Lawyers salary
SOC 23-1011 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $78,360
- 25th
- $102,990
- Median
- $159,670
- 75th
- $221,370
- 90th
- $351,600
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Doctoral or professional degree
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where lawyers earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $207,860 | 107.9 | 91,870 | 1.95× |
| 2 | District of Columbia | $195,190 | 109.9 | 33,070 | 9.71× |
| 3 | California | $195,080 | 110.7 | 95,770 | 1.08× |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $176,680 | 105.8 | 23,560 | 1.33× |
| 5 | Delaware | $173,510 | 99.8 | 2,920 | 1.24× |
| 6 | Colorado | $168,520 | 103.1 | 16,720 | 1.20× |
| 7 | Virginia | $167,210 | 101.1 | 18,580 | 0.93× |
| 8 | Connecticut | $163,600 | 103.6 | 8,420 | 1.02× |
| 9 | New Jersey | $161,430 | 108.8 | 23,160 | 1.11× |
| 10 | Illinois | $160,800 | 100.0 | 33,590 | 1.14× |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | $157,180 | 97.6 | 27,170 | 0.92× |
| 12 | Minnesota | $155,140 | 98.6 | 12,380 | 0.86× |
| 13 | Texas | $154,200 | 97.1 | 56,580 | 0.83× |
| 14 | Washington | $154,130 | 107.0 | 12,770 | 0.74× |
| 15 | Nevada | $150,510 | 100.0 | 6,490 | 0.86× |
| 16 | Alaska | $149,940 | 102.4 | 1,120 | 0.71× |
| 17 | Maryland | $139,110 | 105.0 | 13,810 | 1.03× |
| 18 | Rhode Island | $138,960 | 102.3 | 1,840 | 0.76× |
| 19 | Oregon | $138,210 | 103.4 | 7,150 | 0.75× |
| 20 | Tennessee | $136,180 | 91.9 | 9,010 | 0.57× |
| 21 | Georgia | $134,830 | 96.3 | 23,930 | 1.01× |
| 22 | Arizona | $134,260 | 100.7 | 11,640 | 0.74× |
| 23 | Missouri | $133,450 | 90.8 | 11,560 | 0.81× |
| 24 | Florida | $133,180 | 103.4 | 55,210 | 1.15× |
| 25 | Utah | $132,830 | 98.9 | 7,020 | 0.83× |
| 26 | Alabama | $131,970 | 88.8 | 6,730 | 0.66× |
| 27 | Ohio | $131,020 | 92.8 | 19,950 | 0.74× |
| 28 | Michigan | $130,520 | 96.2 | 16,620 | 0.78× |
| 29 | North Carolina | $127,710 | 94.3 | 17,000 | 0.71× |
| 30 | Vermont | $127,310 | 98.0 | 1,330 | 0.90× |
| 31 | Indiana | $126,860 | 93.3 | 8,970 | 0.58× |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $126,760 | 94.1 | 9,160 | 0.64× |
| 33 | Hawaii | $124,990 | 110.0 | 2,270 | 0.75× |
| 34 | Iowa | $123,550 | 87.8 | 3,550 | 0.47× |
| 35 | New Hampshire | $120,810 | 104.2 | 2,250 | 0.68× |
| 36 | South Carolina | $120,310 | 93.7 | 7,890 | 0.71× |
| 37 | New Mexico | $119,680 | 92.2 | 3,380 | 0.80× |
| 38 | Maine | $113,120 | 97.0 | 2,280 | 0.73× |
| 39 | Nebraska | $109,170 | 90.1 | 3,490 | 0.70× |
| 40 | North Dakota | $106,880 | 89.0 | 1,050 | 0.50× |
| 41 | Kansas | $106,650 | 90.1 | 4,190 | 0.60× |
| 42 | Louisiana | $104,100 | 88.2 | 10,200 | 1.09× |
| 43 | Montana | $103,720 | 94.6 | 2,380 | 0.96× |
| 44 | Idaho | $103,400 | 95.5 | 2,490 | 0.60× |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $103,060 | 87.8 | 6,980 | 0.84× |
| 46 | West Virginia | $102,420 | 89.5 | 2,440 | 0.72× |
| 47 | South Dakota | $102,040 | 88.6 | 1,360 | 0.61× |
| 48 | Kentucky | $101,550 | 90.2 | 5,770 | 0.59× |
| 49 | Wyoming | $100,130 | 92.7 | 900 | 0.66× |
| 50 | Arkansas | $98,880 | 86.9 | 3,430 | 0.54× |
| 51 | Mississippi | $91,690 | 87.0 | 3,100 | 0.55× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where lawyers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for lawyers
