How much do lawyers make?

What the national Lawyers median says

The May 2025 BLS OEWS estimate puts the U.S. median for Lawyers at $159,670 per year. Median means the middle. Half of the wage values used for this estimate fall below that point. Half fall above it. The median is not one worker's pay. It is not a job offer. It is one clear mark for the middle of a broad national pay range.

BLS also lists 754,500 wage and salary jobs for Lawyers. That count covers jobs in the survey's scope. It does not count open job ads. It also leaves out people who work for themselves. The wage and job counts share the same May 2025 reference point, so they can be read together without mixing time periods.

The Lawyers mean of $185,840 per year is 16.4% above the $159,670 median on the same published median. Mean means BLS adds the wage values and divides the total by the number of jobs behind the estimate. A gap between mean and median shows that the shape is not even. It does not explain the cause of the gap.

The fields that make SOC 23-1011 its own page

BLS names this record Lawyers and gives it SOC 23-1011. The two-part code is the stable key for this page. A role with a close name keeps a different code, wage row, job count, and area pattern. WageScope never joins two SOC records because their words sound alike.

For SOC 23-1011, the U.S. row reports 754,500 wage and salary jobs. Its annual median is $159,670 per year. Its matching mean is $185,840 per year. These facts come from one national row and one May 2025 release.

SOC 23-1011 appears in 54 state or territory rows. It also has 392 metro rows and 135 nonmetro rows. A missing local row stays missing. We do not fill it with U.S. data or data for a similar job code.

• SOC 23-1011 10th percentile: $78,360 per year.
• SOC 23-1011 25th percentile: $102,990 per year.
• SOC 23-1011 median: $159,670 per year.
• SOC 23-1011 75th percentile: $221,370 per year.
• SOC 23-1011 90th percentile: $351,600 per year.
• SOC 23-1011 employment RSE: 1.1%. Mean-wage RSE: 1.6%.
• SOC 23-1011 has no national suppression mark in the fields shown on this page.

Read the Lawyers wage ladder from low to high

The 10th percentile is $78,360 per year. The 25th percentile is $102,990 per year. The median is $159,670 per year. The 75th percentile is $221,370 per year. The 90th percentile is $351,600 per year. Each point marks a place in the same national wage spread.

A percentile is a rank point. It is not a career step. For example, the 10th percentile means 10% of wage values are at or below that mark. It does not mean a new worker starts there. The 90th percentile means 90% are at or below that mark. It does not mean a worker can reach it after a set number of years.

The middle half runs from $102,990 to $221,370 per year. That span is $118,380. The full 10th-to-90th span is $273,240. These spans show why one median cannot stand in for every Lawyers job.

What the gaps around the Lawyers median show

The median is 103.8% above the 10th percentile. The 90th percentile is 120.2% above the median. The two sides do not have to match. A wider upper side can pull the mean up. A wider lower side can pull it down. The data shows the shape, but not the reason for that shape.

The 25th-to-median step is $56,680 per year. The median-to-75th step is $61,700 per year. These two steps give a closer look at the middle half. They are often more useful than a single top-to-bottom gap because they keep the center in view.

Use this ladder as a fact check when you read a job post. A posted range can sit below, near, or above these BLS marks. That does not make the post wrong. A job may differ by place, hours, level, field, employer, or work rules. Keep the posted range tied to that listing. Keep the BLS range tied to the whole occupation.

Metro areas with the highest published Lawyers medians

WageScope found 378 metro rows with the same published annual median for Lawyers. It sorts only those rows. It does not fill a blank row. It does not turn a blank into zero. The first six rows below have the highest published medians in this release. The list is a wage rank, not a rank of places to live or work.

The first row is San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, at $301,320 per year. The middle metro row by published pay is Savannah, GA, at $123,050 per year. That middle metro mark gives one more check on how far the top rows sit from a common place in the set.

These are nominal wages. Nominal means the dollar amount shown in the source. This list does not adjust for local price levels. It also does not tell us how many openings an area has now. Use a local page to see price-level context when an exact BEA row exists. Use the separate job block to inspect current employer-title matches.

