Legal Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Occupation-level safety SOC 23-1011

Lawyers

Occupation-specific BLS fatality and injury rates set the reading order for Lawyers, then wages beside peers such as Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates, Paralegals and Legal Assistants, Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators, Judicial Law Clerks.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Lawyers: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates ($154K) , Paralegals and Legal Assistants ($63K) , Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators ($76K) , Judicial Law Clerks ($65K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Lawyers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 23-1011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses
  2. 2. Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents
  3. 3. Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the fa…
  4. 4. Present and summarize cases to judges and juries
  5. 5. Represent clients in court or before government agencies
  6. 6. Select jurors, argue motions, meet with judges, and question witnesses during the course of a trial
  7. 7. Evaluate findings and develop strategies and arguments in preparation for presentation of cases
  8. 8. Present evidence to defend clients or prosecute defendants in criminal or civil litigation
  9. 9. Advise clients concerning business transactions, claim liability, advisability of prosecuting or defending lawsuits, or legal rights and…
  10. 10. Examine legal data to determine advisability of defending or prosecuting lawsuit
  11. 11. Prepare, draft, and review legal documents, such as wills, deeds, patent applications, mortgages, leases, and contracts
  12. 12. Study Constitution, statutes, decisions, regulations, and ordinances of quasi-judicial bodies to determine ramifications for cases

Lawyers: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 23-1011 - lead skill Speaking at 4.6 ; lead knowledge Law and Government. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.6
  2. 2. Reading Comprehension 4.5
  3. 3. Active Listening 4.5
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 4.5
  5. 5. Writing 4.3
  6. 6. Complex Problem Solving 4.1
  7. 7. Judgment and Decision Making 4.1
  8. 8. Persuasion 4.0

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Law and Government 5.0
  2. 2. English Language 4.7
  3. 3. Customer and Personal Service 4.0
  4. 4. Administrative 3.2
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 3.1
  6. 6. Communications and Media 3.0
Occupation safety grade
A
Very Safe
Transparent derived index from BLS CFOI/SOII, not an official BLS rating · formula
National median still $159,670/yr
$160K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
31,500
Annual openings
754,500
Estimated US jobs
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates
Highest-pay peer · $154K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Doctoral or professional degree

Top Paying States for Lawyers

1. Massachusetts $176,680
2. Delaware $173,510
3. Connecticut $163,600
4. New York $207,860
5. Virginia $167,210
6. Illinois $160,800
7. District of Columbia $195,190
8. Colorado $168,520
9. California $195,080
10. New Jersey $161,430

Other Legal Occupations titles

  1. 1. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators $75,530
  2. 2. Paralegals and Legal Assistants $62,890
  3. 3. Judicial Law Clerks $64,920
  4. 4. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates $153,990
  5. 5. Legal Support Workers, All Other $72,110
  6. 6. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $117,860

Lawyers carries an occupation-specific WageDex safety grade of A from BLS CFOI/SOII rates. The national OEWS median is $159,670 inside Legal Occupations (SOC 23-1011).

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 31,500 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Massachusetts at $176,680. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates at $153,990. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Lawyers pay-rank #1 in Legal Occupations

Among 8 detailed Legal Occupations with a published OEWS median, Lawyers is pay-rank #1, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third 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.

SOC 23-1011 · national median $159,670 · upper third of Legal Occupations (#1/8). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Lawyers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 23-1011

Massachusetts · top state for Lawyers

$177K published median

Delaware · #2 state pay

$174K · behind Massachusetts

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

Highest-pay peer vs Lawyers · $154K

Paralegals and Legal Assistants

Lower-pay peer beside Lawyers · $63K

Compare Lawyers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Lawyers with another occupation →

Safety and risk next reads

Safest Occupations

Roles with the strongest published safety grades

Lawyers full wage map

State and metro pay after the safety lead

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Legal Occupations titles sit near Lawyers at the top of the pay table? ▼
Lawyers is pay-rank #1 of 8 detailed Legal Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates ($154K), Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers ($118K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do lawyers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Lawyers. Leading ones include: Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses; Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents; Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the fa…; Present and summarize cases to judges and juries. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for lawyers? ▼
For SOC 23-1011, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.6), Reading Comprehension (4.5), Active Listening (4.5), Critical Thinking (4.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Law and Government, English Language, Customer and Personal Service. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Lawyers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $159,670 as the national median for Lawyers. The published 10th-90th range is $78,360 to $351,600. Beside Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates ($153,990), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Lawyers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Lawyers is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 31,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Lawyers? ▼
BLS assigns Doctoral or professional degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Lawyers. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Lawyers? ▼
Massachusetts ($176,680), Delaware ($173,510), Connecticut ($163,600) 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 Lawyers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 23-1011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Lawyers. 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