NALP Bulletin+
June 2023
NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey report shows that the overall median first-year associate base salary as of January 1, 2023, was $200,000, up $35,000 (21.2%) from 2021, when the survey was last administered. Since the 2021 survey, several large firms announced salary increases in the latter part of 2021 and early 2022 — with many firms now paying entry-level associates $215,000 in major markets. About 81% of the 694 responses to the survey were from offices in firms of more than 250 lawyers, up from 78% in 2021.
By firm size, first-year salaries increased across the board since 2021. Despite much of the press coverage focusing on large firm salaries, in terms of percentage growth, salaries were up the most in firms of 100 or fewer lawyers, where the median first-year salary grew from $120,000 in the 2021 survey to $155,000 in 2023 (+29.2%). In actual dollars, firms of 501-700 lawyers saw the largest increase, with the median first-year salary growing from $155,000 in 2021 to $200,000 in 2023 (+$45,000).
While firms of more than 1,000 lawyers were the only firms in which the median first-year salary was $215,000 in 2023, it nevertheless appears that those large firm salary increases, coupled with rising inflation, may have put pressure on smaller firms to increase their salaries as well. (For purposes of trend analyses, firms of 701+ are grouped together in Chart 1; however, data for firms of 701-1,000 and 1,001+ lawyers are reported separately in this year's report. The 2023 median salary for firms of 701-1,000 lawyers was $200,000.) (See Chart 1.)
It is important to note that because the respondent pool for the survey varies from year to year, use of the Associate Salary Survey data across different years to discern trends should be done with caution, as these analyses do not contain salary scales for a set group of firms. Salary adjustments on the part of some large firms in recent years, law firm acquisitions and mergers which can result in the size of a law firm changing, and fluctuations in the distribution of respondents, play a role in determining changes in median salaries within the report.
In 2023 the median first-year associate base salary in firms of more than 1,000 lawyers reached $215,000, but the overall median salary was still shy of that amount by $15,000. As Table 1 shows, a $215,000 salary was the modal, or most frequently occurring, first-year associate base salary reported, accounting for 42.7% of all salaries and 75% of salaries in firms of 1,001+ lawyers. Across the three firm sizes that fall between 251-1,000 lawyers, salaries of $215,000 were still not the norm - making up anywhere from 39-47% of the entry-level associate salaries in these firms. (See Chart 2.)
Offices paying $215,000 were also concentrated primarily within a few cities. Well over half (58.7%) of the offices reporting an average first-year salary of $215,000 came from just six reporting areas: the Washington, DC area, New York City, Los Angeles/Orange County, San Francisco, Boston and Chicago. Almost one-quarter (24.2%) of the reported $215,000 salaries came from the three largest California markets — Los Angeles/Orange County, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley, and about 14% came from the three largest markets in Texas — Dallas, Houston and Austin. (See Table 2.)
When further exploring salary data by geographic market, the majority of offices in 11 cities or areas now have a $215,000 starting salary. These cities or markets include Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles/Orange County, New York City, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and the Washington, DC area. However, many locations, including Tampa, the Raleigh/Durham area, Minneapolis, Portland OR, and Northern New Jersey/Newark, had fewer than 20% of offices reporting a $215,000 average first-year salary. (See Table 3.)
Additional data on associate, summer associate, staff attorney and law clerk salaries are included in NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey, available now in the NALP bookstore.
Table 1. Distribution of Average Associate First-Year Salaries by Firm Size (as of January 1, 2023)
| Average First-Year Salary | Overall | % of Salaries Reported at Each Amount by Firm Size (# of lawyers) | |||||
| 100 or Fewer | 101-250 | 251-500 | 501-700 | 701-1,000 | 1,001+ | ||
| Less than $150,000 | 14.0% | 34.5% | 32.1% | 12.5% | 10.8% | 13.1% | 0.0% |
| $150,000 | 3.4 | 3.4 | 15.4 | 3.1 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| $155,000 | 4.0 | 13.8 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 8.1 | 0.0 |
| $165,000 | 3.3 | 0.0 | 7.7 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 0.9 |
| $170,000 | 3.8 | 17.2 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| $180,000 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 10.9 | 12.0 | 5.0 | 2.8 |
| $190,000 | 7.1 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 13.3 | 8.1 | 9.3 |
| $200,000 | 4.8 | 0.0 | 6.4 | 4.7 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 2.8 |
| $205,000 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 4.7 | 1.2 | 4.4 | 6.5 |
| $215,000 | 42.7 | 13.8 | 12.8 | 39.1 | 47.0 | 40.0 | 75.0 |
Note: The salaries included in this table are those that accounted for 3% or more of reported salaries. The overall column reports the percentage of all first-year salaries that were reported at each salary level. Salaries are then further broken out by the percentage of first-year salaries within each firm size.
