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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2023

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)
1,240,630 0.4 % $ 64.34 $ 133,820 1.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for Legal Occupations:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median) 		75% 90%
Hourly Wage $ 22.61 $ 29.90 $ 47.70 $ 81.38 (5)
Annual Wage (2) $ 47,030 $ 62,190 $ 99,220 $ 169,280 (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 753,360 63.45 $ 64.34 $ 133,840
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) 98,390 1.79 $ 53.06 $ 110,350
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) 94,610 4.46 $ 49.09 $ 102,100
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) 76,210 3.56 $ 63.34 $ 131,760
Insurance Carriers 32,910 2.69 $ 53.79 $ 111,880

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 753,360 63.45 $ 64.34 $ 133,840
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) 94,610 4.46 $ 49.09 $ 102,100
Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) 76,210 3.56 $ 63.34 $ 131,760
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 720 3.26 $ 72.78 $ 151,380
Insurance Carriers 32,910 2.69 $ 53.79 $ 111,880

Top paying industries for Legal Occupations:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services 160 0.05 $ 134.25 $ 279,240
Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events 210 0.13 $ 123.32 $ 256,500
Water, Sewage and Other Systems 40 0.07 $ 121.56 $ 252,850
Support Activities for Rail Transportation 40 0.10 $ 120.78 $ 251,210
Aerospace Product and Parts Manufacturing 520 0.10 $ 118.30 $ 246,060

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.



Map of employment of legal occupations by state, May 2023


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 151,180 8.42 1.03 $ 79.95 $ 166,300
New York 125,350 13.35 1.63 $ 82.01 $ 170,570
Florida 107,390 11.22 1.37 $ 53.58 $ 111,450
Texas 86,740 6.40 0.78 $ 60.64 $ 126,130
Illinois 51,520 8.57 1.05 $ 64.30 $ 133,740


Map of location quotient of legal occupations by state, May 2023


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 42,370 60.37 7.39 $ 102.54 $ 213,280
New York 125,350 13.35 1.63 $ 82.01 $ 170,570
Florida 107,390 11.22 1.37 $ 53.58 $ 111,450
Delaware 5,240 11.16 1.37 $ 71.66 $ 149,050
New Jersey 40,320 9.59 1.17 $ 67.86 $ 141,140


Map of annual mean wages of legal occupations by state, May 2023


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 42,370 60.37 7.39 $ 102.54 $ 213,280
New York 125,350 13.35 1.63 $ 82.01 $ 170,570
California 151,180 8.42 1.03 $ 79.95 $ 166,300
Massachusetts 31,810 8.73 1.07 $ 74.89 $ 155,780
Colorado 26,850 9.48 1.16 $ 72.82 $ 151,460



Map of employment of legal occupations by area, May 2023


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 129,880 13.68 1.67 $ 84.11 $ 174,960
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 68,530 22.16 2.71 $ 90.20 $ 187,610
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 66,810 10.80 1.32 $ 83.20 $ 173,060
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 43,770 16.08 1.97 $ 59.50 $ 123,760
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 43,550 9.66 1.18 $ 67.43 $ 140,250
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD 31,680 11.20 1.37 $ 64.21 $ 133,550
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 30,700 10.89 1.33 $ 63.82 $ 132,740
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH 26,730 9.68 1.18 $ 79.08 $ 164,480
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 26,670 11.01 1.35 $ 89.53 $ 186,230
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 26,290 6.63 0.81 $ 65.53 $ 136,310


Map of location quotient of legal occupations by area, May 2023


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 68,530 22.16 2.71 $ 90.20 $ 187,610
Tallahassee, FL 3,340 18.47 2.26 $ 42.05 $ 87,460
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 43,770 16.08 1.97 $ 59.50 $ 123,760
Santa Fe, NM 910 14.90 1.82 $ 46.59 $ 96,900
Carson City, NV 460 14.77 1.81 $ 48.35 $ 100,580
New Orleans-Metairie, LA 7,530 14.62 1.79 $ 52.45 $ 109,090
Charleston, WV 1,490 14.46 1.77 (8) (8)
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 129,880 13.68 1.67 $ 84.11 $ 174,960
Trenton, NJ 3,230 13.56 1.66 $ 63.21 $ 131,470
Missoula, MT 870 13.53 1.66 $ 40.09 $ 83,380