Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

23-1011 Lawyers

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
628,370	0.6 %	$68.22	$141,890	0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$27.61	$37.56	$57.33	$85.81	(5)
Annual Wage (2)	$57,430	$78,130	$119,250	$178,480	(5)

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

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

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services	388,670	34.40	$71.13	$147,950
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	54,920	1.01	$49.26	$102,450
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	42,250	1.93	$43.32	$90,100
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	37,210	1.84	$66.35	$138,000
Management of Companies and Enterprises	17,770	0.76	$86.04	$178,970

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services	388,670	34.40	$71.13	$147,950
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	42,250	1.93	$43.32	$90,100
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation)	37,210	1.84	$66.35	$138,000
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works)	420	1.82	$85.64	$178,140
Other Investment Pools and Funds	130	1.78	$63.38	$131,840

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Scheduled Air Transportation	90	0.02	$104.53	$217,410
Support Activities for Mining	170	0.06	$102.11	$212,390
Cable and Other Subscription Programming	90	0.17	$102.06	$212,290
Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil	30	0.28	$98.36	$204,580
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	640	0.40	$96.32	$200,350

Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	79,980	4.79	1.09	$80.87	$168,200
New York	73,560	7.99	1.81	$79.45	$165,260
Florida	47,630	5.66	1.28	$61.41	$127,730
Texas	42,870	3.61	0.82	$70.10	$145,800
District of Columbia	32,090	45.31	10.28	$91.14	$189,560

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	32,090	45.31	10.28	$91.14	$189,560
New York	73,560	7.99	1.81	$79.45	$165,260
Florida	47,630	5.66	1.28	$61.41	$127,730
Delaware	2,410	5.45	1.24	(8)	(8)
New Jersey	20,730	5.17	1.17	$67.47	$140,340

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia	32,090	45.31	10.28	$91.14	$189,560
California	79,980	4.79	1.09	$80.87	$168,200
New York	73,560	7.99	1.81	$79.45	$165,260
Massachusetts	17,820	5.05	1.15	$75.70	$157,450
Connecticut	7,070	4.27	0.97	$73.33	$152,540

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	59,550	8.90	2.02	$86.28	$179,470
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division	42,010	16.68	3.78	$85.57	$177,990
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	27,210	6.14	1.39	$81.83	$170,210
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	23,290	6.36	1.44	$71.28	$148,260
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	14,190	5.42	1.23	$71.06	$147,800
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division	13,460	7.32	1.66	$81.07	$168,620
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	12,450	4.25	0.96	$84.07	$174,870
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division	11,630	4.67	1.06	$74.27	$154,490
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division	11,580	10.37	2.35	$91.18	$189,660
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division	9,860	8.65	1.96	$69.10	$143,730

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

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 Metropolitan Division	42,010	16.68	3.78	$85.57	$177,990
Tallahassee, FL	2,240	13.30	3.02	$55.39	$115,210
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division	9,520	10.52	2.39	$75.57	$157,180
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division	11,580	10.37	2.35	$91.18	$189,660
Bloomington, IL	820	9.25	2.10	$59.98	$124,750
Trenton, NJ	2,050	8.93	2.03	$63.90	$132,910
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	59,550	8.90	2.02	$86.28	$179,470
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division	9,860	8.65	1.96	$69.10	$143,730
Charleston, WV	960	8.64	1.96	$46.17	$96,040
West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, FL Metropolitan Division	4,720	7.83	1.78	$58.84	$122,390

Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	5,470	5.03	1.14	$95.24	$198,100
San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, CA Metropolitan Division	11,580	10.37	2.35	$91.18	$189,660
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division	7,700	4.77	1.08	$90.94	$189,150
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT	2,250	5.41	1.23	$87.58	$182,160
San Rafael, CA Metropolitan Division	560	4.84	1.10	$86.79	$180,530
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	59,550	8.90	2.02	$86.28	$179,470
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division	42,010	16.68	3.78	$85.57	$177,990
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	12,450	4.25	0.96	$84.07	$174,870
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	1,200	3.89	0.88	$83.86	$174,420
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	27,210	6.14	1.39	$81.83	$170,210

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area	730	5.43	1.23	$38.96	$81,030
Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area	600	3.37	0.77	$33.09	$68,830
Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area	490	2.12	0.48	$45.74	$95,150
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area	450	2.35	0.53	$37.13	$77,230
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous)	450	1.36	0.31	$37.57	$78,140

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area	730	5.43	1.23	$38.96	$81,030
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area	410	4.19	0.95	$51.97	$108,090
East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area	400	4.02	0.91	$46.24	$96,180
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area	270	3.92	0.89	$59.48	$123,730
Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area	600	3.37	0.77	$33.09	$68,830

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Alamos County, New Mexico nonmetropolitan area	30	1.98	0.45	$79.34	$165,040
Balance of Alaska nonmetropolitan area	80	1.09	0.25	$63.46	$131,990
Wasatch Back nonmetropolitan area	70	2.21	0.50	$62.45	$129,890
South Nevada nonmetropolitan area	90	1.83	0.42	$60.90	$126,680
Southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area	110	3.12	0.71	$59.81	$124,410

About May 2017 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(5) This wage is equal to or greater than $100.00 per hour or $208,000 per year.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2017 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2017 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: March 30, 2018