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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
657,170 0.7 % $69.86 $145,300 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $28.69 $38.92 $59.11 $89.59 (5)
Annual Wage (2) $59,670 $80,950 $122,960 $186,350 (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 403,110 35.18 $72.31 $150,410
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 57,510 1.04 $51.44 $106,990
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 44,270 2.03 $45.21 $94,050
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 38,020 1.89 $67.17 $139,720
Management of Companies and Enterprises 20,530 0.83 $86.91 $180,780

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 403,110 35.18 $72.31 $150,410
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 560 2.55 $76.58 $159,280
State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation) 44,270 2.03 $45.21 $94,050
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 38,020 1.89 $67.17 $139,720
Social Advocacy Organizations 2,990 1.34 $53.64 $111,560

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Cable and Other Subscription Programming 190 0.35 $108.16 $224,970
Motion Picture and Video Industries 430 0.10 $104.23 $216,800
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction 80 0.02 $103.77 $215,850
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing 530 0.33 $101.11 $210,310
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing 70 0.07 $99.94 $207,880


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 83,750 4.82 1.08 $83.64 $173,970
New York 77,060 8.09 1.81 $81.14 $168,780
Florida 47,900 5.45 1.22 $62.50 $130,010
Texas 44,700 3.60 0.80 $69.28 $144,110
Illinois 31,270 5.19 1.16 $75.49 $157,010




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 30,960 42.79 9.56 $92.39 $192,180
New York 77,060 8.09 1.81 $81.14 $168,780
Delaware 2,600 5.76 1.29 (8) (8)
Florida 47,900 5.45 1.22 $62.50 $130,010
Colorado 14,320 5.35 1.19 $72.42 $150,630




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 30,960 42.79 9.56 $92.39 $192,180
California 83,750 4.82 1.08 $83.64 $173,970
New York 77,060 8.09 1.81 $81.14 $168,780
Massachusetts 18,750 5.18 1.16 $79.23 $164,800
Illinois 31,270 5.19 1.16 $75.49 $157,010





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 82,110 8.50 1.90 $84.00 $174,720
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 44,090 13.87 3.10 $86.34 $179,590
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37,970 6.09 1.36 $85.80 $178,470
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 27,790 5.94 1.33 $78.12 $162,490
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 19,810 7.50 1.68 $72.28 $150,340
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 18,330 6.37 1.42 $75.42 $156,870
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 16,750 6.78 1.51 $90.82 $188,910
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 16,720 5.98 1.34 $81.69 $169,920
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 15,540 5.66 1.27 $65.79 $136,850
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 14,620 4.00 0.89 $72.65 $151,100




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 44,090 13.87 3.10 $86.34 $179,590
Tallahassee, FL 2,160 12.36 2.76 $56.18 $116,850
Charleston, WV 1,010 9.11 2.04 $46.85 $97,450
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 82,110 8.50 1.90 $84.00 $174,720
Santa Fe, NM 530 8.47 1.89 $46.02 $95,710
Trenton, NJ 2,030 8.44 1.89 $62.94 $130,910
Missoula, MT 470 7.72 1.73 $36.03 $74,940
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 19,810 7.50 1.68 $72.28 $150,340
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 3,320 7.33 1.64 $55.63 $115,710
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 10,780 7.12 1.59 $75.05 $156,100




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 5,680 4.98 1.11 $105.01 $218,420
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 16,750 6.78 1.51 $90.82 $188,910
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 44,090 13.87 3.10 $86.34 $179,590
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37,970 6.09 1.36 $85.80 $178,470
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 2,460 5.95 1.33 $85.54 $177,930
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 82,110 8.50 1.90 $84.00 $174,720
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 16,720 5.98 1.34 $81.69 $169,920
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2,650 1.72 0.38 $81.47 $169,460
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX 420 2.59 0.58 $80.22 $166,850
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,120 3.52 0.79 $78.85 $164,010

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)
Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 710 3.95 0.88 $31.23 $64,950
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 700 5.02 1.12 $37.74 $78,510
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 630 1.59 0.35 $33.23 $69,120
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 560 2.91 0.65 $42.49 $88,390
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 530 5.47 1.22 $65.73 $136,710

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)
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 530 5.47 1.22 $65.73 $136,710
Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area 700 5.02 1.12 $37.74 $78,510
Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 710 3.95 0.88 $31.23 $64,950
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 280 3.89 0.87 $60.22 $125,260
South Florida nonmetropolitan area 300 3.80 0.85 $32.82 $68,270

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)
West Texas Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area 210 1.03 0.23 $70.40 $146,440
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 530 5.47 1.22 $65.73 $136,710
North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area 190 1.93 0.43 $64.62 $134,400
Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area 380 3.11 0.70 $63.66 $132,400
Northern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $61.49 $127,910


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 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 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