lawyer average salary

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lawyer average salary According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national average annual wage of a lawyer is $144,230. This is about three times the average annual salary for the United States ($51,960).

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However, not all jurisdictions are created equal. In the highest paying state, California, lawyers’ average salary is $171,550, or about $83,000 more than the average salary of a lawyer in Montana, the lowest paying state.

The Average Salary of a Lawyer: An Overview

Salary.com reports the median salary for lawyers according to six levels of the profession, from Lawyer I up to Lawyer VI. At the beginning level, the median salary as of August 2022 was $100,291; at the highest level, the median salary as of August 2022 was $215,409.

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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median pay in May 2021 for lawyers in the U.S. was $127,990. That comes out to an hourly pay of $61.53, assuming a 40-hour work week. As most lawyers will tell you, though, the typical work week at a law firm tends to be a lot longer than 40 hours.

One of the biggest determinants of salary for lawyers is the type of employer they work for. Lawyers who clock in and out for big corporate law firms will command a much higher salary than those who work as public defenders.

Not all lawyers represent individual clients in court. Some work in-house for corporations and non-profits, some work for the government and some work in arbitration or mediation, among other paths. Some lawyers own their own practices while others work at huge, multi-national firms.

The Average Salary of a Lawyer: Geography

Where you work has a lot to do with what you earn as a lawyer. Glassdoor, a salary aggregating site, reports the average salary for New York City lawyers, as of Dec. 13, 2021, was $125,650. The Glassdoor average for Kansas City, MO? $113,474.

According to U.S. News, the top-paying state for lawyers isn’t a state – it’s the District of Columbia. There, the annual mean wage for lawyers is $189,560.

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What about metro areas? The top-paying metro area for lawyers is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, where lawyers earn an annual mean wage of $231,610. Other top-paying metro areas for lawyers are: Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT; San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA and New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ.

The highest-paying metro areas for lawyers aren’t necessarily the metro areas with the highest concentration of lawyers. According to the BLS, the metro area with the highest concentration of lawyers is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area. But the city with the second-highest concentration of lawyers might surprise you – it’s Tallahassee, FL. Other metro areas with a high concentration of lawyers are: Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA and New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ.

The five highest paying states are California ($171,550), New York ($167,110), Massachusetts ($165,610), Connecticut ($153,640) and Illinois ($152,980). The five lowest paying states are Montana ($88,600), Mississippi ($97,990), West Virginia ($98,630), Arkansas ($98,780) and ($99,360).

The states that saw the biggest increase in average salary over the last 5 years are Rhode Island (+26.6%), Wisconsin (+24.1), Massachusetts (23.2%), Wyoming (18.3%) and North Dakota (18.1%).

A full overview of the data is accessible below. If you are looking for data on attorney hourly rates, check out the Legal.io Pricing Tool.

Rank State 2018 Average Salary 2017 Average Salary 2016 Average Salary 2015 Average Salary 2014 Average Salary 2013 Average Salary 5-Year Change