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $301,320 | 110.4 | 6,040 | 1.10× |
| 2 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $212,500 | 115.6 | 18,470 | 1.60× |
| 3 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $208,880 | 112.6 | 94,610 | 2.05× |
| 4 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $195,190 | 108.9 | 46,840 | 3.08× |
| 5 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $194,410 | 113.6 | 41,580 | 1.37× |
| 6 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $185,520 | 110.5 | 1,220 | 0.78× |
| 7 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $183,350 | 108.3 | 20,080 | 1.53× |
| 8 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $181,560 | 107.8 | 590 | 0.59× |
| 9 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $180,610 | 106.9 | 2,100 | 1.07× |
| 10 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $178,540 | 106.7 | 7,620 | 1.45× |
| 11 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $178,220 | 111.9 | 8,020 | 1.07× |
| 12 | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $177,380 | 105.8 | 11,860 | 1.52× |
| 13 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $175,780 | 108.6 | 290 | 0.48× |
| 14 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $174,880 | 105.1 | 490 | 0.35× |
| 15 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $170,970 | 108.8 | 700 | 0.71× |
| 16 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $170,660 | 102.6 | 19,040 | 1.35× |
| 17 | Vallejo, CA | $170,530 | 108.5 | 220 | 0.32× |
| 18 | Birmingham, AL | $170,230 | 91.6 | 2,800 | 1.11× |
| 19 | Napa, CA | $168,720 | 112.6 | 110 | 0.28× |
| 20 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $168,510 | 103.1 | 17,110 | 0.87× |
| 21 | Salinas, CA | $166,940 | 109.0 | 380 | 0.42× |
| 22 | New Haven, CT | $166,080 | 104.6 | 1,280 | 0.94× |
| 23 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $165,660 | 103.6 | 28,320 | 1.29× |
| 24 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $164,980 | 111.1 | 9,210 | 0.91× |
| 25 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $164,790 | 109.9 | 350 | 0.73× |
| 26 | Modesto, CA | $164,010 | 104.1 | 370 | 0.39× |
| 27 | Reno, NV | $163,380 | 101.0 | 630 | 0.47× |
| 28 | Midland, TX | $163,090 | 95.8 | 280 | 0.47× |
| 29 | Albany, OR | $162,880 | 102.1 | 50 | 0.23× |
| 30 | Fresno, CA | $162,680 | 102.2 | 1,570 | 0.68× |
| 31 | El Centro, CA | $162,580 | 95.2 | 110 | 0.35× |
| 32 | Peoria, IL | $161,150 | 91.2 | 560 | 0.69× |
| 33 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $160,320 | 114.2 | 23,270 | 1.70× |
| 34 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $159,620 | 104.8 | 10,160 | 1.07× |
| 35 | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | $157,980 | 98.6 | 16,810 | 1.05× |
| 36 | Waterbury-Shelton, CT | $157,380 | 99.8 | 450 | 0.58× |
| 37 | Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT | $157,200 | 102.7 | 3,880 | 1.33× |
| 38 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $157,180 | 97.3 | 5,380 | 0.82× |
| 39 | Salem, OR | $156,070 | 103.6 | 780 | 0.85× |
| 40 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $155,330 | 105.4 | 5,170 | 0.88× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where lawyers wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.