Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2011

23-0000 Legal Occupations (Major Group)

This major group comprises the following occupations: Lawyers ; Judicial Law Clerks ; Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers ; Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators ; Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates ; Paralegals and Legal Assistants* ; Court Reporters ; Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers ; Legal Support Workers, All Other


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 major group:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,002,330 0.5 % $47.30 $98,380 0.6 %

Percentile wage estimates for this major group:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $16.65 $22.94 $36.28 $62.55 (5)
Annual Wage (2) $34,630 $47,720 $75,470 $130,100 (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 595,130 53.34 $49.76 $103,510
Local Government (OES Designation) 98,630 1.78 $37.41 $77,820
State Government (OES Designation) 86,990 3.83 $38.09 $79,220
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 69,070 3.35 $49.46 $102,870
Insurance Carriers 30,200 2.60 $36.23 $75,350

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 595,130 53.34 $49.76 $103,510
State Government (OES Designation) 86,990 3.83 $38.09 $79,220
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 69,070 3.35 $49.46 $102,870
Lessors of Nonfinancial Intangible Assets (except Copyrighted Works) 640 2.62 $54.26 $112,860
Insurance Carriers 30,200 2.60 $36.23 $75,350

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 400 0.36 $96.08 $199,850
Monetary Authorities-Central Bank 70 0.35 $85.46 $177,750
Apparel, Piece Goods, and Notions Merchant Wholesalers 40 0.03 $84.16 $175,060
Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas 170 0.61 $84.11 $174,950
Wholesale Electronic Markets and Agents and Brokers 770 0.09 $77.92 $162,080


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 113,160 8.06 1.03 $57.86 $120,350
New York 101,520 12.05 1.54 $58.00 $120,630
Florida 76,080 10.64 1.36 $43.34 $90,140
Texas 66,930 6.50 0.83 $44.88 $93,360
Illinois 44,570 8.00 1.02 $52.92 $110,070




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 38,730 60.06 7.69 $66.43 $138,160
New York 101,520 12.05 1.54 $58.00 $120,630
Delaware 4,780 11.85 1.52 $54.22 $112,790
Florida 76,080 10.64 1.36 $43.34 $90,140
Virginia 35,120 9.88 1.26 $47.34 $98,480




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 38,730 60.06 7.69 $66.43 $138,160
New York 101,520 12.05 1.54 $58.00 $120,630
California 113,160 8.06 1.03 $57.86 $120,350
Delaware 4,780 11.85 1.52 $54.22 $112,790
Illinois 44,570 8.00 1.02 $52.92 $110,070





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 73,690 14.56 1.86 $63.93 $132,980
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 62,370 26.99 3.45 $61.09 $127,060
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 37,750 9.88 1.26 $61.85 $128,650
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL Metropolitan Division 36,210 10.11 1.29 $56.31 $117,130
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA 20,960 9.41 1.20 $49.46 $102,880
Philadelphia, PA Metropolitan Division 18,840 10.38 1.33 $55.81 $116,090
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 18,430 11.00 1.41 $51.64 $107,400
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX 18,180 7.13 0.91 $55.79 $116,040
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division 16,810 8.22 1.05 $50.03 $104,070
Baltimore-Towson, MD 15,170 12.13 1.55 $39.37 $81,890




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 62,370 26.99 3.45 $61.09 $127,060
Tallahassee, FL 3,450 21.79 2.79 $39.40 $81,950
Jefferson City, MO 1,190 16.73 2.14 $24.84 $51,660
Charleston, WV 2,370 16.52 2.11 $35.95 $74,770
Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Metropolitan Division 15,110 15.45 1.98 $52.35 $108,880
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 14,580 15.19 1.94 $68.55 $142,590
Santa Fe, NM 910 15.18 1.94 $42.27 $87,920
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 73,690 14.56 1.86 $63.93 $132,980
Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, FL Metropolitan Division 10,090 14.50 1.86 $41.53 $86,380
Carson City, NV 370 13.74 1.76 $44.47 $92,490




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)
Danbury, CT 290 4.35 0.56 $70.97 $147,610
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 7,040 8.03 1.03 $70.96 $147,600
San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA Metropolitan Division 14,580 15.19 1.94 $68.55 $142,590
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 73,690 14.56 1.86 $63.93 $132,980
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division 37,750 9.88 1.26 $61.85 $128,650
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,840 6.42 0.82 $61.83 $128,610
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division 62,370 26.99 3.45 $61.09 $127,060
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 3,360 8.19 1.05 $57.70 $120,010
Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ Metropolitan Division 4,170 13.06 1.67 $56.45 $117,410
Newark-Union, NJ-PA Metropolitan Division 10,590 11.16 1.43 $56.33 $117,170

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)
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 1,380 3.63 0.46 $34.95 $72,690
West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,300 8.57 1.10 $29.33 $61,010
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 1,250 10.69 1.37 $27.69 $57,590
Eastern Texas nonmetropolitan area 1,120 4.03 0.52 $28.89 $60,090
Other North Carolina nonmetropolitan area 1,080 3.70 0.47 $29.26 $60,860

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)
Southwestern Montana nonmetropolitan area 1,250 10.69 1.37 $27.69 $57,590
Other New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 1,010 10.46 1.34 $38.54 $80,170
West Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area 1,300 8.57 1.10 $29.33 $61,010
North Central Colorado nonmetropolitan area 550 7.64 0.98 $42.56 $88,520
Low Country South Carolina nonmetropolitan area 800 7.38 0.94 $32.35 $67,300

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)
Eastern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 70 2.67 0.34 $53.95 $112,220
Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area 90 2.59 0.33 $50.25 $104,530
Railbelt / Southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 180 2.53 0.32 $45.15 $93,920
North Coast Region of California nonmetropolitan area 390 4.21 0.54 $44.16 $91,860
North Valley Region of California nonmetropolitan area 120 4.47 0.57 $44.13 $91,780


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 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.

(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