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:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Other Information Services	1,670	0.46	$ 113.12	$ 235,280
Scientific Research and Development Services	3,730	0.47	$ 110.74	$ 230,330
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	500	0.32	$ 109.28	$ 227,290
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing	320	0.07	$ 106.11	$ 220,720
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	50	0.06	$ 105.90	$ 220,270

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.

Map of employment of lawyers by state, May 2021

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

Map of location quotient of lawyers by state, May 2021

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in 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
Florida	54,740	6.36	1.32	$ 62.21	$ 129,390
Delaware	2,700	6.20	1.28	(8)	(8)
Rhode Island	2,680	5.85	1.21	$ 71.52	$ 148,770

Map of annual mean wages of lawyers by state, May 2021

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

Map of employment of lawyers by area, May 2021

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

Map of location quotient of lawyers by area, May 2021

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