Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007

23-1011 Lawyers

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, and manage or advise clients on legal transactions. May specialize in a single area or may practice broadly in many areas of law.

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
555,770 0.8 % $56.87 $118,280 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $25.14 $34.64 $51.02 (5) (5)
Annual Wage (2) $52,280 $72,060 $106,120 (5) (5)

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Legal Services 363,160 $59.73 $124,230
Local Government (OES designation) 50,210 $41.89 $87,130
State Government (OES designation) 34,290 $37.65 $78,310
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 28,670 $57.56 $119,730
Management of Companies and Enterprises 14,200 $69.15 $143,830

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers 270 $82.93 $172,490
Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing 360 $82.67 $171,950
Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing (8) $81.50 $169,520
Internet Service Providers and Web Search Portals 290 $79.95 $166,290
Couriers 180 $78.64 $163,570

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 29,060 $69.00 $143,520 4.680%
New York 66,950 $65.82 $136,900 0.786%
Delaware 2,400 $63.92 $132,950 0.563%
Illinois 32,200 $61.00 $126,880 0.546%
New Jersey 20,310 $57.72 $120,060 0.510%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
District of Columbia 29,060 $69.00 $143,520 4.680%
California 64,550 $66.01 $137,300 0.425%
New York 66,950 $65.82 $136,900 0.786%
Delaware 2,400 $63.92 $132,950 0.563%
Georgia 14,140 $62.75 $130,530 0.348%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 37,940 $66.79 $138,930 1.655%
Tallahassee, FL 1,900 $44.91 $93,420 1.134%
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 52,340 $70.39 $146,410 1.032%
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 9,270 $71.51 $148,740 0.936%
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 1,940 $48.80 $101,500 0.871%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Pittsfield, MA 50 $96.00 $199,670 0.138%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 4,290 $81.79 $170,120 0.471%
Cleveland, TN (8) $76.99 $160,140 (8)
Rochester-Dover, NH-ME (8) $76.79 $159,720 (8)
Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA 480 $73.28 $152,410 0.244%

About May 2007 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(5) This wage is equal to or greater than $70.00 per hour or $145,600 per year.

(8) Estimate not released.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2007 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2008