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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2020

23-0000 Legal Occupations (Major Group)

Legal Occupations comprises the following occupations: Lawyers; Judicial Law Clerks; Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers; Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators; Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates; Paralegals and Legal Assistants; Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers; Legal Support Workers, All Other

National estimates for Legal Occupations
Industry profile for Legal Occupations
Geographic profile for Legal Occupations

National estimates for Legal Occupations:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Legal Occupations:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3) 		Mean hourly
wage		 Mean annual
wage (2) 		Wage RSE (3)
1,154,740 0.5 % $ 54.00 $ 112,320 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for Legal Occupations:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 18.78 $ 26.39 $ 40.82 $ 71.32 (5)
Annual Wage (2) $ 39,070 $ 54,880 $ 84,910 $ 148,340 (5)

Industry profile for Legal Occupations:

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Legal Occupations are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in Legal Occupations, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in Legal Occupations:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 696,200 61.20 $ 53.61 $ 111,510
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 100,950 1.87 $ 45.11 $ 93,820
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 92,330 4.20 $ 46.65 $ 97,030
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 73,630 3.54 $ 58.61 $ 121,900
Insurance Carriers 31,090 2.58 $ 45.15 $ 93,920

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Legal Occupations:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 696,200 61.20 $ 53.61 $ 111,510
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) 92,330 4.20 $ 46.65 $ 97,030
Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) 73,630 3.54 $ 58.61 $ 121,900
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 710 3.35 $ 62.31 $ 129,610
Insurance Carriers 31,090 2.58 $ 45.15 $ 93,920

Top paying industries for Legal Occupations:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Specialized Design Services 90 0.06 $ 108.28 $ 225,210
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 530 0.33 $ 96.42 $ 200,550
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events 90 0.08 $ 92.59 $ 192,590
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank 170 0.85 $ 88.98 $ 185,080
Cable and Other Subscription Programming 370 0.73 $ 86.34 $ 179,600

Geographic profile for Legal Occupations:

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Legal Occupations are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in Legal Occupations, see the Create Customized Tables function.





States with the highest employment level in Legal Occupations:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 137,150 8.35 1.01 $ 66.23 $ 137,770
New York 113,570 13.07 1.57 $ 68.37 $ 142,200
Florida 92,020 10.90 1.31 $ 47.68 $ 99,170
Texas 88,420 7.31 0.88 $ 50.08 $ 104,160
Illinois 49,240 8.75 1.05 $ 58.05 $ 120,740




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Occupations:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 39,700 57.77 6.96 $ 83.03 $ 172,690
New York 113,570 13.07 1.57 $ 68.37 $ 142,200
Delaware 5,030 11.79 1.42 $ 56.08 $ 116,640
Florida 92,020 10.90 1.31 $ 47.68 $ 99,170
Virginia 36,600 9.89 1.19 $ 53.35 $ 110,960




Top paying states for Legal Occupations:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 39,700 57.77 6.96 $ 83.03 $ 172,690
New York 113,570 13.07 1.57 $ 68.37 $ 142,200
California 137,150 8.35 1.01 $ 66.23 $ 137,770
Massachusetts 29,960 8.95 1.08 $ 64.76 $ 134,710
New Jersey 32,920 8.70 1.05 $ 58.74 $ 122,170





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Legal Occupations:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 116,430 13.18 1.59 $ 71.02 $ 147,730
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 68,430 22.64 2.73 $ 72.48 $ 150,760
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 61,240 10.52 1.27 $ 66.29 $ 137,890
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 43,070 9.87 1.19 $ 60.20 $ 125,220
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 36,450 14.53 1.75 $ 55.77 $ 116,000
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 30,560 11.33 1.37 $ 56.73 $ 118,000
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 27,860 10.58 1.27 $ 52.75 $ 109,720
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 27,050 7.54 0.91 $ 55.35 $ 115,140
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 26,320 8.87 1.07 $ 49.69 $ 103,360
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 26,120 10.04 1.21 $ 67.72 $ 140,850




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Occupations:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 68,430 22.64 2.73 $ 72.48 $ 150,760
Tallahassee, FL 3,530 20.80 2.51 $ 40.98 $ 85,250
Charleston, WV 1,800 17.50 2.11 $ 43.07 $ 89,580
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 36,450 14.53 1.75 $ 55.77 $ 116,000
Santa Fe, NM 820 14.23 1.71 $ 40.62 $ 84,500
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 7,210 13.99 1.69 $ 45.38 $ 94,390
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 116,430 13.18 1.59 $ 71.02 $ 147,730
Trenton, NJ 2,900 12.56 1.51 $ 54.16 $ 112,650
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 5,260 12.51 1.51 $ 46.97 $ 97,690
Montgomery, AL 1,910 12.33 1.49 $ 42.43 $ 88,250