Legal Salaries
The BLS classifies 8 detailed occupations in this group, all with a published median. Across the whole group the BLS reports a median of $102,500 a year and about 1.31 million jobs.
The spread inside the group runs from $58,650 for Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers to $159,670 for Lawyers. Ranking occupations by median is the fastest way to see which roles the market pays most within this field.
All legal occupations by median pay
Medians are annual, from the BLS May 2025 national estimates. Employment shows the number of jobs in each occupation.
| Occupation | Median pay | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | $159,670 | 754,500 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | $153,990 | 24,030 |
| Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers | $117,860 | 16,370 |
| Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators | $75,530 | 9,210 |
| Legal Support Workers, All Other | $72,110 | 46,760 |
| Judicial Law Clerks | $64,920 | 13,290 |
| Paralegals and Legal Assistants | $62,890 | 392,880 |
| Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers | $58,650 | 48,580 |
How to read this table
A high median can reflect scarce skills, union coverage, licensing requirements or simply a small, senior workforce. A low median can reflect part-time schedules or a large entry-level tier. Neither is a verdict on the work itself.
Employment matters as much as pay when comparing occupations: a role with 500,000 jobs and a $102,500 median offers far more openings than a niche role paying twice as much.