1 California $171,550 $168,200 $162,010 $163,020 $158,200 $155,750 10.1
2 New York $167,110 $165,260 $161,260 $155,050 $154,340 $153,490 8.9
3 Massachusetts $165,610 $157,450 $158,760 $152,990 $144,030 $134,380 23.2
4 Connecticut $153,640 $152,540 $151,540 $147,100 $140,040 $139,920 9.8
5 Illinois $152,980 $140,920 $129,070 $125,920 $124,680 $132,910 15.1
6 Texas $150,250 $145,800 $149,400 $143,490 $141,240 $134,200 12
7 Colorado $147,560 $141,200 $138,130 $135,880 $130,620 $136,120 8.4
8 Arizona $145,750 $138,680 $130,630 $125,660 $117,380 $131,200 11.1
9 Virginia $139,180 $136,790 $139,050 $135,180 $131,320 $129,800 7.2
10 New Jersey $139,020 $140,340 $144,190 $145,970 $140,770 $133,330 4.3
11 Nevada $138,920 $138,850 $134,440 $120,360 $123,850 $122,770 13.2
12 Pennsylvania $138,610 $139,050 $134,600 $131,090 $129,460 $134,250 3.2
13 Washington $136,480 $129,220 $126,900 $124,000 $120,740 $119,900 13.8
14 Wisconsin $130,450 $123,600 $111,080 $101,990 $101,980 $105,080 24.1
15 North Carolina $129,990 $137,200 $138,470 $123,940 $118,310 $114,840 13.2
16 Georgia $128,930 $136,190 $133,030 $130,710 $132,540 $137,280 -6.1
17 Florida $128,920 $127,730 $131,990 $128,050 $122,020 $123,040 4.8
18 Maryland $128,340 $126,480 $123,220 $121,530 $126,060 $127,040 1
19 New Hampshire $125,890 $119,650 $115,410 $114,470 $111,050 $112,710 11.7
20 Rhode Island $125,330 $129,410 $131,430 $129,100 $119,010 $99,010 26.6
21 Tennessee $124,470 $129,830 $127,700 $125,530 $113,580 $108,240 15
22 Alaska $121,680 $122,870 $123,770 $121,910 $117,910 $120,500 1
23 Ohio $121,520 $113,610 $113,400 $113,360 $113,200 $108,950 11.5
24 Oregon $119,500 $117,810 $114,730 $117,800 $114,870 $111,640 7
25 Minnesota $119,330 $124,230 $133,390 $128,320 $128,290 $126,520 -5.7
26 Oklahoma $118,790 $115,260 $123,510 $116,900 $112,520 $101,310 17.3
27 Alabama $117,100 $117,640 $118,420 $114,820 $113,010 $106,790 9.7
28 Missouri $113,780 $115,520 $116,060 $114,480 $121,500 $116,190 -2.1
29 Indiana $113,360 $113,850 $114,270 $110,240 $103,010 $99,230 14.2
30 Iowa $112,630 $113,470 $108,660 $106,820 $106,080 $106,920 5.3
31 Utah $112,380 $109,280 $108,670 $113,550 $118,910 $115,930 -3.1
32 Hawaii $111,290 $113,190 $106,650 $104,180 $105,410 $108,820 2.3
33 Michigan $110,180 $112,740 $110,760 $110,920 $116,710 $114,460 -3.7
34 South Dakota $109,070 $100,000 $101,360 $96,580 $98,360 $99,650 9.5
35 Kansas $109,020 $104,730 $106,470 $105,790 $98,850 $98,750 10.4
36 Nebraska $108,170 $110,950 $107,590 $106,460 $93,820 $95,220 13.6
37 Vermont $107,490 $105,900 $103,970 $106,610 $101,620 $98,580 9
38 North Dakota $107,290 $97,680 $102,660 $101,840 * $90,850 18.1
39 Maine $107,120 $102,040 $106,270 $99,260 $100,720 $93,940 14
40 New Mexico $105,910 $99,510 $97,100 $91,430 $96,520 $98,150 7.9
41 Wyoming $105,600 $98,090 $112,710 $102,130 $103,290 $89,280 18.3
42 Louisiana $105,490 $101,170 $105,740 $111,240 $113,830 $110,760 -4.8
43 South Carolina $105,320 $104,300 $107,230 $109,250 $113,760 $108,790 -3.2
44 Kentucky $100,100 $95,890 $93,020 $93,560 $92,090 $90,200 11
45 Idaho $99,360 $98,390 $91,390 $96,900 $100,900 $105,380 -5.7
46 Arkansas $98,780 $99,100 $103,980 $100,320 $100,690 $101,340 -2.5
47 West Virginia $98,630 $95,220 $100,430 $98,270 $94,010 $90,240 9.3
48 Mississippi $97,990 $106,360 $114,710 $103,180 $99,470 $92,640 5.8
49 Montana $88,600 $83,150 $83,330 $82,070 $75,720 $75,360 17.6
N/A Delaware * * $157,610 $152,330 $145,940 $152,490 N/A

The Average Salary of a Lawyer: An Overview

The Average Salary of a Lawyer: Geography

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According to U.S. News, the top-paying state for lawyers isn’t a state – it’s the District of Columbia. There, the annual mean wage for lawyers is $189,560.