Where have all the lawyers gone? 25% are in these 2 states with higher pay than $176K average
Twenty-five percent of all lawyers live in California and New York, states that include five of the top 10 metropolitan areas for attorney pay. (Image from Shutterstock)
Twenty-five percent of all lawyers live in California and New York, states that include five of the top 10 metropolitan areas for attorney pay.
The ABA released the statistics Monday in its 2024 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession report, according to a Nov. 18 press release.
Average attorney pay as of May 2023 was $176,470, which is a 19.2% increase in two years. That is the largest two-year hike this century, according to the report. The salary number does not include law firm profits for partners.
Average pay is much higher in California, where more than 175,000 active attorneys reside, and New York, where more than 187,000 lawyers live. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average attorney pay is $213,860 in California and $208,480 in New York.
Washington, D.C., has even higher average pay of $238,990. The total number or lawyers in U.S. states and territories is 1.3 million.
California and New York also have five metro areas that are among the top ranked for pay:
In California, they are:
• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, ranked No. 1 with $268,570 average pay
• San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, ranked No. 4 with $235,940 average pay
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, ranked No. 7 with $219,740 average pay
Two New York metropolitan areas were among the top 10. They are:
• Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk in Connecticut, ranked No. 2 with $252,210 average pay
• New York-Newark, N.J.-Jersey City, N.J., including parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, ranked No. 9 with $213,420 average pay
Other top-ranked metro areas are Boulder, Colorado (No. 3); the Washington, D.C., metro area, including parts of Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia (No. 5); Midland, Michigan (No. 6); Fort Collins, Colorado (No. 8); and Corpus Christi, Texas (No. 10).
Five areas in Puerto Rico were among the top 10 for the lowest average attorney pay. The others are Hot Springs, Arkansas (No. 4); Pine Bluff, Arkansas (No. 7); Muncie, Indiana (No. 8); Twin Falls, Idaho (No. 9); and Great Falls, Montana (No. 10).
The average wage for all U.S. workers was $65,470 in 2023. The highest paid profession was pediatric surgeon, with a salary of $449,320.
Other findings in the report include:
• The last 10 years could become known as the “decade of the female lawyer” because of gains for women. Forty-one percent of all lawyers are women, compared to only 36% in 2014. Also, 56.2% of law students are now women, and a majority of lawyers in the federal government’s executive branch are women. And beginning this year or next, women are likely to make up a majority of full-time faculty members of ABA-accredited law schools.
• Women are making gains in partnerships, but they still lag behind men. In 2023, 28% of all firm partners were women, compared to 20% in 2013.
• Fifty-two percent of lawyers in Washington, D.C., are women. The state with the highest percentage is Georgia, with about a 50-50 split.
• Twenty-three percent of the profession consists of lawyers of color, a percentage that has nearly doubled in the last decade.
• 4.6% of all lawyers in U.S. firms identify as LGBTQ. For associates, the percentage is 6.8%.
