USA · Law · Salary

Lawyers: pay by state and city

What lawyers — the main job for this pathway — earn across the U.S., from the latest BLS wage survey (May 2025).

U.S. median$159,670
BLS OEWS · May 2025
Occupational Employment and Wage StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Period
May 2025
SOC
23-1011 Lawyers
File
oe.data.0.Current (download.bls.gov)
View official data
U.S. average (mean)$185,840
Jobs in the survey754,500
Most jobsCalifornia95,770 jobs · median $195,080

Pay where you want to work

Pick a state or search a metro area. The bar shows the spread from the lowest-paid 10% to the top 10% in that place.

United States

Lawyers · annual wages, May 2025
BLS OEWS · May 2025
Occupational Employment and Wage StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Period
May 2025
SOC
23-1011 Lawyers
File
oe.data.0.Current (download.bls.gov)
View official data
Lowest 10% below
$78,360
25th percentile
$102,990
Median
$159,670
75th percentile
$221,370
Top 10% above
$351,600
Middle half of workersMedianMean $185,840Jobs 754,500

BLS publishes this occupation for 54 state-level areas (50 states, DC and territories where available) and 525 metro and nonmetro areas. Places it does not publish are not estimated here.

Where the jobs are, and where pay is highest

Median annual pay, May 2025. Highest-pay lists only include places with at least 500 jobs. BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs, which are usually higher where pay is higher.

States with the most jobs

  1. California95,770 jobs$195,080
  2. New York91,870 jobs$207,860
  3. Texas56,580 jobs$154,200
  4. Florida55,210 jobs$133,180
  5. Illinois33,590 jobs$160,800

Highest-paying states

  1. New York91,870 jobs$207,860
  2. District of Columbia33,070 jobs$195,190
  3. California95,770 jobs$195,080
  4. Massachusetts23,560 jobs$176,680
  5. Delaware2,920 jobs$173,510

Metro areas with the most jobs

  1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ94,610 jobs$208,880
  2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV46,840 jobs$195,190
  3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA41,580 jobs$194,410
  4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN28,320 jobs$165,660
  5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL23,270 jobs$160,320

Highest-paying metro areas

  1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA6,040 jobs$301,320
  2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA18,470 jobs$212,500
  3. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ94,610 jobs$208,880
  4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV46,840 jobs$195,190
  5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA41,580 jobs$194,410
All 54 state-level areas (sortable)
Pay by state; select a column heading to sort
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Every job in this pathway

National figures. A field of study leads to several occupations, each with its own pay.

OccupationLowest 10%MedianTop 10%Jobs
Lawyers —$159,670——
Paralegals and legal assistants —$62,890——

"Jobs" counts wage-and-salary jobs in the OEWS survey; it differs from the employment totals in BLS projections. "—": BLS publishes this group as separate occupations; the median shown is the group figure from the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Median pay by industry · lawyers

  • Legal services$157,870
  • Local government$131,390
  • State government$115,330
  • Federal government$178,380
Data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national, state, metro and nonmetro estimates). How Margdarshan sources its data → · Back to Law (Pre-Law to J.D. and the Bar)