Legal Wages by State — 2024 Rankings (BLS Data)
Legal median wage by state — 2024 BLS OEWS data. Full 51-state ranking.
DC pays the highest median wage for legal workers at $191,800/year, while MS is the lowest at $60,990/year. The national median is approximately $89,783/year. Data source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), 2024.
Top 5 Highest Paying States
- 1 DC $191,800
- 2 NY $133,470
- 3 CA $129,280
- 4 MA $128,530
- 5 CO $124,550
Bottom 5 Lowest Paying States
- 51 NV
- 50 MS $60,990
- 49 SC $62,520
- 48 AR $63,990
- 47 IA $64,840
National median: $89,783/year · National mean hourly: /hr · Wage gap (highest vs lowest): $130,810
Legal Median Annual Wage by State
Source: BLS OEWS 2024. Median annual wage. States sorted highest to lowest.
All States Ranked by Legal Wages (2024)
| Rank | State | Med. Annual Median Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DC | $191,800 |
| 2 | NY | $133,470 |
| 3 | CA | $129,280 |
| 4 | MA | $128,530 |
| 5 | CO | $124,550 |
| 6 | WA | $108,680 |
| 7 | MD | $106,940 |
| 8 | NJ | $106,250 |
| 9 | VA | $105,700 |
| 10 | IL | $103,540 |
| 11 | CT | $103,460 |
| 12 | MN | $101,560 |
| 13 | AK | $99,880 |
| 14 | AZ | $98,930 |
| 15 | DE | $98,530 |
| 16 | TX | $93,460 |
| 17 | OR | $91,350 |
| 18 | NH | $90,150 |
| 19 | HI | $89,990 |
| 20 | OH | $89,180 |
| 21 | MI | $85,810 |
| 22 | IN | $84,440 |
| 23 | PA | $83,900 |
| 24 | NM | $83,100 |
| 25 | WI | $81,910 |
| 26 | VT | $81,660 |
| 27 | NE | $81,580 |
| 28 | ND | $81,430 |
| 29 | FL | $80,720 |
| 30 | UT | $80,510 |
| 31 | MO | $80,470 |
| 32 | TN | $80,430 |
| 33 | RI | $79,890 |
| 34 | GA | $79,390 |
| 35 | KS | $79,150 |
| 36 | OK | $78,650 |
| 37 | KY | $78,470 |
| 38 | SD | $77,940 |
| 39 | NC | $77,900 |
| 40 | ME | $77,410 |
| 41 | WV | $76,990 |
| 42 | LA | $75,630 |
| 43 | MT | $74,330 |
| 44 | ID | $67,990 |
| 45 | AL | $66,560 |
| 46 | WY | $65,310 |
| 47 | IA | $64,840 |
| 48 | AR | $63,990 |
| 49 | SC | $62,520 |
| 50 | MS | $60,990 |
| 51 | NV | — |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2024. Employment counts reflect total workers in this occupation group.
Swipe right for mean hourly rate and employment data.
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Wage Rankings by Occupation Group
Compare median wages across all 22 BLS major occupation groups:
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