March 2016
This information is being made available for prospective law school applicants and others interested in the starting salaries of new law school graduates. Want to learn more about the entry-level job market for recent law school graduates? See NALP's annual Jobs & JDs report.
<< Return to complete salary information for the Class of 2014
| 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 firm, 1-10 attorneys | $50,000 | $54,380 | $44,000 – 61,125 | $50,000 | 21.0% |
| Law firm, 11-25 attorneys | 65,000 | 68,940 | 55,000 – 76,000 | 60,000/65,000*** | 5.1 |
| Law firm, 26-50 attorneys | 75,000 | 79,830 | 60,000 – 91,000 | 70,000 | 2.9 |
| Law firm, 51-100 attorneys | 87,000 | 93,875 | 70,000 – 110,000 | 85,000/100,000*** | 2.2 |
| Law firm, 101-250 attorneys | 110,000 | 113,075 | 87,000 – 145,000 | 160,000 | 3.0 |
| Law firm, 251-500 attorneys* | 160,000 | 137,135 | 115,000 – 160,000 | 160,000 | 3.0 |
| Law firm, 501+ attorneys* | 160,000 | 151,760 | 160,000 – 160,000 | 160,000 | 10.8 |
| Business — all | 68,000 | 76,490 | 36,000 – 135,000 | 60,000 | 18.0 |
| Jobs for which bar passage is required | 70,000 | 73,735 | 55,000 – 85,000 | 60,000 | 4.9 |
| Jobs for which JD is an advantage | 68,000 | 75,570 | 55,000 – 85,000 | 65,000 | 8.5 |
| Temporary attorney thru an agency | 52,000 | 51,140 | 45,760 – 52,000 | 52,000 | 0.9 |
| Government — all | 52,670 | 54,820 | 44,000 – 62,000 | 40,000 | 12.1 |
| Federal government | 62,000 | 63,335 | 52,000 – 70,000 | 52,000 | 3.5 |
| State government | 48,000 | 49,685 | 41,000 – 56,890 | 40,000 | 4.6 |
| Local government | 53,000 | 52,910 | 45,000 – 60,000 | 60,000 | 3.9 |
| Prosecutorial jobs — all levels of government | 50,000 | 50,570 | 42,000 – 58,000 | 40,000 | 3.9 |
| Military — JAG Corps | 58,620 | 59,235 | 45,000 – 68,000 | 60,000 | 0.7 |
| Judicial clerkships — all | 54,000 | 53,150 | 46,096 – 60,000 | 49,096 | 9.2 |
| Federal courts | 60,000 | 60,450 | 58,000 – 63,358 | 60,000 | 3.5 |
| State courts | 46,710 | 48,945 | 45,000 – 53,000 | 46,096 | 4.9 |
| Local courts | 45,000 | 43,620 | 38,975 – 46,709 | 46,709/45,000*** | 0.7 |
| Public interest — all | 45,000 | 47,030 | 40,000 – 53,872 | 45,000 | 7.3 |
| Legal services | 44,500 | 43,970 | 40,000 – 50,000 | 50,000 | 2.2 |
| Public defenders | 47,250 | 48,225 | 41,000 – 55,000 | 40,000 | 2.2 |
| Academic — all | 63,000 | 82,290 | 40,000 – 55,839 | 50,000 | 2.1 |
*Since so many salaries in each of these categories were reported as $160,000, therefore $160,000 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 were also rounded to the nearest $5.
***Tie at these two values.
Note: The "Law firm, 1-10 attorneys" firm size category includes graduates working for a solo practitioner, but not graduates who have started their own solo practice.
