Highest-paying Cities for Lawyers

The top 100 highest paying cities for lawyers (ranked by average annual salary) are listed in Table 1. The entry level salary (as measured by the salary of the lowest 10% paid earners) and the number of employment of lawyers in those cities are also shown in the table. As shown in the table, with a annual salary of $232,320, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California is the highest paying city for lawyers. It is followed by San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California (average annual salary $213,560). The salary and employment information is computed from data published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in April 2023 [1]. For more salary information of lawyers in a specific city, use the links in the table.

Table 1. 100 Highest-paying cities/areas for Lawyers

Rank	City/Area	Average Salary i	Entry Level Salary i	# of Empl. i
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California	$232,320	$126,460	5,420
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California	$213,560	$109,840	17,110
3	Midland, Michigan	$178,770	$77,460	110
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, District of Columbia	$176,280	$104,980	46,710
5	New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York	$176,170	$81,350	89,700
6	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California	$174,860	$97,170	38,510
7	Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut	$174,780	$98,820	2,410
8	Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, Colorado	$171,400	$81,510	11,550
9	Napa, California	$170,960	$91,820	150
10	San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California	$170,800	$78,810	11,580
11	San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California	$168,360	$79,930	7,900
12	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$165,980	$78,740	17,980
13	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, California	$164,240	$84,280	1,040
14	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, West Virginia	$161,890	$83,540	42,010
15	Dothan, Alabama	$161,460	$58,680	130
16	Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California	$161,240	$83,440	6,770
17	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, California	$161,070	$82,880	500
18	Los Alamos County, New Mexico	$159,050	$102,660	30
19	New York-White Plains-Wayne, New York	$157,020	$68,390	55,480
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas	$155,900	$79,340	17,570
21	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California	$152,400	$71,480	30,830
22	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California	$151,940	$71,860	27,210
23	Midland, Texas	$151,340	$76,570	220
24	Providence-Fall River-Warwick, Rhode Island	$150,720	$79,670	2,600
25	Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, Massachusetts	$148,890	$64,940	13,460
26	Minneapolis-St Paul-Bloomington, Wisconsin	$148,090	$79,150	8,960
27	Winston-Salem, North Carolina	$147,930	$66,210	750
28	Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, South Carolina	$147,280	$63,270	4,210
29	Stockton, California	$146,290	$78,230	540
30	Wilmington, New Jersey	$145,580	$74,030	2,110
31	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California	$145,520	$81,660	3,080
32	Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, California	$144,730	$78,850	4,640
33	Grants Pass, Oregon	$141,910	$72,590	50
34	Trenton-Ewing, New Jersey	$141,410	$85,450	2,140
35	Bakersfield-Delano, California	$140,910	$84,190	530
36	Fresno, California	$140,210	$75,400	1,420
37	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington	$140,120	$77,100	8,800
38	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	$139,950	$58,980	9,520
39	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Georgia	$139,780	$63,790	15,740
40	Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas	$139,510	$84,810	14,690
41	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, California	$139,230	$79,000	550
42	Bloomsburg-Berwick, Pennsylvania	$139,150	$59,500	80
43	Charleston, West Virginia	$139,000	$66,970	800
44	Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Connecticut	$138,900	$77,640	3,910
45	Salem, Oregon	$138,670	$76,740	810
46	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California	$138,570	$77,040	260
47	Huntsville, Alabama	$137,940	$61,750	680
48	Chico, California	$137,590	$80,680	120
49	Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas	$137,040	$78,250	11,630
50	Modesto, California	$136,610	$67,120	350
51	Danbury, Connecticut	$136,590	$75,340	200
52	Chicago-Joliet-Naperville (IL-IN-WI Area), Illinois	$136,290	$73,880	27,200
53	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Washington	$136,120	$79,680	5,330
54	Chattanooga, Tennessee	$135,960	$61,920	760
55	Bloomington, Illinois	$135,540	$68,690	430
56	Salinas, California	$134,990	$67,090	350
57	Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, Maryland	$134,600	$58,160	2,940
58	Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama	$133,580	$66,510	2,500
59	Richmond, Virginia	$133,410	$74,610	3,450
60	Framingham, Massachusetts	$133,260	$65,440	530
61	Atlantic City-Hammonton, New Jersey	$133,050	$80,140	430
62	Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California	$132,960	$70,210	6,480
63	Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina	$132,960	$52,450	1,380
64	Charlottesville, Virginia	$132,910	$63,860	410
65	College Station-Bryan, Texas	$131,990	$75,480	300
66	Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada	$131,690	$72,680	4,660
67	Vallejo-Fairfield, California	$131,670	$72,900	180
68	Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area, California	$131,390	$79,760	80
69	Ames, Iowa	$130,950	$61,090	100
70	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, California	$130,680	$79,290	270
71	Terre Haute, Indiana	$130,660	$64,660	210
72	New Haven, Connecticut	$130,480	$48,530	1,030
73	California-Lexington Park, Maryland	$130,440	$81,360	130
74	San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas	$130,320	$64,970	3,550
75	Lafayette-West Lafayette, Indiana	$130,160	$69,010	160
76	Provo-Orem, Utah	$129,970	$66,040	650
77	Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Arizona	$129,930	$69,980	8,810
78	Greeley, Colorado	$129,900	$66,190	230
79	Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wisconsin	$129,750	$59,220	4,000
80	Indianapolis-Carmel, Indiana	$129,650	$70,560	4,340
81	Syracuse, New York	$129,540	$70,120	1,120
82	Kansas City, Missouri	$129,370	$68,500	5,470
83	Visalia-Porterville, California	$129,290	$66,040	230
84	El Centro, California	$129,180	$65,000	90
85	Reno-Sparks, Nevada	$129,120	$75,560	710
86	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pennsylvania	$128,750	$64,100	18,450
87	Green Bay, Wisconsin	$128,520	$62,600	320
88	Baltimore-Towson, Maryland	$128,400	$82,090	7,150
89	Northwestern Connecticut nonmetropolitan area, Connecticut	$128,090	$45,100	70
90	Peoria, Illinois	$127,780	$64,330	500
91	Newark-Union, Pennsylvania	$127,710	$65,480	8,760
92	Pittsfield, Massachusetts	$127,630	$76,080	90
93	Merced, California	$127,550	$66,040	140
94	Anderson, South Carolina	$127,370	$59,200	60
95	New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana	$127,250	$59,130	4,350
96	Waco, Texas	$127,150	$69,640	250
97	Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, California	$126,920	$74,220	490
98	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida	$126,380	$56,300	5,040
99	Greenville, North Carolina	$125,890	$50,980	180
100	St Louis, Missouri	$125,500	$65,520	6,840

See also: 💰 Highest paying industries for lawyers.