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.
Wage overview
Official BLS estimates; hourly values are shown only when BLS publishes them.
Median annual salary
$159,670
Mean annual salary
$185,840
Employment estimate
754,500
Annual salary percentiles
BLS wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. Values are annual, the scale starts at $0, and P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Annual salary |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $78,360 |
| P25 — lower quartile | $102,990 |
| P50 — median | $159,670 |
| P75 — upper quartile | $221,370 |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $351,600 |
Median hourly wage
$76.76/hr
Mean hourly wage
$89.35/hr
Employment estimate
754,500
Hourly wage percentiles
BLS hourly wage thresholds from the 10th to the 90th percentile. The scale starts at $0; P50 is the median.
| Percentile | Hourly wage |
|---|---|
| P10 — 10th percentile | $37.67/hr |
| P25 — lower quartile | $49.51/hr |
| P50 — median | $76.76/hr |
| P75 — upper quartile | $106.43/hr |
| P90 — 90th percentile | $169.04/hr |
Median salary distribution across covered metros
These values summarize the 42 metros published on this site, not every U.S. metro.
- Lowest covered median
- $102,070
- Middle covered median
- $141,545
- Highest covered median
- $301,320
Highest-paying metros in this dataset
Ranked by annual median salary on a zero-based scale. This is not a cost-of-living or quality-of-life ranking.
| Rank | Metro or occupation | Annual median |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | San Jose, CA | $301,320 |
| #2 | San Francisco, CA | $212,500 |
| #3 | New York, NY | $208,880 |
| #4 | Washington, DC | $195,190 |
| #5 | Los Angeles, CA | $194,410 |
| #6 | Boston, MA | $183,350 |
| #7 | Sacramento, CA | $178,540 |
| #8 | Denver, CO | $177,380 |
| #9 | Philadelphia, PA | $170,660 |
| #10 | Birmingham, AL | $170,230 |
Largest employment markets
BLS employment estimates for the covered metros where employment is published.
| Rank | Employment market | Estimated employment |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York, NY | 94,610 |
| #2 | Washington, DC | 46,840 |
| #3 | Los Angeles, CA | 41,580 |
| #4 | Chicago, IL | 28,320 |
| #5 | Miami, FL | 23,270 |
| #6 | Boston, MA | 20,080 |
| #7 | Philadelphia, PA | 19,040 |
| #8 | Atlanta, GA | 18,760 |
| #9 | San Francisco, CA | 18,470 |
| #10 | Dallas, TX | 17,110 |