What is the highest salary for lawyers in the US?

Asked by: Jaime Harris  |  Last update: December 3, 2023
Score: 4.6/5 (31 votes)

The median annual wage for lawyers was $127,990 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $61,400, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $208,000.

What is the highest paid lawyer salary in the US?

Which type of law you specialize in
  • Patent attorney: $180,000.
  • Intellectual property (IP) attorney: $162,000.
  • Trial lawyer: $134,000 (remember, this is average; trial lawyers especially can be sink-or-swim)
  • Tax attorney: $122,000.
  • Corporate lawyer: $115,000.
  • Employment lawyer: $87,000.
  • Real Estate attorney: $86,000.

What is the highest salary for a lawyer?

Lawyers made a median salary of $127,990 in 2021. The best-paid 25% made $194,580 that year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $81,620.

Do lawyers make a million dollars a year?

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual pay for lawyers in 2021 was $127,900, and only the top 1% made over $500,000. You might aspire to crack that half-a-million-dollar salary threshold, but it probably seems out of reach, despite your legal expertise.

Is being a lawyer worth it in USA?

Lucrative career

They make a national average salary of $50,979 per year . Though you may not earn this income as a new lawyer, you can work your way toward this salary with enough hard work and experience. However, finding satisfaction in your specific field may be worth more than your annual salary.

Average Salary in the U.S. 2023 - How does YOUR income compare?

41 related questions found

Why do lawyers get paid so much?

Lawyers get paid so much for several reasons, including having extremely specialized knowledge, being in demand, and assuming risks and liabilities.

Can you be a millionaire as a lawyer?

Lawyers can also earn extremely high salaries from working for leading law firms in the legal industry or prestigious corporations as in-house lawyers. Some can also achieve millionaire status by working hard and starting their private law firm.

How to make over 500k a year?

13 jobs that pay over $500k a year
  1. Actor. National average salary : $27,370 per year. ...
  2. Author. National average salary: $43,471 per year. ...
  3. Insurance agent. National average salary: $54,534 per year. ...
  4. Accountant. ...
  5. Professional athlete. ...
  6. Hedge fund manager. ...
  7. Investment banker. ...
  8. Real estate developer.

What percentage of lawyers become rich?

As many readers know, only approximately 18-20% of graduating lawyers end up in Biglaw with high salaries and many don't last more than 2-3 years before moving on to other pursuits. The vast majority end up making significantly less.

How much is a lawyer paid in US per month?

Lawyer Salaries

The average salary for Lawyer is $1,36,143 per year in the United States. The average additional cash compensation for a Lawyer in the United States is $23,078, with a range from $17,308 - $32,309.

What jobs pay $1 million a year?

The jobs of millionaires
  • Investment banker.
  • Certified public accountant.
  • Entrepreneur.
  • Day trader.
  • Real estate agent.
  • Engineer.
  • Lawyer.
  • Actuary.

Is 900k a year good?

In the U.S., the average individual's income is $63,214, and the median income is $44,225. As a result, a $90,000 salary would put you well above the national average, and while this money will go farther in some cities than in others, it's still typically considered a good salary.

Is $100,000 a good salary anymore?

Earning more than $100,000 per year would put you well ahead of the median American household, which brings in $74,784 as of 2021. Assuming you're an individual without dependents, that salary would qualify you as upper class, according to three different definitions (Brookings, Urban Institute and Pew Research).

Is being a lawyer a happy career?

As a whole, lawyers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.0/5. Some lawyers are happy with their work environment, but it does not seem to be a meaningful contributer to career satisfaction for most.

Can I get rich with a law degree?

So, yes, it is possible to make millions of dollars $ as a lawyer. But you should try to go to high-ranking law school to make your career progress easier. For that, you need to obtain a good solid LSAT score. LSAT prep is the only thing you can control.

Do lawyers always make a lot of money?

A: If money is your primary concern, you'll be happy to hear that the average annual lawyer salary is just over $126,000 per year. Depending on the level of expertise and the field of law, that figure can go as high as $230,000 per year. In other words, a career in law is one of the most lucrative in the United States.

Why is the demand for lawyers so high?

There is a high demand for lawyers in the United States.

This is largely due to retiring lawyers and lawyers exiting the workforce. Here is a list of the current most in-demand types of lawyers: Litigation.

Is the bar exam hard?

The short answer: yes. Administered nationwide across all states and U.S. territories, the bar exam is widely known to be a test with an extremely high degree of difficulty. For first time test takers, the nationwide pass rate for the bar exam recently climbed to 79.64%.

What is the highest rank in law?

Within the world of law firms, the highest position is a partner. It is arguably the pinnacle of their career for most lawyers. It is no small feat to achieve this and not many people can do it.

What is the cons of being a lawyer?

Cons of Being a Lawyer
  • High-Stress Environment. Lawyers must get used to stressful situations, even while in law school. ...
  • Difficult Clients. Sometimes lawyers just can't avoid getting difficult clients. ...
  • Stigma. ...
  • Expensive Education. ...
  • Outsourced Lawyers.