Legal Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 23-1012

Judicial Law Clerks

The published band from $46,180 to $113,140 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Lawyers.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Judicial Law Clerks: Lawyers ($160K) , Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers ($59K) , Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators ($76K) , Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers ($118K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Judicial Law Clerks publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 23-1012 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations
  2. 2. Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court
  3. 3. Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations
  4. 4. Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders
  5. 5. Review complaints, petitions, motions, or pleadings that have been filed to determine issues involved or basis for relief
  6. 6. Keep abreast of changes in the law and inform judges when cases are affected by such changes
  7. 7. Attend court sessions to hear oral arguments or record necessary case information
  8. 8. Enter information into computerized court calendar, filing, or case management systems
  9. 9. Verify that all files, complaints, or other papers are available and in the proper order
  10. 10. Review dockets of pending litigation to ensure adequate progress
  11. 11. Communicate with counsel regarding case management or procedural requirements
  12. 12. Respond to questions from judicial officers or court staff on general legal issues

Judicial Law Clerks: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 23-1012 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 4.5 ; lead knowledge Law and Government. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 4.5
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.3
  3. 3. Critical Thinking 4.3
  4. 4. Writing 4.1
  5. 5. Speaking 4.0
  6. 6. Active Learning 3.8
  7. 7. Complex Problem Solving 3.5
  8. 8. Judgment and Decision Making 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Law and Government 4.9
  2. 2. English Language 4.5
  3. 3. Administrative 3.5
  4. 4. Computers and Electronics 2.9
  5. 5. Public Safety and Security 2.7
  6. 6. Administration and Management 2.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$46,180 to $113,140
median $64,920 · ~2.4× spread
$65K
National median
↑ +3%
Growth 2024-2034
1,000
Annual openings
13,290
Estimated US jobs
Lawyers
Highest-pay peer · $160K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Judicial Law Clerks

1. New York $133,320
2. Idaho $75,540
3. Washington $80,240
4. Tennessee $75,190
5. Massachusetts $143,350
6. California $79,030
7. Oregon $86,870
8. Arkansas $80,150
9. Connecticut $98,670
10. North Dakota $85,530

Other Legal Occupations titles

  1. 1. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators $75,530
  2. 2. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $117,860
  3. 3. Lawyers $159,670
  4. 4. Legal Support Workers, All Other $72,110
  5. 5. Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers $58,650
  6. 6. Paralegals and Legal Assistants $62,890

The OEWS band for Judicial Law Clerks runs from $46,180 (10th) to $113,140 (90th), about 2.4× wide, with median $64,920. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +3% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 1,000 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. 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: New York at $133,320. 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.

Judicial Law Clerks pay-rank #6 in Legal Occupations

Judicial Law Clerks sits at pay-rank #6 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 Judicial Law Clerks is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Judicial Law Clerks salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 23-1012

New York · top state for Judicial Law Clerks

$133K published median

Idaho · #2 state pay

$76K · behind New York

Lawyers

Highest-pay peer vs Judicial Law Clerks · $160K

Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers

Lower-pay peer beside Judicial Law Clerks · $59K

Compare Judicial Law Clerks

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Judicial Law Clerks 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 Judicial Law Clerks mid-table among Legal Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #6 of 8 detailed Legal Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Legal Support Workers, All Other ($72K), Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators ($76K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do judicial law clerks do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Judicial Law Clerks. Leading ones include: Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations; Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court; Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations; Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for judicial law clerks? ▼
For SOC 23-1012, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (4.5), Active Listening (4.3), Critical Thinking (4.3), Writing (4.1). Knowledge areas emphasize Law and Government, English Language, Administrative. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Judicial Law Clerks? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $46,180 and the 90th at $113,140 for Judicial Law Clerks (2.4× spread). The national median is $64,920. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Judicial Law Clerks? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Judicial Law Clerks is +3%. Projected annual openings: about 1,000. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Judicial Law Clerks? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Judicial Law Clerks. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Judicial Law Clerks? ▼
New York ($133,320), Idaho ($75,540), Washington ($80,240) 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 Judicial Law Clerks card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 23-1012. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Judicial Law Clerks. 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