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

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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)

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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:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	600	0.38	$ 99.31	$ 206,570
Scientific Research and Development Services	4,550	0.57	$ 99.28	$ 206,500
Nonscheduled Air Transportation	40	0.08	$ 96.66	$ 201,040
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing	60	0.07	$ 96.19	$ 200,070
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank	160	0.75	$ 93.57	$ 194,630

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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