Wages
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Wage trends over 20 years
Wage trends over 20 yearsThe average wage for lawyers jumped 10.6% in 2022 to $163,770, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the biggest one-year rise in two decades – since 2002, when lawyer wages leaped 15.2%.
The 2022 lawyer wage increase was higher than the inflation rate. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculated wages as of May 2022. From May 2021 to May 2022, the consumer price index rose 8.6%, compared to the 10.6% increase in lawyer wages. (Note: BLS statistics cover wages for all lawyers but do not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.)
Over the past 20 years, the average lawyer’s salary has grown at slightly less than the rate of inflation. From 2002 to 2022, the average lawyer’s salary rose 55%. Over the same period, inflation increased 59%.
The fastest growth in lawyers’ salaries was from 1997-2002, when the average lawyer wage rose 45%. By comparison, in the most recent five-year period, the average lawyer wage rose 15.4% – from $141,890 in 2017 to $163,770 in 2022.
Lawyers are among the highest-paid people in the United States. The BLS compiles pay statistics on more than 800 jobs. Lawyers ranked 28th in average wages in 2022. The average wage for all U.S. workers was $61,900.
Lawyers who are paid wages continue to earn less, on average, than many medical professionals, according to the BLS. The average wage for family medicine physicians is $224,460. Closer to the average for lawyers are dentists at $172,290 and financial managers at $166,050.
In related legal fields, the average wage for judges, magistrate judges and magistrates was $153,700 in 2022, according to the BLS. For paralegals and legal assistants, it was $62,840.
Cardiologist
Average wage $421,330
Shampooer
Average wage $27,870
$61,900
The average wage for lawyers is highly dependent on geography – based on where the lawyer practices. Six of the 10 metro areas with the highest average lawyer wages in 2022 were in California. From the top: San Jose, San Francisco, Oxnard, Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Rosa, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(Note: BLS statistics cover wages for all lawyers but do not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.)
At the other extreme, the five metro areas with the lowest average wages for lawyers are in Puerto Rico. From the bottom: Mayaguez, Aguadilla, Ponce, Arecibo and San Juan.
The disparity between some areas is huge. The average lawyer wage in the highest-paid area (San Jose, California, at $267,840) is nearly five times greater than the average wage in the lowest-paid area (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, at $53,850).
There are two surprises among the 20 areas with the highest lawyer wages. Midland, Michigan, near Saginaw, is No. 11 at $184,610. The BLS lists 110 lawyers in the Midland area, so it’s possible the numbers are skewed by a few high earners.
Another small city named Midland – this one in Texas – is No. 13 at $182,870. The BLS lists 220 lawyers in that area.
Where’s the midpoint among all 384 metropolitan areas measured by the BLS? That’s Palm Bay, Florida, at $124,660 and Wheeling, West Virginia, at $124,630.
Highest
Lowest
BLS statistics cover wages for all lawyers but do not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.
Law firm associatesThe median salary for first-year law firm associates increased markedly by $35,000 (or 21%) in the past 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 raises and 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 was more than triple the median salary for a first-year lawyer in a public service job ($57,500 to $63,000 for lawyers at civil legal aid offices, public interest groups and public defender’s offices in 2022).
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.
By comparison, the average salary for all lawyers nationwide in 2022 – whether they worked at law firms, corporations, government, nonprofits or elsewhere – was $163,770, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That includes only wages and does not include profits for law firm partners and shareholders.
Public Service LawyersEntry-level pay for lawyers at nonprofits and legal aid offices rose more than inflation from 2018 to 2022, according to the National Association for Law Placement. But entry-level pay for public defenders remained nearly stagnant.
That’s much less than the entry-level salary at some big law firms in major cities: $215,000 in 2023. In fact, even highly experienced public service lawyers – those with 11 to 15 years in the job – earn less than half of that $215,000 for rookie lawyers at big law firms.
The 2022 survey shows that experienced public defenders are paid more than experienced legal aid lawyers and nonprofit lawyers. Public defenders with 11 to 15 years’ experience earned a median salary of $100,500 in 2022. For nonprofit lawyers with similar experience, it was $95,000. And for legal aid lawyers with the same experience, it was $78,500.
For comparison purposes, the average salary for all lawyers – not counting law firm profit sharing – was $163,770 in 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Starting pay for nonprofit lawyers rose 25.2% from 2018 to 2022, according to the NALP. That’s nearly double the inflation rate of 13% over the same period. Starting pay for legal aid lawyers rose 19.8% over those four years, but starting pay for public defenders barely budged, rising just 2.4%.
The NALP Public Service Attorney Salary Survey is conducted every four years and usually includes pay data for prosecutors, but the 2022 report does not. The 2022 survey did not receive enough responses from prosecutors’ offices to provide a nationally representative sample.
$63,200
for lawyers at public interest organizations
$59,700
for public defenders
$57,500
for lawyers at civil legal services offices
