Demographics

Lawyers by race and ethnicity

Counting lawyers by race and ethnicity has always been difficult. A majority of state bars and licensing agencies do not ask members their race and ethnicity — but nearly half (24 states) do.

From that large sample, which covers 43% of all U.S. lawyers, the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey reports results every year.

The long-term trend is clear: The percentage of lawyers of color is growing. It nearly doubled in the past decade, according to the survey.

White lawyers are still overrepresented in the legal profession compared with their presence in the U.S. population, but that is slowly changing. Ten years ago, in 2014, lawyers of color were 12% of the profession. A decade later, in 2024, they were 23% of the profession.

The biggest change was in the number of Asian American lawyers. In 2014, the survey found 2% of all lawyers were Asian American. A decade later, in 2024, that number had more than tripled to 7%.

The rapid change occurred largely because California began reporting the race and ethnicity of its lawyers in the 2022 survey. California has a huge number of lawyers — 175,000 — and 14% of them are Asian American, according to the State Bar of California. Asian Americans are now represented in the legal profession very close to their share of the U.S. population (6.4%).

The percentage of Hispanic lawyers nationwide also rose – from 4% in 2014 to 6% a decade later in 2024, according to the survey. It rose a full percentage point in 2022 alone. Again, this was likely caused by California starting to report race and ethnicity among its lawyers in the survey. Still, Hispanics are underrepresented among lawyers compared with their share of the U.S. population (19.5%).

The number of multiracial lawyers also grew. The survey started counting multiracial lawyers in 2016, when 1% of all lawyers identified as multiracial. By 2024, 4% of all lawyers reported they were multiracial — a bit more than their share of the U.S. population (3.1%).

Meanwhile, the number of Black lawyers is unchanged over the past decade, according to the survey. Black lawyers were 5% of the profession in 2014 and 5% in 2024. That’s far less than the percentage of Black people in the U.S. population (13.7%).

Native Americans are the smallest racial or ethnic group among U.S. lawyers. Just 1% of all lawyers were Native American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander in 2024 — the same as a decade earlier. That compares with 2.7% of the U.S. population that claims Native American heritage, according to the Census Bureau.

Finally, the percentage of white lawyers has declined. White lawyers were 88% of the profession in 2014, but 78% in 2024. They are still overrepresented compared to the U.S. population. Non-Hispanic white people are 58.4% of the national population.

For more on how the National Lawyer Population Survey collects data, see the final section in this chapter.

Sources: ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, U.S. Census Bureau

Source: ABA National Lawyer Population Survey 

Age

The legal profession skews older than most occupations in the U.S., according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The median age for lawyers was 46 years old in 2023, which means half were younger and half older. By comparison, the median age of all U.S. workers was 42.1 — nearly four years younger.

Put another way, among all 386 occupations evaluated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers rank among the oldest — No. 66 on the list from oldest to youngest, based on median age.

There are two reasons. First, very few lawyers are younger than 25, but roughly 13% of all American workers are. Second, many lawyers work past age 65. More than 13% of all lawyers — roughly 1 in 8 — are 65 or older. Only about 7% of all U.S. workers are 65 or older.

The age of a typical lawyer goes up and down a bit each year, but it held steady in 2023. The median age of lawyers dropped each year during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 2021 and 2022, but it’s not clear if that was caused by the pandemic or something else.

Going back several decades, the typical lawyer was younger than today. In 1980, the median age for all U.S. lawyers was 39 — seven years younger than the median age of 46 in 2023.

If you’re curious: The oldest working Americans are farmers, ranchers and agricultural managers. Their median age is 56. The youngest? Restaurant hosts and hostesses at 21.1 years old.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Lawyers age compared with all US workers

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median age of lawyers 2003-2023

Diversity in U.S. law firms — Gender

For the first time, women outnumber men as law firm associates, according to the 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms by the National Association for Law Placement. The survey found 50.3% of all law firm associates in 2023 were female.

In one sense, this is a profound change. Law firms have always been heavily male, and men still dominate law firms’ upper echelons. Just 28% of law firm partners were women in 2023, according to the NALP survey.

But the change among associates has been very gradual. NALP has been tracking law firm demographics since 1991. In that first year, 38% of law firm associates were women. Since then, the number of female associates has increased every year, but the change was almost imperceptible year by year. It took more than three decades to grow from 38% to just over 50%.

The new milestone was inevitable, even if it was slow in coming. Women have outnumbered men in law schools since 2016, so more female lawyers have been entering the profession than male lawyers in recent years. In 2023, for example, 56% of all students in ABA-accredited law schools were female. It was only a matter of time before several years of predominantly female law school classes changed the demographics of law firm associates to predominantly female.

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Diversity in U.S. law firms — Race and ethnicity

For the 32^nd consecutive year, the percentage of law firm partners who are lawyers of color rose in 2023, according to the Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms from the National Association for Law Placement.

The increase has been slow but steady. Viewed year by year, the change is almost imperceptible. But viewed over the span of decades, it is easier to see, and it is accelerating.

In 1991, when NALP began tracking race and ethnicity of law firm partners, just over 2% of all partners were lawyers of color. The number has increased every year since then.

In 2023, 12% of all law firm partners were lawyers of color, according to the NALP report. That figure has doubled since 2009, when 6% of all partners were lawyers of color.

Among the partners of color in 2023, the largest group is Asian lawyers (4.9% of all partners), followed by Hispanic lawyers (3.0%), Black lawyers (2.5%), multiracial lawyers (1.4%), Native American or Alaska Native lawyers (0.2%) and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander lawyers (0.1%).

The accelerating change from decade to decade is striking. During the 1990s and early 2000s, the annual increase in the percentage of partners of color was small — usually between 0.1 and 0.3 percentage points each year. But in recent years, the change has been much faster. Since 2016, the percentage of partners who are lawyers of color has increased at least 1 percentage point every two years.

The diversity numbers are much higher for law firm associates. In 2023, 30% of all associates were lawyers of color. That number is up significantly from 10 years earlier, when it was 21% in 2013.

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Diversity in U.S. law firms — Metro areas

Law firm diversity varies dramatically across the country. At one extreme, 28% of all law firm partners in Miami were lawyers of color in 2023 — the largest percentage in the country, according to the NALP survey. At the other extreme, just 2% of partners in Pittsburgh were lawyers of color – the lowest percentage in the country.

Law firm diversity is particularly strong in California. Among the top 10 cities and metro areas for law firm diversity, five were in California in 2023: Silicon Valley, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County. Two more were in Texas: Austin and Houston.

On the flip side, half of the bottom 10 areas for law firm diversity among the 31 metro areas measured by the NALP survey are in the Midwest: Cleveland, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and Kansas City.

The size of the metro area appears to have no correlation to law firm diversity. For example, only one of the five biggest metropolitan areas in the U.S. — Los Angeles — is among the five areas with the highest percentage of law firm partners of color.

Fast facts:

• Miami has the highest percentage of law firm partners who are lawyers of color: 28%
• Pittsburgh has the lowest percentage of partners who are lawyers of color: 2% 

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

LGBTQ lawyers

The number of openly LGBTQ lawyers at American law firms continues to grow, according to a 2023 survey by the National Association for Law Placement.

The survey found 4,774 lawyers who identified as LGBTQ at 785 law offices across the country. That represented 4.6% of the 104,485 lawyers at those firms. A decade earlier, in 2013, the same survey found half as many lawyers — 2,085 — who identified as LGBTQ at law firms, or 2.2% of all lawyers at those firm.

The same trend is evident among law firm associates. In 2013, 2.8% of all associates reported they were LGBTQ. A decade later, in 2023, the figure was 6.8%.

The percentage of law firm summer associates who report they are LGBTQ is substantially higher. In 2023, 11.7% of all summer associates said they were LGBTQ, according to the survey.

No reliable statistics are available on the total number of lawyers who identify as LGBTQ in the legal profession overall.

Fast fact

• Law students are much more likely to be openly LGBTQ than law firm lawyers: 11.7% of law firm summer associates describe themselves as LGBTQ — more than double the percentage of all law firm lawyers who describe themselves as LGBTQ (4.6%).

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Lawyers with disabilities

The number of lawyers at American law firms who reported having disabilities in 2023 remains small — about 2% of all lawyers. Because the number is so small, it is difficult to draw any conclusions about trends, according to a survey by the National Association for Law Placement.

The survey found 1,616 lawyers at 635 law offices across the country who say they have disabilities.

The percentage of law firm partners who said they have disabilities is slightly lower — 1.4% — according to the 2023 survey. Still, that figure has doubled since 2020, when 0.7% of law firm partners said they have disabilities.

More associates reported they have disabilities. In 2023, roughly 2.4% of all law firm associates reported having a disability. This is more than double the percentage of associates who reported having a disability just three years earlier (1.0%).

No reliable statistics exist on the total number of lawyers with disabilities throughout the legal profession.

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms

Legal demand in metro areas

The demand for lawyers is high in Washington, D.C., and New York City. But did you know the demand is also high in Tallahassee and Miami, Florida, and Trenton, New Jersey? Those are the five metropolitan areas with the highest demand for legal services in the United States in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The bureau measures employment and wages for more than 800 occupations in more than 380 metropolitan areas. It also assesses demand for each occupation in each metro area. It’s called the “location quotient” — a single number that shows demand for an occupation in one area compared to the nation as a whole.

For 2023 — as in previous years — the Washington, D.C., area had the highest demand for lawyers. In fact, the location quotient for lawyers in the D.C. area was 3.25 — more than triple the national average. The demand for lawyers in the New York City area was 1.99 — nearly double the national average.

Surprisingly, most of the other top 10 metro areas for lawyer demand in 2023 were not huge cities, but many were state capitals. They were, in order: Tallahassee (2.34), Trenton (1.89), Santa  Fe, New Mexico (1.79), New Orleans, Louisiana (1.71), Charleston, West Virginia (1.68), Denver, Colorado (1.63) and Albany, New York (1.60).

Many other state capitals also have high demand for lawyers. For example, the top 20 metro areas for lawyer demand also includes such state capitals as Cheyenne, Wyoming; Carson City, Nevada; Montgomery, Alabama; Boston, Massachusetts; and Hartford, Connecticut.

But not all state capitals have high location quotients for lawyers. Sixteen capitals are below the national average for lawyer demand, including such large cities as Phoenix, Arizona; Nashville, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ohio.

Fast Fact

• The four metro areas in the continental U.S. with the lowest location quotients for lawyers are Battle Creek, Michigan (0.19), Sheboygan, Wisconsin (0.20); Morristown, Tennessee (0.20); and Elkhart, Indiana (0.20).

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Methodology — National Lawyer Population Survey

How many lawyers are in the United States?

That seems like an easy question. Just collect the number of lawyers licensed in each state and territory, then add them together.

But it’s not that simple.

First, how do we avoid duplicates? Many lawyers are licensed in more than one state.

Second, which lawyers count? Only active lawyers? If so, how do we define “active”? What about lawyers with licenses who don’t practice law? Do all 50 states use the same definition?

The ABA National Lawyer Population Survey has been counting lawyers in the United States since 1878. The survey collects data from state licensing bodies in every U.S. state and territory. The agencies are asked a series of questions on lawyer count, demographics and licensing fees. When licensing bodies do not respond, our researchers try to pull the data from other publicly available reports. When no data is collected, the survey carries over the previous year’s data to maintain a consistent total count for tracking longitudinal trends.

We try to avoid double-counting lawyers licensed in more than one place. The survey asks each state or territory for the number of active and resident lawyers only. This is imperfect because:

• Some states define “resident” based on residence, others on business address.
• There is no universal definition of “active” across all states. For most states — but not all — this eliminates non-practicing lawyers.

Between 1951 and 2005, the American Bar Foundation collected data on lawyers from LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell. The American Bar Foundation Lawyer Statistical Report weighted data to try to correct for multiple listings of some lawyers in multiple states or territories.

Given the impossibility of eliminating all duplicates, it is likely that the total number of active resident lawyers counted by the National Lawyer Population Survey is high.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also tries to count lawyers — as well as hundreds of other jobs and professions — but uses a different methodology. As a result, their count is very different than the ABA’s count, and it is much smaller.

Counting lawyers by gender, race and ethnicity is even more difficult.

The National Lawyer Population Survey collects data from lawyer licensing agencies, but not all states collect information on gender, race and ethnicity. As a result, the totals cannot be precise.

A majority of states have reported lawyers’ gender for many years. Over the last three years, the survey has captured the gender of more than 70% all U.S. lawyers.

The race and ethnicity of lawyers is even harder to count. Again, not every state asks licensed lawyers for this information. In fact, fewer ask about race and ethnicity than ask about gender. But there has been a steady increase in licensing agencies collecting this data. In 2014, NLPS collected race and ethnicity data for 21% of all lawyers. Ten years later, in 2024, that has more than doubled to 43% of all lawyers.

While the statistics can never be exact, long-term trends are helpful indicators of the legal profession’s changing demographics, and the data continues to improve each year.