Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

23-1011 Lawyers

Represent clients in criminal and civil litigation and other legal proceedings, draw up legal documents, or 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
Geographic 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)
570,950 0.7 % $62.74 $130,490 0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $26.02 $36.24 $54.48 $80.20 (5)
Annual Wage (2) $54,120 $75,370 $113,310 $166,810 (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 (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 372,030 33.34 $65.95 $137,170
Local Government (OES Designation) 49,510 0.90 $44.75 $93,070
State Government (OES Designation) 37,360 1.64 $39.40 $81,960
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 34,460 1.67 $62.23 $129,430
Management of Companies and Enterprises 13,230 0.69 $77.68 $161,570

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Legal Services 372,030 33.34 $65.95 $137,170
Securities and Commodity Exchanges 160 2.15 $83.83 $174,370
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 34,460 1.67 $62.23 $129,430
State Government (OES Designation) 37,360 1.64 $39.40 $81,960
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 350 1.43 $76.75 $159,640

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing 350 0.32 $103.73 $215,760
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing (8) (8) $90.08 $187,360
Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals 50 0.02 $88.75 $184,610
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers 650 0.08 $88.36 $183,790
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 150 0.56 $87.65 $182,300


Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

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





States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
California 67,260 4.79 1.08 $75.27 $156,570
New York 65,640 7.79 1.75 $72.63 $151,080
Florida 42,460 5.94 1.33 $57.59 $119,780
Texas 34,650 3.36 0.76 $63.14 $131,320
District of Columbia 29,010 45.00 10.11 $77.43 $161,050




States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 29,010 45.00 10.11 $77.43 $161,050
New York 65,640 7.79 1.75 $72.63 $151,080
Delaware 2,850 7.07 1.59 $72.74 $151,290
Florida 42,460 5.94 1.33 $57.59 $119,780
New Jersey 20,100 5.33 1.20 $62.33 $129,650




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
District of Columbia 29,010 45.00 10.11 $77.43 $161,050
California 67,260 4.79 1.08 $75.27 $156,570
Delaware 2,850 7.07 1.59 $72.74 $151,290
New York 65,640 7.79 1.75 $72.63 $151,080
Connecticut 7,430 4.62 1.04 $70.17 $145,960





Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 50,360 9.95 2.24 $79.54 $165,440
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 38,230 16.55 3.72 $75.86 $157,780
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 23,680 6.61 1.48 $70.57 $146,780
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 23,210 6.07 1.36 $80.43 $167,300
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 12,610 7.53 1.69 $63.99 $133,100
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 11,830 5.31 1.19 $68.30 $142,060
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 11,790 6.50 1.46 $73.18 $152,220
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 9,960 3.90 0.88 $78.76 $163,810
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 9,860 10.28 2.31 $84.20 $175,130
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 9,280 4.54 1.02 $68.66 $142,800




Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 38,230 16.55 3.72 $75.86 $157,780
Tallahassee, FL 2,150 13.54 3.04 $46.38 $96,480
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 9,860 10.28 2.31 $84.20 $175,130
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 50,360 9.95 2.24 $79.54 $165,440
Santa Fe, NM 560 9.41 2.11 $51.08 $106,250
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 9,140 9.35 2.10 $69.52 $144,600
Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 2,610 8.17 1.83 $74.16 $154,240
Trenton-Ewing, NJ 1,770 8.17 1.84 $55.79 $116,040
Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 7,430 7.83 1.76 $66.86 $139,070
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 12,610 7.53 1.69 $63.99 $133,100




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 4,640 5.29 1.19 $89.96 $187,110
Danbury, CT 200 3.07 0.69 $87.32 $181,630
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 9,860 10.28 2.31 $84.20 $175,130
Dothan, AL 90 1.68 0.38 $83.16 $172,970
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,150 4.02 0.90 $81.47 $169,460
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 23,210 6.07 1.36 $80.43 $167,300
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 50,360 9.95 2.24 $79.54 $165,440
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 9,960 3.90 0.88 $78.76 $163,810
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 1,960 4.78 1.07 $77.33 $160,850
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 38,230 16.55 3.72 $75.86 $157,780

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 680 4.51 1.01 $34.22 $71,180
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 650 5.56 1.25 $34.94 $72,670
Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 610 6.31 1.42 $46.65 $97,040
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 570 1.50 0.34 $40.41 $84,060
Southeastern Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area 520 3.25 0.73 $33.83 $70,370

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 610 6.31 1.42 $46.65 $97,040
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 650 5.56 1.25 $34.94 $72,670
West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 680 4.51 1.01 $34.22 $71,180
Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 320 4.41 0.99 $32.70 $68,030
Low Country South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 410 3.77 0.85 $44.06 $91,640

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $75.84 $157,740
Eastern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 40 1.46 0.33 $68.83 $143,160
Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 40 1.24 0.28 $67.55 $140,510
Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area 100 1.77 0.40 $65.52 $136,280
Western Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 340 1.39 0.31 $65.20 $135,610


About May 2011 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

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

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. 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 $90.00 per hour or $187,199 per year.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2011 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2011 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2011 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: March 27, 2012