Legal Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 23-1022

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators

The published band from $47,220 to $155,440 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Lawyers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators: Lawyers ($160K) , Paralegals and Legal Assistants ($63K) , Judicial Law Clerks ($65K) , Legal Support Workers, All Other ($72K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 23-1022 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare written opinions or decisions regarding cases
  2. 2. Apply relevant laws, regulations, policies, or precedents to reach conclusions
  3. 3. Conduct hearings to obtain information or evidence relative to disposition of claims
  4. 4. Determine extent of liability according to evidence, laws, or administrative or judicial precedents
  5. 5. Rule on exceptions, motions, or admissibility of evidence
  6. 6. Confer with disputants to clarify issues, identify underlying concerns, and develop an understanding of their respective needs and interests
  7. 7. Use mediation techniques to facilitate communication between disputants, to further parties' understanding of different perspectives, and…
  8. 8. Conduct initial meetings with disputants to outline the arbitration process, settle procedural matters, such as fees, or determine detail…
  9. 9. Evaluate information from documents, such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, or physician or employer records
  10. 10. Research laws, regulations, policies, or precedent decisions to prepare for hearings
  11. 11. Issue subpoenas or administer oaths to prepare for formal hearings
  12. 12. Set up appointments for parties to meet for mediation

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators: O*NET ranks Negotiation first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 23-1022 - lead skill Negotiation at 4.6 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Negotiation 4.6
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.4
  3. 3. Writing 4.3
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.1
  5. 5. Speaking 4.1
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 4.0
  7. 7. Active Learning 3.9
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.2
  2. 2. Law and Government 4.2
  3. 3. Personnel and Human Resources 4.0
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.0
  5. 5. Education and Training 2.7
  6. 6. Economics and Accounting 2.6
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$47,220 to $155,440
median $75,530 · ~3.3× spread
$76K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
300
Annual openings
9,210
Estimated US jobs
Lawyers
Highest-pay peer · $160K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators

1. Illinois $162,410
2. Colorado $82,590
3. Virginia $79,530
4. North Carolina $75,320
5. Alabama $76,810
6. Arizona $82,150
7. Michigan $76,270
8. California $97,680
9. New Mexico $110,180
10. District of Columbia $110,300

Other Legal Occupations titles

  1. 1. Judicial Law Clerks $64,920
  2. 2. Legal Support Workers, All Other $72,110
  3. 3. Lawyers $159,670
  4. 4. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $117,860
  5. 5. Paralegals and Legal Assistants $62,890
  6. 6. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates $153,990

The OEWS band for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators runs from $47,220 (10th) to $155,440 (90th), about 3.3× wide, with median $75,530. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 300 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Illinois at $162,410. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Lawyers at $159,670. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators pay-rank #4 in Legal Occupations

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators sits at pay-rank #4 of 8 detailed Legal Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 23-1022

Illinois · top state for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators

$162K published median

Colorado · #2 state pay

$83K · behind Illinois

Lawyers

Highest-pay peer vs Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators · $160K

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators · $63K

Compare Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators mid-table among Legal Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #4 of 8 detailed Legal Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Legal Support Workers, All Other ($72K), Judicial Law Clerks ($65K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators. Leading ones include: Prepare written opinions or decisions regarding cases; Apply relevant laws, regulations, policies, or precedents to reach conclusions; Conduct hearings to obtain information or evidence relative to disposition of claims; Determine extent of liability according to evidence, laws, or administrative or judicial precedents. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators? ▼
For SOC 23-1022, O*NET importance scores lead with Negotiation (4.6), Active Listening (4.4), Writing (4.3), Reading Comprehension (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Law and Government, Personnel and Human Resources. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $47,220 and the 90th at $155,440 for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators (3.3× spread). The national median is $75,530. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 300. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators? ▼
Illinois ($162,410), Colorado ($82,590), Virginia ($79,530) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 23-1022. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics