An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Field of degree: Law and legal studies

PRINTER-FRIENDLY

Law and legal studies field of degree. Employment: 123,890. Median annual wage: $53,000.

Table 1. Law and legal studies degree, 2019.

View Chart Data

Table 1. Law and legal studies degree, 2019
Data	Law and legal studies	All fields
Employment	123,890	56,820,460
Median wage	53,000	60,000
Percent employed part time	14	15
Percent employed in occupations requiring at least a bachelor's degree	43	61
Percent with an advanced degree	36	37
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

Chart 1. Types of law and legal studies majors, 2019.

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Types of law and legal studies majors, 2019
Law and legal studies majors	Major share
Pre-Law And Legal Studies	94%
Court Reporting	7
Note: The sum of percents by major may not total 100 due to rounding. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

Chart 2. Employment distribution of workers with a law and legal studies degree, by occupational group, 2019.

View Chart Data

Chart 2. Employment distribution of workers with a law and legal studies degree, by occupational group, 2019
Occupational group	Occupational group share
Legal occupations	28%
Management occupations	14
Office and administrative support occupations	13
Business and financial operations occupations	9
Sales and related occupations	5
Other	31
Note: The sum of percents by major may not total 100 due to rounding. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.

Table 2. Top-employing occupations for workers with a law and legal studies degree.

View Chart Data

Table 2. Top-employing occupations for workers with a law and legal studies degree
Occupational Outlook Handbook profile	Percent growth, projected 2020–30	Typical entry-level education	Percent degree holders in this field, this occupation, 2019	Percent of this occupation with an advanced degree, 2019
Financial managers	17%	Bachelor's degree	1%	21%
Paralegals and legal assistants	12	Associate's degree	13	9
Lawyers	9	Doctoral or professional degree	14	92
Personal service managers, all other; entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling; and managers, all other	7	Bachelor's degree	4	20
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	7	High school diploma or equivalent	2	7
Elementary school teachers, except special education	7	Bachelor's degree	2	48
Customer service representatives	-1	High school diploma or equivalent	2	4
Office clerks, general	-2	High school diploma or equivalent	1	4
Chief executives	-6	Bachelor's degree	2	30
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive	-8	High school diploma or equivalent	3	4
Note: Occupational profiles may comprise multiple SOC occupations, which may have differing education categories. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (projected growth, entry-level education) and U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (degree holders, advanced degrees).

Suggested citation:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Field of degree: Law and legal studies,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/field-of-degree/law-and-legal-studies/law-and-legal-studies-field-of-degree.htm (visited January 29, 2022).

Last Modified Date: Friday, December 3, 2021