Source: NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey
| City | % of $215,000 First-Year Salaries Accounted for by This City |
| Washington, DC area | 14.3% |
| New York City | 13.5 |
| Los Angeles/Orange County | 12.1 |
| San Francisco | 7.2 |
| Boston | 5.8 |
| Chicago | 5.8 |
| Houston | 5.4 |
| Dallas | 4.9 |
| Silicon Valley | 4.9 |
| Austin | 3.6 |
| Miami/West Palm Beach area | 2.7 |
| Atlanta | 2.2 |
| Denver | 1.8 |
| San Diego | 1.8 |
| Charlotte | 1.3 |
| Philadelphia | 1.3 |
| Seattle area | 1.3 |
| Total | 90.1% |
Note: In total, 223 offices reported $215,000 as the average first-year associate salary. In addition to the cities listed, 22 additional offices across 19 cities reported a $215,000 average first-year salary, collectively accounting for 9.9% of all $215,000 salaries.
Source: NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey
| City | % of Offices Reporting a $215,000 First-Year Salary |
# of Offices Reporting First-Year Salary |
| Silicon Valley | 84.6% | 13 |
| Boston | 76.5 | 17 |
| Houston | 75.0 | 16 |
| New York City | 75.0 | 40 |
| Dallas | 68.8 | 16 |
| Austin | 66.7 | 12 |
| San Francisco | 61.5 | 26 |
| Los Angeles/Orange County | 61.4 | 27 |
| Washington, DC area | 60.4 | 53 |
| San Diego | 57.1 | 7 |
| Chicago | 56.5 | 23 |
| Atlanta | 38.5 | 13 |
| Charlotte | 37.5 | 8 |
| Miami/West Palm Beach area | 35.3 | 17 |
| Philadelphia | 33.3 | 9 |
| Denver | 33.3 | 12 |
| Richmond | 28.6 | 7 |
| Wilmington, DE | 28.6 | 7 |
| Seattle area | 21.4 | 14 |
| Tampa | 14.3 | 7 |
| Raleigh/Durham area | 12.5 | 8 |
| Minneapolis | 11.1 | 9 |
| Portland, OR area | 9.1 | 11 |
| Northern New Jersey/Newark area | 0.0 | 8 |
Note: The cities included this table had at least 6 offices reporting an average first-year associate salary.
Source: NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey
Note: All figures are based on average salaries reported as of January 1 of the respective year. Beginning in 2023, NALP split the 701+ category into two firm sizes of 701-1,000 and 1,001+ lawyers; however, for trend purposes, these firm sizes have been combined in this chart.
Source: NALP's Associate Salary Survey, 2015-2023
| Year | Firm Size — Number of Laywers | |||||
| 100 or fewer | 101-250 | 251-500 | 501-700 | 701+ | Overall | |
| 2015 | $114,750 | $115,000 | $145,000 | $125,000 | $145,000 | $135,000 |
| 2017 | 110,000 | 113,500 | 150,000 | 160,000 | 155,000 | 135,000 |
| 2019 | 110,000 | 115,000 | 160,000 | 160,000 | 180,000 | 155,000 |
| 2021 | 120,000 | 130,000 | 170,000 | 155,000 | 190,000 | 165,000 |
| 2023 | 155,000 | 160,000 | 190,000 | 200,000 | 215,000 | 200,000 |
Note: All figures are based on average salaries reported as of January 1 of the respective year. Beginning in 2023, NALP split the 701+ category into two firm sizes of 701-1,000 and 1,001+ lawyers; however, for trend purposes, these firm sizes have been combined in this chart.
Source: NALP's Associate Salary Survey, 2015-2023
Note: Based on average salaries reported as of January 1, 2023.
Source: NALP's 2023 Associate Salary Survey
