February 2020
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This information is being made available for prospective law school applicants and others interested in the starting salaries of new law school graduates.
| Employer or job type | Median salary | Average salary** | The middle half of salaries fall in a range from: |
Most frequently reported salary*** | Percentage of jobs accounted for by this employer or job type |
| Law firms — all | $120,000 | $123,900 | $70,000 – 180,000 | $190,000 (24.1%)/ $180,000 (13.4%) | 54.8% |
| Law firm, 1-10 attorneys | 60,000 | 62,210 | 50,000 – 70,000 | 60,000 (12.8)/ 50,000 (11.5) | 18.5 |
| Law firm, 11-25 attorneys | 70,000 | 73,250 | 60,000 – 80,000 | 70,000 (10.8)/ 60,000 (10.6) | 5.9 |
| Law firm, 26-50 attorneys | 80,000 | 85,955 | 67,500 – 97,000 | 80,000 (8.4)/ 70,000 (8.1) | 3.5 |
| Law firm, 51-100 attorneys | 86,000 | 97,960 | 75,000 – 110,000 | 80,000 (7.8)/ 85,000 (7.0) | 2.8 |
| Law firm, 101-250 attorneys | 120,000 | 122,365 | 95,000 – 150,000 | 120,000 (7.8) /100,000 (7.5) | 3.4 |
| Law firm, 251-500 attorneys | 180,000 | 153,765 | 120,000 – 190,000 | 190,000 (24.8)/ 180,000 (23.7) | 3.2 |
| Law firm, 501+ attorneys | 190,000* | 177,261 | 180,000 – 190,000 | 190,000 (54.5) / 180,000 (27.2) | 15.9 |
| Business — all | 75,000 | 86,465 | 60,000 – 96,000 | 80,000 (7.2)/ 65,000 (6.3) | 12.9 |
| Jobs for which bar passage is required | 77,000 | 84,050 | 65,000 – 96,500 | 65,000 (8.3) / 80,000 (6.4) | 3.3 |
| Jobs for which JD is an advantage | 75,000 | 89,060 | 60,000 – 95,000 | 80,000 (8.4)/ 70,000 (6.5) | 6.7 |
| Government — all | 60,000 | 61,740 | 50,000 – 68,000 | 60,000 (6.5) / 65,000 (5.0) | 11.9 |
| Federal government | 68,000 | 70,880 | 56,235 – 80,000 | 68,000 (8.7)/ 56,000 (6.2) | 3.2 |
| State government | 52,000 | 54,390 | 45,000 – 60,000 | 40,000 (8.2)/ 55,000 (6.7) | 4.4 |
| Local government | 61,325 | 61,970 | 54,000 – 68,000 | 60,000 (9.1)/ 65,000 (7.0) | 4.2 |
| Prosecutorial jobs — all levels of government | 57,000 | 56,150 | 46,000 – 64,000 | 60,000 (7.9)/ 40,000 (7.5) | 4.6 |
| Military — JAG Corps | 65,000 | 66,115 | 50,000 -75,000 | 60,000 (10.2)/NC | 0.8 |
| Judicial clerkships — all | 57,000 | 56,890 | 50,000 – 64,000 | 61,000 (6.7)/ 60,000 (6.5) | 11.2 |
| Federal courts | 65,000 | 64,545 | 61,220 – 68,000 | 61,000 (15.6)/ 60,000 (10.3) | 4.0 |
| State courts | 50,560 | 52,440 | 49,000 – 56,055 | 50,000 (8.8)/NC | 6.5 |
| Local courts | 47,185 | 49,250 | 41,000 – 53,000 | 50,000 (6.9)/ 40,000 (5.2) | 0.6 |
| Public interest — all | 50,500 | 53,095 | 45,000 – 60,000 | 50,000 (10.8) / 45,000 (9.4) | 7.4 |
| Legal services | 50,000 | 51,980 | 46,000 – 56,500 | 50,000 (15.4)/ 45,000 (7.0) | 2.5 |
| Public defenders | 52,000 | 53,380 | 45,000 – 60,000 | 45,000 (10.1) /NC | 2.7 |
| Education — all | 51,500 | 61,985 | 47,500 – 66,000 | 50,000 (13.5) / 40,000 (7.2) | 1.6 |
*Since so many salaries in this category were reported as $190,000, therefore $190,000 is best thought of as a prevailing salary and, with a few exceptions, the top salary.
**Averages are rounded to the nearest $5. A few medians and range figures were also rounded to the nearest $5.
***Salary figures were rounded to the nearest $500 for purposes of determining the most frequently reported salaries.
NC - Indicates a tie at number two.
