Lawyers Average Salary in United States
$184,127 average · $191,320 median · BLS OEWS 2025
SOC Code: 23-1011What is this?
Professional in lawyers
How much do Lawyers make in United States?
The average lawyers salary in United States is $184,127 per year, with a median of $191,320. That works out to about $88.52 per hour on average. BLS counts roughly 3,976,160 lawyers jobs in United States.
Mean pay sits below the median here, which is uncommon and often reflects a concentration of wages around the middle of the distribution. Entry-level roles (10th percentile) report about $140,960; experienced workers at the 90th percentile report about $198,030 — a 40% spread from bottom to top. Figures are employer-reported wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — not self-reported survey averages — so they are the right baseline for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
How Legal Careers Are Structured
Legal occupation wages are the most bimodal in the entire labor dataset. Large-firm lawyers in major markets start near the top of the national distribution, while the majority of attorneys — in small firms, government, and public interest — earn a fraction of that. The mean on this page is pulled far above what the typical lawyer earns; read the median and percentiles instead.
The wage tables and percentile chart on this page show how lawyers pay is distributed in United States specifically — and because state-level wages for the same occupation routinely differ by 30% or more, the local figures here are the ones that matter for offers, raises, and relocation decisions in this market.
What Moves Pay in This Field
Firm size and market dominate everything else. The gap between large-firm and small-firm pay for the same graduating class can be 3x. For paralegals and support occupations, specialization (litigation support, IP, corporate) and market size are the main levers, and the distribution is much more compressed.
For attorneys, the credential path is fixed (JD plus bar admission) but the outcome distribution is set largely at the point of first employment — initial firm placement has unusually persistent effects on lifetime earnings. Paralegal entry runs through certificate programs or bachelor’s degrees, with experience and specialization driving steady, moderate progression.
New to reading wage distributions? Our guide to salary percentiles explains how to place yourself on the chart above, and the negotiation playbook shows how to use these numbers in an actual conversation.
Growing Demand
Lawyers shows strong employment growth with significant annual job openings.
What Do Lawyers Do?
Professional in lawyers
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Code: 23-1011
Lawyers pay in United States
In United States, lawyers report a median of $191,320 and an average of $184,127 (about $88.52/hour) across roughly 3,976,160 jobs. The local pay band runs from about $140,960 at the 10th percentile to $198,030 at the 90th.
National figures average across high-cost coastal metros and lower-cost inland markets, so individual state pages on Wage Atlas are usually the better reference for a specific offer.
Income reality check
The median salary for Lawyers in United States of $191,320 falls in the Wealthy band of this framework - roughly ~18% of the U.S. population and ~2.5% of the global population sit in this band.
Illustrative relative standing for education only - this ladder is a simplified framework, not an official Census, BLS, or World Bank statistical series. Salary figures on Wage Atlas come from official BLS OEWS data.
Salary Overview
Salary Distribution & Your Position
Advance Your Career
Ready to level up? Find courses, certifications, and coaching to boost your salary potential.
AI Replacement Risk Analysis
Forward-looking analysis of automation and AI impact
- Knowledge-based work - moderate automation risk
Includes risk scoring, timeline estimates, adaptation strategies, and more
Occupation Report Card
Job Outlook 2023-2033
Official BLS Employment Projections for Lawyers
Skills & What You Do
These occupations require a Juris Doctor and bar admission
- Advise and represent clients
- Research legal issues
- Draft legal documents
- Argue cases in court
Recent Layoffs Activity
Recent workforce reductions in related fields - context for a tight job market
- TechCorp - San Francisco, CA1,200 affectedMay 2026
- RetailCo - Columbus, OH800 affectedMay 2026
- FinServ Inc - Charlotte, NC450 affectedApr 2026
- LogiMove - Dallas, TX600 affectedApr 2026
- MediGroup - Phoenix, AZ300 affectedMar 2026
Top Industries for Lawyers
| $192,534 | $159,362 | $93 | 1,391,320 | |
| $139,283 | $132,318 | $67 | 673,780 |
Related Occupations
SOC: 11-3020 • 95% match | $190,511 | $196,220 | $92 | 3,559,230 |
SOC: 11-3021 • 95% match | $190,511 | $196,220 | $92 | 3,559,230 |
SOC: 11-3030 • 89% match | $185,663 | $188,160 | $89 | 4,466,320 |
SOC: 11-3031 • 89% match | $185,663 | $188,160 | $89 | 4,466,320 |
| Find Financial Managers Jobs | ||||
SOC: 23-1010 • 95% match | $181,941 | $191,320 | $87 | 4,055,890 |
SOC: 23-1000 • 94% match | $178,371 | $190,600 | $86 | 4,348,770 |
Related Occupations
Explore similar occupations and career paths:
Lawyers in Other States
Compare salaries for this occupation across different states:
Explore More Data for Lawyers
Career Advancement Strategy
Explore Similar Careers
Related Metrics
Viewing: Lawyers (SOC: 23-1011)
Embed this data
Add this salary widget to your site - free to use.
<iframe src="https://wageatlas.com/embed/salary/lawyers/united-states" width="100%" height="320" style="border:0;max-width:480px" loading="lazy" title="Salary widget by Wage Atlas"></iframe>