Wages

Average lawyer wages by metropolitan area

The average wage for lawyers is highly dependent on geography — based on where the lawyer practices.

Three of the top 10 metro areas with the highest average lawyer wages in 2023 were in California: San Jose, San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Two more were in the New York City area: the New York metro area and Bridgeport, Connecticut and the Washington, D.C., metro area is also in the top 10.

The four remaining areas in the top 10 are smaller cities with fewer than 1,000 lawyers each: Boulder, Colorado; Midland, Michigan; Fort Collins, Colorado; and Corpus Christi, Texas.

(Note: BLS statistics cover wages for all lawyers but do not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.)

At the other extreme, four of the five metro areas with the lowest average wages for lawyers in the United States are in Puerto Rico: Mayaguez, Aguadilla, Arecibo andPonce. The fifth area is Hot Springs, Arkansas, with just 80 lawyers, according to the BLS.

The disparity between some areas is huge. The average lawyer wage in the highest-paid area (San Jose, California, at $268,570) is four times greater than the average wage in the lowest-paid area (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, at $62,380).

There are three surprises among the 20 areas with the highest lawyer wages. Midland, Michigan, near Saginaw, is No. 6 at $220,780. The BLS lists 100 lawyers in the Midland area, so it’s possible the numbers are skewed by a few high earners.

Another small town named Midland — this one in Texas — is No. 11 at $204,300. The BLS lists 210 lawyers in that area. And another Texas city, Odessa, which is next to Midland, is No. 16 at $188,690. It has 110 lawyers, according to the BLS.

Where’s the midpoint among all 380 metropolitan areas measured by the BLS? That’s Omaha, Nebraska, with an average lawyer wage of $132,790.

Fast facts:

• Big metro areas generally have higher lawyer salaries — but not always. Detroit is the 14th-largest metropolitan area in the country and has more than 9,000 lawyers, according to BLS, but ranks 136thin lawyer salary at $141,540.Other metro areas among the top 20 largest in the country that rank surprisingly low in lawyer pay: Miami (74th), Phoenix (64th) and Tampa, Florida (147th).
• The lowest average lawyer salary in the continental U.S. is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, at $73,870. The BLS lists 80 lawyers there.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
See complete metro area list in appendix.

Metropolitan areas with highest average wages for lawyers: 2023

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ... $268,570
2. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ... $252,210
3. Boulder, CO ... $251,490
4. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ... $235,940
5. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ... $223,890
6. Midland, MI ... $220,780
7. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ... $219,740
8. Fort Collins, CO ... $216,770
9. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ... $213,420
10. Corpus Christi, TX ... $212,830

Metropolitan areas with lowest average wages for lawyers: 2023

1. Mayaguez, PR ... $62,380
2. Aguadilla-Isabela, PR ... $68,840
3. Arecibo, PR ... $69,840
4. Hot Springs, AR ... $73,870
5. Ponce, PR ... $76,030
6. San Juan-Carolina-Caguas, PR ... $77,160
7. Pine Bluff, AR ... $87,130
8. Muncie, IN ... $88,980
9. Twin Falls, ID ... $89,070
10. Great Falls, MT ... $90,040

Law firm associates

The median salary for first-year law firm associates increased markedly by $35,000 (or 21%) in just two years — from $165,000 in 2021 to $200,000 in 2023, according to a survey by the National Association for Law Placement. Salaries varied widely depending on the size and location of law firms.

NALP attributed the rapid rise to “a red-hot recruiting market where associates scored multiple pay raisesand commanded unprecedented leverage as firms desperately tried to add and retain lawyers.”

The median salary of $200,000 for first-year associates at private law firms in 2023 was roughly triple the median salary for a first-year lawyer in a public service job ($64,200 to $69,608 for lawyers at civil legal aid offices, public interest groups and public defender’s offices in 2023).

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Associate Salary Survey

Law firm size was a major determining factor in the salaries of first-year associates. Larger firms generally paid more than smaller firms. The highest median salary for first-year associates ($215,000) was at firms with more than 1,000 lawyers. At the lower end, firms of 100 lawyers or fewer paid a median salary of $155,000 to first-year associates.

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Associate Salary Survey

By comparison, the average salary for all lawyers nationwide in 2023 — whether they worked at law firms, corporations, government, nonprofits or elsewhere — was $176,470, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That includes only wages and does not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.

Fast fact:

• The median salary for first-year summer associates in 2023 was $3,650 a week — the equivalent of $189,800 a year.

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Associate Salary Survey

Public service lawyers

Lawyers in public service jobs continue to earn substantially less than lawyers working in law firms, according to the National Association for Law Placement 2023 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey.

According to the NALP, the median entry-level salary for public service lawyers in 2023 was:

• $69,499 for lawyers in public interest organization
• $69,608 for public defenders
• $64,200 for lawyers in civil legal service offices

Source: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey

Those figures are far below the salaries for entry-level lawyers in law firms.

According to the NALP, the median salary for a first-year associate at a law firm of 100 lawyers or fewer was $155,000 in 2023 — more than double that of entry-level lawyers in public service jobs. And at some large law firms, starting salaries for first-year associates have leaped to $225,000.

The NALP survey also compares lawyer salaries over time. The conclusion: Legal aid lawyers earn less than other public service lawyers at the start of their careers and the pay gap grows wider over time.

For example, entry-level legal aid lawyers earn 92% of what comparable public defenders and nonprofit lawyers earn. The pay gap is even wider for experienced lawyers. For example, legal aid lawyers with at least 15 years’ experience earn 82% of what similarly experienced public defenders earn, and 76% of what similarly experienced nonprofit lawyers earn.

In recent years, public service lawyers have fared well against inflation — except for public defenders.

From 2018 to 2023, consumer prices rose 20.7%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the same period, starting pay for legal aid lawyers rose 33.8%. For starting public interest lawyers, it rose 38.2%. But for public defenders, pay rose just 19.4% — roughly one percentage point less than the inflation rate.

Sources: National Association for Law Placement 2023 Public Service Attorney Salary Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics