pay ladder
What each step of the pay range for title examiners, abstractors, and searchers looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.
| Step | Annual | Hourly | Monthly gross | Monthly after federal tax & FICA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,170 | $18.35 | $3,181 | $2,737 |
| 25th percentile | $47,420 | $22.80 | $3,952 | $3,357 |
| Median | $58,650 | $28.20 | $4,888 | $4,109 |
| 75th percentile | $74,810 | $35.97 | $6,234 | $5,122 |
| 90th percentile | $90,830 | $43.67 | $7,569 | $6,061 |
Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers: pay by state
48 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.
1
$67,615 take-home in national prices
2
$60,568 take-home in national prices
3
$58,826 take-home in national prices
Where a median title examiners, abstractors, and searcher paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.
| State | Employment | Median | 10th pct. | 90th pct. | Median after tax* | In national prices† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado | 1,400 | $77,600 | $50,080 | $106,640 | $60,374 | $58,586 |
| West Virginia | 350 | $77,230 | $50,620 | $98,530 | $60,513 | $67,615 |
| Oregon | 640 | $76,930 | $60,940 | $110,660 | $57,302 | $55,439 |
| Alaska | 100 | $75,960 | $46,710 | $100,320 | $61,997 | $60,568 |
| Nevada | 620 | $71,050 | $47,160 | $94,320 | $58,814 | $58,826 |
| Massachusetts | Not published | $69,100 | $52,990 | $95,690 | $53,889 | $50,955 |
| California | Not published | $67,230 | $51,500 | $115,040 | $53,099 | $47,958 |
| Washington | 930 | $66,440 | $48,830 | $97,280 | $54,643 | $51,062 |
| Delaware | 140 | $65,270 | $49,060 | $82,090 | $51,397 | $51,495 |
| Rhode Island | 120 | $63,300 | $48,650 | $84,410 | $50,588 | $49,461 |
| Connecticut | 90 | $62,940 | $46,790 | $97,390 | $49,726 | $47,993 |
| Utah | 1,160 | $62,210 | $40,830 | $86,430 | $49,791 | $50,364 |
| New Hampshire | Not published | $62,090 | $48,580 | $82,390 | $52,069 | $49,987 |
| New Jersey | 550 | $61,930 | $48,640 | $90,930 | $49,616 | $45,601 |
| Idaho | 640 | $61,730 | $45,460 | $91,720 | $49,617 | $51,958 |
| New York | 2,130 | $61,380 | $50,640 | $93,890 | $48,485 | $44,926 |
| Alabama | Not published | $61,330 | $45,360 | $87,440 | $48,891 | $55,043 |
| Texas | 6,770 | $60,120 | $38,320 | $96,480 | $50,486 | $52,017 |
| North Dakota | 140 | $59,980 | $48,760 | $99,820 | $50,374 | $56,626 |
| South Dakota | 180 | $59,300 | $45,760 | $97,610 | $49,828 | $56,248 |
| Florida | 4,800 | $58,450 | $40,190 | $79,210 | $49,145 | $47,522 |
| Minnesota | 560 | $58,250 | $49,240 | $77,530 | $46,290 | $46,937 |
| New Mexico | 480 | $57,940 | $40,730 | $82,780 | $47,177 | $51,162 |
| Ohio | 1,860 | $56,680 | $40,680 | $78,830 | $46,607 | $50,237 |
| Maryland | 420 | $55,460 | $37,730 | $74,380 | $44,474 | $42,373 |
| Kansas | 710 | $54,640 | $33,790 | $91,270 | $43,834 | $48,668 |
| Virginia | 1,340 | $54,230 | $39,090 | $80,830 | $43,450 | $42,975 |
| Kentucky | 270 | $52,860 | $38,180 | $82,300 | $42,921 | $47,605 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,220 | $52,220 | $33,980 | $95,610 | $42,499 | $43,557 |
| North Carolina | 400 | $50,500 | $33,280 | $78,210 | $41,251 | $43,732 |
| Oklahoma | 1,500 | $50,270 | $35,760 | $94,330 | $40,855 | $46,509 |
| Tennessee | 1,160 | $50,240 | $35,880 | $78,300 | $42,548 | $46,313 |
| Illinois | 1,290 | $49,990 | $38,150 | $74,640 | $40,017 | $40,034 |
| Arizona | 1,210 | $49,580 | $39,780 | $83,900 | $41,172 | $40,895 |
| Michigan | Not published | $49,540 | $34,240 | $72,500 | $40,131 | $41,709 |
| Maine | 70 | $48,900 | $32,620 | $62,400 | $39,604 | $40,808 |
| Nebraska | 360 | $48,880 | $43,910 | $68,460 | $40,111 | $44,516 |
| Wyoming | 200 | $48,710 | $36,580 | $77,920 | $41,318 | $44,577 |
| Georgia | 660 | $48,320 | $24,590 | $84,040 | $39,342 | $40,857 |
| Missouri | 1,470 | $48,190 | $36,520 | $76,510 | $39,573 | $43,575 |
| Wisconsin | 700 | $48,070 | $39,050 | $72,220 | $39,323 | $41,790 |
| Arkansas | 650 | $47,510 | $34,060 | $71,470 | $39,084 | $44,957 |
| Mississippi | 150 | $47,060 | $33,800 | $58,200 | $38,842 | $44,670 |
| South Carolina | Not published | $46,740 | $36,300 | $77,400 | $38,952 | $41,549 |
| Iowa | 400 | $46,330 | $28,440 | $60,620 | $38,297 | $43,638 |
| Indiana | Not published | $46,150 | $35,570 | $71,260 | $37,930 | $40,641 |
| Puerto Rico | Not published | $44,570 | $25,890 | $44,570 | — | — |
| Louisiana | 390 | $38,470 | $32,990 | $70,940 | $32,323 | $36,644 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 23-2093. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).
Sources
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
- OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.