Lawyers
United States. Estimated employment 754,500, with pages for 77 metro areas below.
Data released May 2025
BLS OEWS · SOC 23-1011
Fig. 1 — The wage rule
Where you sit in the distribution
Drag the marker, or type a figure
$159,670 · 50th
$78,36010th
$102,99025th
$159,67050th
$221,37075th
$351,60090th
That is the median — half of lawyers in the US earn more.
Table 1 — By metro area
Where it pays
Every published Lawyers page, by median pay. Employment is the BLS estimate for the metro.
| Metro area | Median | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Jose, CA | $301,320 | 6,040 |
| San Francisco, CA | $212,500 | 18,470 |
| New York, NY | $208,880 | 94,610 |
| Washington, DC | $195,190 | 46,840 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $194,410 | 41,580 |
| Oxnard, CA | $185,520 | 1,220 |
| Boston, MA | $183,350 | 20,080 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $181,560 | 590 |
| Sacramento, CA | $178,540 | 7,620 |
| San Diego, CA | $178,220 | 8,020 |
| Denver, CO | $177,380 | 11,860 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $175,780 | 290 |
| Philadelphia, PA | $170,660 | 19,040 |
| Dallas, TX | $168,510 | 17,110 |
| Chicago, IL | $165,660 | 28,320 |
| Midland, TX | $163,090 | 280 |
| Peoria, IL | $161,150 | 560 |
| Miami, FL | $160,320 | 23,270 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $159,620 | 10,160 |
| Houston, TX | $157,980 | 16,810 |
| Austin, TX | $153,330 | 7,540 |
| Rochester, NY | $148,150 | 1,710 |
| El Paso, TX | $140,550 | 780 |
| Kiryas Joel, NY | $138,630 | 910 |
| Atlanta, GA | $138,210 | 18,760 |
| San Antonio, TX | $137,690 | 4,020 |
| Orlando, FL | $136,970 | 5,890 |
| North Port, FL | $136,910 | 1,440 |
| Ithaca, NY | $135,610 | 130 |
| Detroit, MI | $134,980 | 10,110 |
| College Station, TX | $134,800 | 340 |
| Pittsburgh, PA | $133,040 | 5,550 |
| Greeley, CO | $132,990 | 260 |
| Ann Arbor, MI | $132,920 | 640 |
| Port St. Lucie, FL | $132,360 | 570 |
| Gainesville, FL | $132,160 | 600 |
| Harrisburg, PA | $131,440 | 1,930 |
| Springfield, IL | $131,400 | 530 |
| Fort Collins, CO | $131,380 | 500 |
| Albany, NY | $131,310 | 3,180 |
| Buffalo, NY | $130,800 | 2,930 |
| Utica, NY | $130,100 | 250 |
| Mankato, MN | $130,020 | 140 |
| Champaign, IL | $129,990 | 250 |
| Palm Bay, FL | $129,640 | 680 |
| Cape Coral, FL | $129,450 | 1,090 |
| Worcester, MA | $129,400 | 1,210 |
| Grand Rapids, MI | $129,360 | 1,430 |
| Rochester, MN | $129,270 | 210 |
| Duluth, MN | $129,120 | 260 |
| Sebastian, FL | $129,050 | 230 |
| Lansing, MI | $128,610 | 1,130 |
| Erie, PA | $128,130 | 260 |
| York, PA | $126,350 | 400 |
| Allentown, PA | $126,160 | 950 |
| Reading, PA | $125,830 | 440 |
| Lancaster, PA | $125,510 | 520 |
| Brunswick, GA | $125,480 | 200 |
| Bloomington, IL | $124,100 | 530 |
| Augusta, GA | $123,960 | 630 |
| Springfield, MA | $123,320 | 770 |
| Savannah, GA | $123,050 | 640 |
| Niles, MI | $123,030 | 110 |
| Amherst Town, MA | $122,670 | 170 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $122,640 | 250 |
| St. Cloud, MN | $118,860 | 300 |
| Warner Robins, GA | $118,750 | 120 |
| Grand Junction, CO | $113,610 | 260 |
| Pueblo, CO | $113,170 | 140 |
| Kalamazoo, MI | $112,400 | 330 |
| Macon, GA | $108,200 | 410 |
| Flint, MI | $107,830 | 260 |
| Traverse City, MI | $107,460 | 190 |
| Pittsfield, MA | $107,400 | 160 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | $106,320 | 1,390 |
| Athens, GA | $105,360 | 240 |
| Rockford, IL | $103,190 | 340 |
Sources
How this page was made
- Wage data
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 release. Public domain.
- Employment
- 754,500 employed in this occupation nationally (BLS estimate; excludes the self-employed).
- Occupation
- SOC 23-1011, Lawyers. Mapped to our taxonomy as lawyers.
Percentiles are reported exactly as released and are never interpolated between published values. We take no payment from employers, recruiters or anyone else for how any figure is presented.