US Salary Data

May 2025 OEWS estimate

Lawyer Salary in the United States

The national median annual salary is $159,670. This page compares official BLS estimates across 42 major metro areas with publishable data.

National salary overview

Median annual salary

$159,670

Mean annual salary

$185,840

Employment estimate

754,500

National annual salary percentiles

Lawyer national annual salary percentilesFive BLS percentile estimates positioned on a zero-based annual salary scale. The median is shown as a square.P10P25P50P75P90$0$351,600
Lawyer national annual salary percentiles values
PercentileAnnual salary
P10$78,360
P25$102,990
P50$159,670
P75$221,370
P90$351,600
MeasureAnnual salary
10th percentile$78,360
25th percentile$102,990
50th percentile$159,670
75th percentile$221,370
90th percentile$351,600

Highest-paying metros in this dataset

Ranked by annual median salary. This is not a cost-of-living or quality-of-life ranking.

  1. 1. San Jose, CA$301,320
  2. 2. San Francisco, CA$212,500
  3. 3. New York, NY$208,880
  4. 4. Washington, DC$195,190
  5. 5. Los Angeles, CA$194,410
  6. 6. Boston, MA$183,350
  7. 7. Sacramento, CA$178,540
  8. 8. Denver, CO$177,380
  9. 9. Philadelphia, PA$170,660
  10. 10. Birmingham, AL$170,230

Largest employment markets