Salary Range & Percentiles
Pay distribution across experience levels
- 10th Percentile — Entry Level$78,360
- 25th Percentile — Junior$102,990
- 50th Percentile — Median$159,670
- 75th Percentile — Senior$221,370
- 90th Percentile — Top Earners$351,600
The top 10% of Lawyers earn $351,600 or more per year. Entry-level professionals can expect to start around $78,360, with significant growth over the first 5 years.
What Lawyers Do
Role, training and entry requirements
Lawyers advise and represent individuals, businesses, and government agencies on legal issues and disputes. They research laws, draft documents such as contracts and wills, negotiate settlements, and argue cases in court.
How to become one
Lawyers need a bachelor's degree followed by a three-year Juris Doctor (JD) from a law school, and they must pass the bar exam in the state where they practice.
Salary by State
Geographic salary comparison
| State | Avg Salary | vs National |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $242,800 | +30.7% |
| California | $230,040 | +23.8% |
| New York | $220,180 | +18.5% |
| Colorado | $206,440 | +11.1% |
| Massachusetts | $205,980 | +10.8% |
| Nevada | $205,630 | +10.6% |
| Delaware | $199,970 | +7.6% |
| Georgia | $191,190 | +2.9% |
| Connecticut | $186,170 | +0.2% |
| New Jersey | $184,090 | -0.9% |
| Illinois | $181,240 | -2.5% |
| Texas | $180,370 | -2.9% |
| Vermont | $179,630 | -3.3% |
| Virginia | $179,240 | -3.6% |
| Indiana | $175,850 | -5.4% |
| Minnesota | $174,300 | -6.2% |
| New Hampshire | $172,990 | -6.9% |
| Wisconsin | $171,200 | -7.9% |
| Washington | $169,940 | -8.6% |
| Utah | $169,480 | -8.8% |
| Pennsylvania | $169,170 | -9.0% |
| Alaska | $167,890 | -9.7% |
| Tennessee | $163,870 | -11.8% |
| Missouri | $162,820 | -12.4% |
| Florida | $162,060 | -12.8% |
| North Carolina | $160,340 | -13.7% |
| Rhode Island | $159,690 | -14.1% |
| Maryland | $157,370 | -15.3% |
| Arizona | $157,190 | -15.4% |
| Oregon | $156,620 | -15.7% |
| Ohio | $151,140 | -18.7% |
| Michigan | $148,820 | -19.9% |
| Alabama | $146,630 | -21.1% |
| Iowa | $144,760 | -22.1% |
| South Carolina | $144,700 | -22.1% |
| New Mexico | $138,250 | -25.6% |
| Nebraska | $133,490 | -28.2% |
| South Dakota | $132,270 | -28.8% |
| Arkansas | $131,680 | -29.1% |
| Kansas | $130,530 | -29.8% |
| Maine | $129,600 | -30.3% |
| North Dakota | $128,680 | -30.8% |
| Louisiana | $127,520 | -31.4% |
| Hawaii | $127,280 | -31.5% |
| Idaho | $125,070 | -32.7% |
| Wyoming | $125,050 | -32.7% |
| West Virginia | $123,210 | -33.7% |
| Oklahoma | $122,750 | -33.9% |
| Kentucky | $120,730 | -35.0% |
| Montana | $115,830 | -37.7% |
| Mississippi | $108,930 | -41.4% |
What Factors Affect Lawyers Salary?
Key factors affecting compensation
Pay for Lawyers is influenced by geographic location, years of experience, employer type, and educational background. Location alone is a large factor: District of Columbia pays an average of $242,800, while Mississippi pays $108,930 — a gap of $133,870 per year.
Lawyer pay is split sharply between large private firms, where salaries are very high, and government, public interest, and small-firm practice, where pay is much lower. Practice area and major legal markets also matter. Partners and solo practitioners who own their firms are not fully captured in these wage figures.
These figures are the wages employers report to BLS: base pay plus commissions, production bonuses and tips. They exclude overtime pay, shift differentials, year-end bonuses, benefits and self-employed workers, so total compensation can be higher than the numbers shown.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) · May 2025
Compare with Similar Jobs
Related career salary benchmarks
- Paralegals and Legal Assistants $69,700/yr United States 62.5% vs this role
- Judicial Law Clerks $72,950/yr United States 60.7% vs this role
- Administrative Law Judges $125,990/yr United States 32.2% vs this role
- Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners $78,760/yr United States 57.6% vs this role
- Title Examiners Abstractors and Searchers $62,350/yr United States 66.4% vs this role
- Registered Nurses $101,420/yr United States 45.4% vs this role
- Nurse Practitioners $137,300/yr United States 26.1% vs this role
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about this salary
What is the average salary for Lawyers?
The average salary for Lawyers in the United States is $185,840 per year, with a median of $159,670.
What is the starting salary for Lawyers?
Entry-level Lawyers typically earn between $78,360 and $102,990 per year depending on location and employer.
What state pays Lawyers the most?
District of Columbia pays Lawyers the most at $242,800 per year on average, followed by California ($230,040) and New York ($220,180).
How much do Lawyers make per hour?
Based on the average annual salary of $185,840, Lawyers earn approximately $89.35 per hour (based on 2,080 working hours/year).
Is Lawyers a good career in 2026?
BLS counts 754,500 Lawyers jobs in the United States, with a mean annual wage of $185,840 and a median of $159,670 (OEWS May 2025). This site does not publish job-growth projections; the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook covers the outlook for each occupation.
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