• 1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA has a Lawyers median of $301,320 per year, or $141,650 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 6,040 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 1.1.
• 2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA has a Lawyers median of $212,500 per year, or $52,830 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 18,470 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 1.6.
• 3. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ has a Lawyers median of $208,880 per year, or $49,210 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 94,610 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 2.05.
• 4. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has a Lawyers median of $195,190 per year, or $35,520 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 46,840 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 3.08.
• 5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA has a Lawyers median of $194,410 per year, or $34,740 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 41,580 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 1.37.
• 6. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA has a Lawyers median of $185,520 per year, or $25,850 above the U.S. Lawyers median. BLS lists 1,220 jobs there, against 754,500 across the U.S. The local location quotient is 0.78.

Metro areas with the largest Lawyers job estimates

A large wage can appear in a small job market. A large job market can have a lower wage. That is why WageScope keeps pay and job count in separate views. The six rows below have the largest published employment estimates for Lawyers among metro rows in this release. Employment means the number of wage and salary jobs in scope. It does not mean open roles.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ has the largest listed metro estimate in this set, at 94,610 jobs. Its median is $208,880 per year. Compare that with San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, which leads the published median list. The leaders may match, or they may not. Each list answers a different question.

Job count can help you see the scale of a local labor market. It cannot show churn, new hiring, job quality, remote work, or the chance that one person will get hired. Current listings add a second view, but they are a dated sample of posts. WageScope never turns the listing count into a demand score.

• 1. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ has 94,610 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 12.5% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $208,880 per year, or $49,210 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 2.05.
• 2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has 46,840 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 6.2% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $195,190 per year, or $35,520 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 3.08.
• 3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA has 41,580 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 5.5% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $194,410 per year, or $34,740 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 1.37.
• 4. Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN has 28,320 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 3.8% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $165,660 per year, or $5,990 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 1.29.
• 5. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL has 23,270 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 3.1% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $160,320 per year, or $650 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 1.7.
• 6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH has 20,080 estimated Lawyers jobs. That is 2.7% of the U.S. estimate of 754,500 jobs. Its median is $183,350 per year, or $23,680 above the U.S. Lawyers median. Its location quotient is 1.53.

Where Lawyers has a larger share of local jobs

Location quotient is a share check. A value of 1 means the role has the same share of local jobs as it has across the nation. A value above 1 means the local share is larger. A value below 1 means the local share is smaller. It is not a count. It is not a wage. It does not say that a place is growing.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has the highest published location quotient in this bounded metro set, at 3.08. The same row lists 46,840 jobs and a median of $195,190 per year. Reading all three values keeps a high share from being mistaken for a large market or high pay.

A small area can have a high location quotient because the role makes up a large part of a small local job base. A large area can have many workers and a lower quotient. Use the quotient to ask where the role is common in the mix. Use employment to ask how many jobs BLS estimated. Use the wage fields to ask what the published pay range looks like.

• 1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV has a Lawyers location quotient of 3.08. BLS lists 46,840 jobs and a median of $195,190 per year, or $35,520 above the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.
• 2. Tallahassee, FL has a Lawyers location quotient of 2.4. BLS lists 2,170 jobs and a median of $103,320 per year, or $56,350 below the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.
• 3. Trenton-Princeton, NJ has a Lawyers location quotient of 2.12. BLS lists 2,470 jobs and a median of $138,760 per year, or $20,910 below the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.
• 4. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ has a Lawyers location quotient of 2.05. BLS lists 94,610 jobs and a median of $208,880 per year, or $49,210 above the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.
• 5. New Orleans-Metairie, LA has a Lawyers location quotient of 2. BLS lists 4,330 jobs and a median of $121,290 per year, or $38,380 below the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.
• 6. Helena, MT has a Lawyers location quotient of 1.92. BLS lists 410 jobs and a median of $108,410 per year, or $51,260 below the U.S. Lawyers median. The U.S. job estimate is 754,500.

How Lawyers sits in Legal

Lawyers is SOC 23-1011. BLS places it in the Legal major group. Among 8 detailed roles in that group with a published annual median, Lawyers ranks 1 of 8 by median. This is a pay rank inside one source family. It is not a rank of skill, value, status, or career fit.

