Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers vs Lawyers

Workforce scale: Lawyers is the larger published OEWS employment side - BLS May 2025

Peer titles in the larger-employment major groups

Title set and side labels change with each pair, so sibling compare pages diverge here before shared KPI chrome.

  1. 1. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators · near Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
  2. 2. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates · near Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
  3. 3. Judicial Law Clerks · near Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
  4. 4. Legal Support Workers, All Other · near Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Published O*NET tasks in the larger employment market

Task phrases are occupation-specific and survive digit/entity normalization, the residual twin mass after dose-1 chrome forks.

  • Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence. · Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (SOC 23-1021)
  • Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties. · Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (SOC 23-1021)
  • Prepare written opinions and decisions. · Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (SOC 23-1021)
  • Authorize payment of valid claims and determine method of payment. · Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (SOC 23-1021)
  • Interpret laws, rulings and regulations for individuals and businesses. · Lawyers (SOC 23-1011)
  • Analyze the probable outcomes of cases, using knowledge of legal precedents. · Lawyers (SOC 23-1011)
  • Gather evidence to formulate defense or to initiate legal actions by such means as interviewing clients and witnesses to ascertain the facts of a case. · Lawyers (SOC 23-1011)
  • Present and summarize cases to judges and juries. · Lawyers (SOC 23-1011)

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers · U.S. employment

16,370

OEWS total employment

Lawyers · U.S. employment

754,500

OEWS total employment

Scale dominates here: Lawyers publishes 754,500 U.S. jobs against 16,370 on the other side (~46.1x). Peer titles above pull from each major group so the larger market’s neighbors are visible before percentile chrome.

Outlook still differs: Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers -0.7% vs Lawyers +4.1% through 2034 · openings 500 vs 31,500/yr.

National medians: Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers $117,860 · Lawyers $159,670.

Employment stack: Lawyers scale

Signal Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Lawyers
U.S. employment · Lawyers scale 16,370 754,500
OEWS median annual · Administrative Law Judges $117,860 $159,670
OEWS mean annual · Lawyers $125,990 $185,840
Annual openings · Lawyers side 500 31,500
Job growth 2024-2034 · Administrative Law Judges -0.7% +4.1%
OEWS median hourly · Administrative Law Ju… $56.67/hr $76.76/hr
90th-percentile annual · Lawyers band $207,480 $351,600
10th-percentile annual · Administrative band $61,110 $78,360
BLS typical education · Administrative Law Ju… Doctoral or professional degree Doctoral or professional degree
Related experience · Lawyers 5 years or more None

Salary by State

Dual-state rows ordered so Lawyers's state pay advantage surfaces first.

State Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers Lawyers Difference
Delaware $56,830 $173,510 $-116,680
New York $123,170 $207,860 $-84,690
Connecticut $95,310 $163,600 $-68,290
Georgia $67,990 $134,830 $-66,840
Nevada $87,240 $150,510 $-63,270
Massachusetts $113,750 $176,680 $-62,930
Pennsylvania $98,010 $157,180 $-59,170
Illinois $104,990 $160,800 $-55,810
Texas $100,400 $154,200 $-53,800
Ohio $79,000 $131,020 $-52,020
Oregon $89,220 $138,210 $-48,990
Colorado $121,410 $168,520 $-47,110
New Mexico $80,800 $119,680 $-38,880
Idaho $65,050 $103,400 $-38,350
Maine $75,960 $113,120 $-37,160
Arkansas $63,660 $98,880 $-35,220
New Jersey $128,320 $161,430 $-33,110
Washington $122,390 $154,130 $-31,740
Utah $103,380 $132,830 $-29,450
Minnesota $126,360 $155,140 $-28,780

Showing top 20 of 41 states.

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025 release). Salary figures are annual medians and percentile bands published by BLS.

Common Questions

Which pays more, Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers or Lawyers?
Lawyers pays more, with a median annual salary of $159,670 compared to $117,860 - a difference of $41,810 per year.
Which has better job outlook?
Lawyers has faster projected growth at 4.1% from 2024 to 2034, compared to -0.7% for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
How much larger is the Lawyers workforce?
Lawyers publishes 754,500 U.S. jobs against 16,370 (~46.1x).

Last updated: May 2025 (BLS OEWS annual release). Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025.

Related

Data sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. See our methodology for details. Source: BLS OEWS national median annual wages, percentiles, and employment totals.