Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019
23-0000 Legal Occupations (Major Group)
This major group 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 this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation
National estimates for this occupation:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this major group:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 1,150,780 |
0.5 % |
$52.71 |
$109,630 |
0.6 % |
Percentile wage estimates for this major group:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$18.33 |
$25.82 |
$39.34 |
$69.12 |
(5) |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$38,130 |
$53,710 |
$81,820 |
$143,780 |
(5) |
Industry profile for this occupation:
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 |
692,320 |
60.41 |
$52.72 |
$109,660 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
102,760 |
1.85 |
$43.49 |
$90,470 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
92,860 |
4.27 |
$44.83 |
$93,250 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) |
72,400 |
3.60 |
$55.80 |
$116,060 |
| Insurance Carriers |
29,420 |
2.46 |
$44.35 |
$92,250 |
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 |
692,320 |
60.41 |
$52.72 |
$109,660 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) |
92,860 |
4.27 |
$44.83 |
$93,250 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) |
72,400 |
3.60 |
$55.80 |
$116,060 |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) |
790 |
3.59 |
$62.90 |
$130,820 |
| Insurance Carriers |
29,420 |
2.46 |
$44.35 |
$92,250 |
Top paying industries for this occupation:
Geographic profile for this occupation:
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 |
137,550 |
7.91 |
1.01 |
$63.56 |
$132,200 |
| New York |
116,130 |
12.19 |
1.56 |
$65.60 |
$136,450 |
| Florida |
89,680 |
10.20 |
1.30 |
$46.02 |
$95,730 |
| Texas |
86,420 |
6.95 |
0.89 |
$49.65 |
$103,280 |
| Illinois |
50,060 |
8.31 |
1.06 |
$59.46 |
$123,690 |
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 |
39,610 |
54.75 |
6.99 |
$80.90 |
$168,280 |
| New York |
116,130 |
12.19 |
1.56 |
$65.60 |
$136,450 |
| Delaware |
4,700 |
10.40 |
1.33 |
$62.16 |
$129,290 |
| Florida |
89,680 |
10.20 |
1.30 |
$46.02 |
$95,730 |
| Maryland |
25,440 |
9.42 |
1.20 |
$47.55 |
$98,910 |
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 |
39,610 |
54.75 |
6.99 |
$80.90 |
$168,280 |
| New York |
116,130 |
12.19 |
1.56 |
$65.60 |
$136,450 |
| California |
137,550 |
7.91 |
1.01 |
$63.56 |
$132,200 |
| Massachusetts |
29,610 |
8.18 |
1.04 |
$63.22 |
$131,500 |
| Delaware |
4,700 |
10.40 |
1.33 |
$62.16 |
$129,290 |
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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
118,650 |
12.29 |
1.57 |
$68.17 |
$141,800 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
68,860 |
21.66 |
2.76 |
$69.87 |
$145,320 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
62,030 |
9.94 |
1.27 |
$63.86 |
$132,820 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
43,560 |
9.32 |
1.19 |
$61.63 |
$128,190 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
35,550 |
13.45 |
1.72 |
$52.87 |
$109,980 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
30,680 |
10.67 |
1.36 |
$56.89 |
$118,320 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
26,900 |
7.36 |
0.94 |
$53.44 |
$111,150 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
26,650 |
9.72 |
1.24 |
$50.47 |
$104,980 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
25,900 |
9.26 |
1.18 |
$65.79 |
$136,840 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
25,540 |
10.33 |
1.32 |
$72.09 |
$149,940 |
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 |
68,860 |
21.66 |
2.76 |
$69.87 |
$145,320 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
3,370 |
19.30 |
2.46 |
$46.10 |
$95,880 |
| Charleston, WV |
1,700 |
15.43 |
1.97 |
$38.94 |
$81,000 |
| Carson City, NV |
400 |
13.68 |
1.75 |
$45.83 |
$95,330 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
35,550 |
13.45 |
1.72 |
$52.87 |
$109,980 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
810 |
13.07 |
1.67 |
$40.14 |
$83,490 |
| Trenton, NJ |
2,970 |
12.35 |
1.58 |
$54.62 |
$113,610 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
118,650 |
12.29 |
1.57 |
$68.17 |
$141,800 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
6,790 |
12.19 |
1.56 |
$45.55 |
$94,750 |
| Cheyenne, WY |
550 |
11.95 |
1.53 |
$37.38 |
$77,750 |
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 |
8,450 |
7.41 |
0.95 |
$84.23 |
$175,190 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
25,540 |
10.33 |
1.32 |
$72.09 |
$149,940 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
68,860 |
21.66 |
2.76 |
$69.87 |
$145,320 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
118,650 |
12.29 |
1.57 |
$68.17 |
$141,800 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
3,800 |
9.17 |
1.17 |
$67.45 |
$140,290 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
25,900 |
9.26 |
1.18 |
$65.79 |
$136,840 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
62,030 |
9.94 |
1.27 |
$63.86 |
$132,820 |
| Napa, CA |
290 |
3.75 |
0.48 |
$61.80 |
$128,550 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
43,560 |
9.32 |
1.19 |
$61.63 |
$128,190 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
17,090 |
11.29 |
1.44 |
$59.99 |
$124,780 |
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) |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
1,670 |
4.23 |
0.54 |
$27.09 |
$56,340 |
| Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area |
1,330 |
7.45 |
0.95 |
$27.08 |
$56,320 |
| Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area |
1,290 |
9.25 |
1.18 |
$32.09 |
$66,740 |
| Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area |
1,090 |
5.63 |
0.72 |
$34.51 |
$71,780 |
| North Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area |
1,080 |
3.91 |
0.50 |
$33.95 |
$70,610 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:
About May 2019 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 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.
(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 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2019 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020
United States Department of Labor
