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Lawyer Salary Guide
Lawyers earned a median annual wage of $151,160 in 2024, according to the Occupational Outlook Handbook from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). While this is well above the median for all occupations ($49,500), it only tells part of the story. Work settings, industries, and geographic regions play a major role in determining the pay ranges lawyers can expect. We examine those questions and more below.
Lawyer Salary by Career Path
Public-Sector and Service-Oriented Lawyer Paths: Salary Benchmarks
For lawyers drawn to mission-driven work, public-sector and service-oriented careers can offer meaningful ways to serve communities, protect rights, and work on behalf of the public. Salary outcomes can vary widely by employment setting, so the table below uses the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as a broad benchmark source. It reports median annual wages for lawyers using the most current BLS wage data available as of March 2026. Across all industries and sectors, the BLS reports a median annual wage of $151,160 for lawyers.
| Career Path | Typical Setting | Entry-Level Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
Federal Government | Federal agencies / U.S. government | $174,680 |
Legal Services | Legal aid, nonprofit legal services, some public-interest and client-service settings | $143,470 |
Local Government | City, county, district attorney, public defender, and agency counsel roles | $125,180 |
State Government | State agencies, attorney general offices, and other state roles | $111,280 |
Private-Practice Lawyer Paths: First-Year Associate Salary Benchmarks
For lawyers considering private practice, starting pay often depends heavily on firm size, with the highest salaries concentrated in the largest firms and major legal markets. NALP’s 2025 Associate Salary Survey reports an overall median first-year associate base salary of $200,000. The size of the law firm impacts base pay, with median base pay ranging from $115,000 at smaller firms to $215,000 at larger firms.
The figures below reflect first-year associate base salaries as reported in NALP’s June 2025 summary.
| Typical Setting | Median First-Year Base Salary |
|---|---|
Firms with more than 700 lawyers | $215,000 |
Firms with 250-700 lawyers | $180,000 |
Firms with fewer than 250 lawyers | $150,000 |
Lawyer Salary by Industry Field
According to the BLS (May 2024), the industries with the highest lawyer salaries are:
| Industry | Annual Mean Wage (2024)* |
|---|---|
Automobile Dealers | $309,260 |
Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures | $297,130 |
Land Subdivision | $295,910 |
Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks & Content Providers | $290,860 |
Motion Picture and Video Industries | $290,660 |
*BLS data reports salaries by industry as the annual mean.
Lawyer Salary by Work Experience
The 2025 Associate Salary Survey, based on first-year associate base salaries as of January 1, 2025, reports an overall median starting salary of $200,000. Starting pay still varies significantly by firm size: NALP found a median of $150,000 at firms with 250 or fewer lawyers and $215,000 at firms with more than 700 lawyers. The survey also found that $225,000 was the most commonly reported first-year salary, even though it was not yet the overall national median.
Lawyer Salary by Location
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lawyers earned the most in these states:
| State | Annual Mean Wage (2024) |
|---|---|
California | $254,170 |
District of Columbia | $236,700 |
Massachusetts | $218,340 |
Colorado | $208,710 |
New York | $208,080 |
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024), the metropolitan areas with the highest lawyer salaries are:
| Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Areas* | Annual Mean Wage (2024) |
|---|---|
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $314,430 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA | $275,170 |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $270,610 |
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $258,550 |
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $238,240 |
Midland, MI | $234,800 |
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $226,830 |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $219,400 |
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $216,120 |
Modesto, CA | $206,670 |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $204,880 |
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $202,000 |
Reno, NV | $200,760 |
Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | $200,340 |
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $200,270 |
*As of 2024 BLS reports salary data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas together.
Lawyer Salary Considerations
Becoming a lawyer may seem tantalizing based on salary alone. But it’s important to know that entering the legal field as a practicing lawyer takes years of education. To become a lawyer, students need to earn a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and prepare for and pass the bar exam to earn licensure in their state of practice. To further their studies in a specific area of law, they may also earn a Master of Laws (LL.M.).
What is the salary range for lawyers?
The mean annual wage for lawyers is $182,760 according to BLS (2024). The lowest-paid 10% of lawyers earned less than $75,000 a year, while the highest-paid 10% earned more than $239,200.
What types of lawyers make the most money?
Based on the BLS information above, lawyers in automobile dealerships ($309,260) or agents and managers for artists, entertainers, athletes, and public figures ($297,130) had the highest annual mean salary industry earn the highest average salary, at $315,000. However, it is important to know that salary depends on experience, education, state, and industry.
Median annual wages were used when available in the 2024 BLS OEWS dataset; when median wage estimates were not reported due to BLS data limitations or suppression standards, annual mean wages were used instead.
Information on this page was retrieved and updated in March 2026.