Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
SHARE ON:
Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2021
23-0000 Legal Occupations (Major Group)
Legal Occupations comprises the following occupations:
Judicial Law Clerks;
Lawyers;
Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators;
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers;
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates;
Paralegals and Legal Assistants;
Legal Support Workers, All Other;
Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers
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) |
| 1,178,140 |
0.5 % |
$ 54.38 |
$ 113,100 |
1.0 % |
Percentile wage estimates for Legal Occupations:
| Percentile |
10% |
25% |
50%
(Median) |
75% |
90% |
| Hourly Wage |
$ 18.57 |
$ 28.08 |
$ 39.63 |
$ 75.43 |
(5) |
| Annual Wage (2) |
$ 38,620 |
$ 58,400 |
$ 82,430 |
$ 156,900 |
(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 |
712,930 |
62.49 |
$ 53.23 |
$ 110,720 |
| Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
100,000 |
1.86 |
$ 46.25 |
$ 96,200 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
92,340 |
4.21 |
$ 49.11 |
$ 102,150 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
75,420 |
3.58 |
$ 59.15 |
$ 123,030 |
| Insurance Carriers |
35,500 |
2.96 |
$ 44.53 |
$ 92,620 |
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 |
712,930 |
62.49 |
$ 53.23 |
$ 110,720 |
| State Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OEWS Designation) |
92,340 |
4.21 |
$ 49.11 |
$ 102,150 |
| Federal Executive Branch (OEWS Designation) |
75,420 |
3.58 |
$ 59.15 |
$ 123,030 |
| Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) |
600 |
3.07 |
$ 61.27 |
$ 127,440 |
| Insurance Carriers |
35,500 |
2.96 |
$ 44.53 |
$ 92,620 |
Top paying industries for Legal Occupations:
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 |
145,660 |
8.81 |
1.05 |
$ 65.92 |
$ 137,110 |
| New York |
121,480 |
14.01 |
1.68 |
$ 69.74 |
$ 145,060 |
| Florida |
95,950 |
11.15 |
1.33 |
$ 48.30 |
$ 100,460 |
| Texas |
83,690 |
6.85 |
0.82 |
$ 51.82 |
$ 107,790 |
| Illinois |
49,810 |
8.86 |
1.06 |
$ 55.97 |
$ 116,430 |
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 |
38,110 |
57.58 |
6.89 |
$ 85.34 |
$ 177,510 |
| New York |
121,480 |
14.01 |
1.68 |
$ 69.74 |
$ 145,060 |
| Delaware |
5,500 |
12.62 |
1.51 |
$ 57.34 |
$ 119,260 |
| Florida |
95,950 |
11.15 |
1.33 |
$ 48.30 |
$ 100,460 |
| Rhode Island |
4,750 |
10.37 |
1.24 |
$ 55.04 |
$ 114,480 |
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 |
38,110 |
57.58 |
6.89 |
$ 85.34 |
$ 177,510 |
| New York |
121,480 |
14.01 |
1.68 |
$ 69.74 |
$ 145,060 |
| California |
145,660 |
8.81 |
1.05 |
$ 65.92 |
$ 137,110 |
| Massachusetts |
31,080 |
9.15 |
1.09 |
$ 64.32 |
$ 133,790 |
| New Jersey |
33,600 |
8.73 |
1.04 |
$ 61.46 |
$ 127,840 |
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 |
121,060 |
13.95 |
1.67 |
$ 72.57 |
$ 150,940 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
64,970 |
22.15 |
2.65 |
$ 75.51 |
$ 157,060 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
64,620 |
11.30 |
1.35 |
$ 66.19 |
$ 137,670 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI |
42,850 |
10.12 |
1.21 |
$ 57.93 |
$ 120,490 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
39,330 |
16.04 |
1.92 |
$ 53.02 |
$ 110,270 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD |
32,250 |
12.15 |
1.45 |
$ 55.44 |
$ 115,320 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
27,500 |
12.26 |
1.47 |
$ 71.10 |
$ 147,890 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
26,790 |
10.36 |
1.24 |
$ 66.35 |
$ 138,010 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX |
26,010 |
7.25 |
0.87 |
$ 57.37 |
$ 119,340 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA |
26,010 |
10.05 |
1.20 |
$ 50.66 |
$ 105,370 |
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 |
64,970 |
22.15 |
2.65 |
$ 75.51 |
$ 157,060 |
| Tallahassee, FL |
3,310 |
19.48 |
2.33 |
$ 40.85 |
$ 84,960 |
| Charleston, WV |
1,630 |
16.41 |
1.96 |
$ 43.89 |
$ 91,280 |
| Santa Fe, NM |
900 |
16.06 |
1.92 |
$ 44.45 |
$ 92,460 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL |
39,330 |
16.04 |
1.92 |
$ 53.02 |
$ 110,270 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
121,060 |
13.95 |
1.67 |
$ 72.57 |
$ 150,940 |
| New Orleans-Metairie, LA |
6,920 |
13.68 |
1.64 |
$ 41.84 |
$ 87,020 |
| Trenton, NJ |
3,010 |
13.23 |
1.58 |
$ 55.82 |
$ 116,100 |
| Carson City, NV |
390 |
12.97 |
1.55 |
$ 50.31 |
$ 104,650 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
5,440 |
12.96 |
1.55 |
$ 48.82 |
$ 101,550 |
Top paying metropolitan areas for Legal Occupations:
| Metropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA |
8,390 |
7.85 |
0.94 |
$ 87.63 |
$ 182,260 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV |
64,970 |
22.15 |
2.65 |
$ 75.51 |
$ 157,060 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA |
121,060 |
13.95 |
1.67 |
$ 72.57 |
$ 150,940 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA |
27,500 |
12.26 |
1.47 |
$ 71.10 |
$ 147,890 |
| Boulder, CO |
1,580 |
8.71 |
1.04 |
$ 68.80 |
$ 143,100 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH |
26,790 |
10.36 |
1.24 |
$ 66.35 |
$ 138,010 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA |
64,620 |
11.30 |
1.35 |
$ 66.19 |
$ 137,670 |
| San Diego-Carlsbad, CA |
12,290 |
8.84 |
1.06 |
$ 63.64 |
$ 132,380 |
| Napa, CA |
290 |
4.22 |
0.50 |
$ 62.82 |
$ 130,660 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT |
4,190 |
11.16 |
1.34 |
$ 62.61 |
$ 130,220 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in Legal Occupations:
| Nonmetropolitan area |
Employment (1) |
Employment per thousand jobs |
Location quotient (9) |
Hourly mean wage |
Annual mean wage (2) |
| Kansas nonmetropolitan area |
1,330 |
3.54 |
0.42 |
$ 32.18 |
$ 66,940 |
| Southwest Montana nonmetropolitan area |
1,230 |
8.90 |
1.06 |
$ 39.26 |
$ 81,660 |
| Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area |
1,180 |
6.80 |
0.81 |
$ 32.95 |
$ 68,530 |
| Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area |
1,060 |
6.53 |
0.78 |
$ 41.02 |
$ 85,320 |
| Northeast Mississippi nonmetropolitan area |
1,010 |
4.57 |
0.55 |
$ 33.45 |
$ 69,580 |
Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in Legal Occupations:
Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for Legal Occupations:
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 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 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
