Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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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 |
United States Department of Labor