The closest same-family medians help set a fair peer frame. They do not claim that the work is the same. Official SOC titles can cover different tasks and settings. WageScope uses the family only because BLS publishes that link. It does not infer a career move, a skill match, or a hiring path from the wage gap.

Use these peer rows to spot whether the $159,670 median sits near many family roles or far from them. Then open a role's own page before using its number. Each role has a different code, job count, wage spread, and place pattern. One family label does not erase those facts.

• 1. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates, SOC 23-1023, has a U.S. median of $153,990 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $5,680 per year.
• 2. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers, SOC 23-1021, has a U.S. median of $117,860 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $41,810 per year.
• 3. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators, SOC 23-1022, has a U.S. median of $75,530 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $84,140 per year.
• 4. Legal Support Workers, All Other, SOC 23-2099, has a U.S. median of $72,110 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $87,560 per year.
• 5. Judicial Law Clerks, SOC 23-1012, has a U.S. median of $64,920 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $94,750 per year.
• 6. Paralegals and Legal Assistants, SOC 23-2011, has a U.S. median of $62,890 per year. Its gap from Lawyers is $96,780 per year.

How much care to use with the Lawyers estimate

The relative standard error for the job count is 1.1%. For the mean wage it is 1.6%. This measure, called RSE, shows survey precision. A smaller RSE often means less uncertainty from the sample. It does not tell you whether one person's pay is right or wrong.

The employment RSE applies to the 754,500 job estimate. The mean-wage RSE applies to the published mean of $185,840 per year. These fields do not give a matching RSE for the median or each percentile. WageScope shows the fields BLS published and does not move one RSE to another measure.

Survey values can change when BLS changes its methods, sample, models, or source year. That is why we show May 2025 on this page. Before we use a new release, we check its files, rows, and pages. A changed number is only a correction if the source calls it one.

A simple way to compare Lawyers across places

First, compare the same wage metric. Use annual with annual or hourly with hourly. Next, check the source date. Keep May 2025 BLS rows together. Then read employment and location quotient beside pay. This stops a high median from standing in for market size or local share. Last, add BEA price-level context only when the exact place has an approved row.

A state, metro, and nonmetro area are not the same kind of map. Do not rank them in one list without saying so. WageScope groups like with like. It also keeps a national row as a broad bench mark. A local page can show the local row, its state row when that link is exact, and the U.S. row without blending them.

If a value is blank, keep it blank. If BLS marks a top code, read it as a lower bound. Do not fill a blank from a nearby place. Do not turn a wage gap into a claim about taxes, hours, benefits, work rules, or a household budget. Those facts are not in the OEWS row.

Move from Lawyers wage data to one real listing

The job block on this page uses a strict employer-title match for Lawyers. It may show fewer rows than the full MeritLog job search. That is on purpose. A false negative is safer here than a job card for a different role. Each card keeps its employer, place, source, and seen date. The cards do not change the BLS wage data.

Open one listing and read its own pay, work place, level, and needs. Compare its posted range with the BLS spread only as context. A posted range is set by an employer for one role. The BLS range is a survey view across many jobs. Neither source proves that a person is fit for the work.

When you tailor a résumé, use work facts you can back up. Do not turn $159,670 into a skill or result. Do not copy a BLS job count into your work history. MeritLog can help shape confirmed experience for a chosen listing. The wage page stays public and read only. It does not save a job or create a résumé on page load.

What this Lawyers page does not claim

This page does not say what one Lawyers worker earns. It does not promise that a job pays the median. It does not state a starting wage. It does not explain why the mean and median differ. It does not add benefits, tips, stock, bonus pay, taxes, or work hours unless BLS includes them in the published wage measure.

The page does not count people who work for themselves. It does not turn 754,500 into current openings. It does not read private MeritLog jobs or Career Memory. MeritLog does not use the page to build a private career profile. While public analytics are on, GA4, Ahrefs, and Meta may get this page's URL. Use Your Privacy Choices or Global Privacy Control to turn that off. The page does not send its text to a model.

The best use is narrow and clear. Read the May 2025 BLS wage range. Check how the role changes by place. Add the separate 2024 BEA price level when an exact row exists. Inspect a dated employer-title match. Then make a résumé choice from facts you have confirmed. Keep each source tied to the question it can answer.