Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates vs Judicial Law Clerks

Pay gap first: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates leads Judicial Law Clerks on national OEWS medians - BLS May 2025

Nearby titles when weighing Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates pay

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

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

Day-to-day work behind the Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates pay lead

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

  • Sentence defendants in criminal cases, on conviction by jury, according to applicable government statutes. · Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023)
  • Rule on custody and access disputes, and enforce court orders regarding custody and support of children. · Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023)
  • Monitor proceedings to ensure that all applicable rules and procedures are followed. · Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023)
  • Instruct juries on applicable laws, direct juries to deduce the facts from the evidence presented, and hear their verdicts. · Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023)
  • Prepare briefs, legal memoranda, or statements of issues involved in cases, including appropriate suggestions or recommendations. · Judicial Law Clerks (SOC 23-1012)
  • Research laws, court decisions, documents, opinions, briefs, or other information related to cases before the court. · Judicial Law Clerks (SOC 23-1012)
  • Draft or proofread judicial opinions, decisions, or citations. · Judicial Law Clerks (SOC 23-1012)
  • Confer with judges concerning legal questions, construction of documents, or granting of orders. · Judicial Law Clerks (SOC 23-1012)

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates

$153,990

median annual salary

Judicial Law Clerks

$64,920

median annual salary

Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates earns $89,070 more per year (137% higher)

The distinctive signal in this pair is the national median gap: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates (SOC 23-1023) sits $89,070/year (137%) above Judicial Law Clerks. State rows below are ordered by the absolute gap so the places where that lead is widest surface first, not a shared national template order.

Outlook still differs: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates +2.5% vs Judicial Law Clerks +2.5% through 2034 · openings 900 vs 1,000/yr.

Pay stack: Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates vs Judicial Law Clerks

Signal Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Judicial Law Clerks
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates median annual vs peer $153,990 $64,920
90th-percentile annual · Judicial band $221,710 $113,140
10th-percentile annual · Judges, band $46,950 $46,180
OEWS median hourly · Judges, Magistrate Ju… $74.03/hr $31.21/hr
OEWS mean annual · Judicial Law Clerks $143,830 $72,950
OEWS total employment · 23-0000 24,030 13,290
Job growth 2024-2034 · Judges +2.5% +2.5%
Annual openings · Judicial Law Clerks side 900 1,000
BLS typical education · Judges, Magistrate Ju… Doctoral or professional degree Doctoral or professional degree
Related experience · Judicial Law Clerks 5 years or more None

Salary by State

Dual-state rows ordered by absolute median gap between Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates and Judicial Law Clerks.

State Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Judicial Law Clerks Difference
Hawaii $211,810 $47,010 +$164,800
Nebraska $208,180 $49,570 +$158,610
New Jersey $204,160 $58,890 +$145,270
Tennessee $208,350 $75,190 +$133,160
Colorado $198,790 $67,230 +$131,560
Florida $186,040 $55,180 +$130,860
Indiana $183,000 $57,140 +$125,860
Connecticut $217,760 $98,670 +$119,090
Minnesota $190,110 $71,070 +$119,040
Alaska $183,310 $67,580 +$115,730
Kansas $148,910 $45,720 +$103,190
Maryland $172,190 $70,110 +$102,080
Idaho $172,920 $75,540 +$97,380
Nevada $166,360 $69,600 +$96,760
Maine $161,470 $67,890 +$93,580
North Dakota $171,100 $85,530 +$85,570
Iowa $147,510 $64,260 +$83,250
New York $216,390 $133,320 +$83,070
Oregon $166,400 $86,870 +$79,530
Georgia $133,660 $55,120 +$78,540

Showing top 20 of 35 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, Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates or Judicial Law Clerks?
Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates pays more, with a median annual salary of $153,990 compared to $64,920 - a difference of $89,070 per year.
Which has better job outlook?
Judicial Law Clerks has faster projected growth at 2.5% from 2024 to 2034, compared to 2.5% for Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates.
Where is the Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates pay lead widest?
State rows above are sorted by absolute OEWS median gap so the widest Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates leads over Judicial Law Clerks surface first. National gap: $89,070/year (137%).

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.