Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
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 Lawyers
Industry profile for Lawyers
Geographic profile for Lawyers
National estimates for Lawyers:
Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for Lawyers:
| Employment (1) |
Employment
RSE (3) |
Mean hourly
wage |
Mean annual
wage (2) |
Wage RSE (3) |
| 681,010 |
1.0 % |
$ 71.17 |
$ 148,030 |
1.1 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Lawyers:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 29.52 |
$ 39.24 |
$ 61.54 |
$ 93.55 |
(5) |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 61,400 |
$ 81,620 |
$ 127,990 |
$ 194,580 |
(5) |
Industry profile for Lawyers:
Industries with the highest published employment and wages for Lawyers are provided.
For a list of all industries with employment in Lawyers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
Industries with the highest levels of employment in Lawyers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Legal Services |
417,300 |
36.58 |
$ 72.18 |
$ 150,130 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
58,510 |
1.09 |
$ 54.65 |
$ 113,680 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
45,360 |
2.07 |
$ 48.61 |
$ 101,110 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
40,400 |
1.92 |
$ 70.72 |
$ 147,100 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises |
20,080 |
0.79 |
$ 95.63 |
$ 198,900 |
Industries with the highest concentration of employment in Lawyers:
| Industry |
Employment (1) |
Percent of industry employment |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Legal Services |
417,300 |
36.58 |
$ 72.18 |
$ 150,130 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
45,360 |
2.07 |
$ 48.61 |
$ 101,110 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
40,400 |
1.92 |
$ 70.72 |
$ 147,100 |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) |
360 |
1.88 |
$ 78.01 |
$ 162,260 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
58,510 |
1.09 |
$ 54.65 |
$ 113,680 |
Top paying industries for Lawyers:
Geographic profile for Lawyers:
States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for Lawyers are provided.
For a list of all areas with employment in Lawyers, see the Create Customized Tables function.
States with the highest employment level in Lawyers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| California |
90,120 |
5.45 |
1.13 |
$ 84.91 |
$ 176,610 |
| New York |
81,890 |
9.45 |
1.95 |
$ 86.09 |
$ 179,060 |
| Florida |
54,740 |
6.36 |
1.32 |
$ 62.21 |
$ 129,390 |
| Texas |
43,850 |
3.59 |
0.74 |
$ 72.28 |
$ 150,350 |
| District of Columbia |
30,850 |
46.60 |
9.64 |
$ 95.59 |
$ 198,820 |
States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Lawyers:
Top paying states for Lawyers:
| State |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| District of Columbia |
30,850 |
46.60 |
9.64 |
$ 95.59 |
$ 198,820 |
| New York |
81,890 |
9.45 |
1.95 |
$ 86.09 |
$ 179,060 |
| California |
90,120 |
5.45 |
1.13 |
$ 84.91 |
$ 176,610 |
| Massachusetts |
19,050 |
5.61 |
1.16 |
$ 80.76 |
$ 167,980 |
| New Jersey |
22,480 |
5.84 |
1.21 |
$ 73.94 |
$ 153,800 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in Lawyers:
| 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 |
85,180 |
9.82 |
2.03 |
$ 88.40 |
$ 183,870 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
44,250 |
15.09 |
3.12 |
$ 89.72 |
$ 186,610 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
41,060 |
7.18 |
1.49 |
$ 85.36 |
$ 177,550 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
26,170 |
6.18 |
1.28 |
$ 74.01 |
$ 153,930 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
24,760 |
10.10 |
2.09 |
$ 66.53 |
$ 138,390 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
19,740 |
7.44 |
1.54 |
$ 70.06 |
$ 145,720 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
16,730 |
6.47 |
1.34 |
$ 82.53 |
$ 171,660 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,570 |
7.39 |
1.53 |
$ 92.05 |
$ 191,460 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
14,660 |
4.09 |
0.85 |
$ 77.72 |
$ 161,650 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
14,190 |
5.48 |
1.13 |
$ 69.41 |
$ 144,380 |
Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Lawyers:
| 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 |
44,250 |
15.09 |
3.12 |
$ 89.72 |
$ 186,610 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
2,060 |
12.13 |
2.51 |
$ 45.13 |
$ 93,880 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
24,760 |
10.10 |
2.09 |
$ 66.53 |
$ 138,390 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
85,180 |
9.82 |
2.03 |
$ 88.40 |
$ 183,870 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
530 |
9.45 |
1.95 |
$ 55.60 |
$ 115,640 |
| Charleston, WV |
890 |
8.94 |
1.85 |
$ 57.46 |
$ 119,520 |
| Trenton, NJ |
2,030 |
8.92 |
1.85 |
$ 64.80 |
$ 134,780 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO |
11,330 |
7.74 |
1.60 |
$ 69.18 |
$ 143,890 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
19,740 |
7.44 |
1.54 |
$ 70.06 |
$ 145,720 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,570 |
7.39 |
1.53 |
$ 92.05 |
$ 191,460 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Lawyers:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
5,440 |
5.09 |
1.05 |
$ 111.15 |
$ 231,200 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
16,570 |
7.39 |
1.53 |
$ 92.05 |
$ 191,460 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
44,250 |
15.09 |
3.12 |
$ 89.72 |
$ 186,610 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
85,180 |
9.82 |
2.03 |
$ 88.40 |
$ 183,870 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
41,060 |
7.18 |
1.49 |
$ 85.36 |
$ 177,550 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
16,730 |
6.47 |
1.34 |
$ 82.53 |
$ 171,660 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
2,500 |
6.67 |
1.38 |
$ 82.26 |
$ 171,100 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
7,900 |
5.68 |
1.18 |
$ 79.56 |
$ 165,480 |
| Midland, MI |
110 |
3.23 |
0.67 |
$ 79.05 |
$ 164,430 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA |
1,280 |
4.30 |
0.89 |
$ 78.64 |
$ 163,560 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Lawyers:
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Lawyers:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Lawyers:
About May 2021 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 OEWS estimates and related information:
May 2021 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates
May 2021 Occupation Profiles
Technical Notes
Last Modified Date: March 31, 2022
United States Department of Labor
