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Average starting salary for lawyers varies widely by state, driven mainly by the size of the local legal market. High-cost markets like New York, California, and Washington, D.C. post the highest entry medians, while smaller markets run lower. Current state-by-state figures are tracked by the BLS: $95,000 (the NALP Class of 2024 overall median; the mean was $125,926).
By Ali Unar, JD candidate at Georgetown Law and founder of Lovare Institut. Last updated August 2026. Figures on this page were verified in August 2026 or point readers to the current source.
Average starting salary for lawyers varies widely by state, driven mainly by the size and cost of each local legal market. High-cost states such as New York, California, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia post the highest entry-level medians, while smaller and rural markets run lower. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports lawyer wages for every state: $151,160 per year (BLS median for lawyers, May 2024).
The top-paying states are generally those with large corporate legal markets and high living costs. The table lists the highest starting-salary states with their current figures.
The current ranking is best read directly from the source. See the U.S. News Best Law Schools list for the up-to-date order, and each school's ABA Standard 509 report for its median LSAT, GPA, and acceptance rate.
State wage figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program and should be checked against the latest release.
Three forces drive the state gap: the concentration of large corporate firms, the local cost of living, and the mix of public versus private employers. States with major financial and technology centers support more high-paying firm jobs, while states dominated by small firms and government pay closer to the national median. A higher nominal salary does not always mean higher real pay after housing costs.
Compare nominal salary against cost of living, bar-admission rules, and where you actually want to practice, not just the headline number. A lower-salary state can leave you better off after housing and taxes. If you plan to move for a big-firm job, target the markets where those firms cluster. Lovare's admissions coaching helps you plan school choice around the states you want to work in.
First-year lawyers make one of two very different amounts. Associates at large firms on the market pay scale earn $235,000. The national median for new lawyers across all settings is much lower, at $95,000 (the NALP Class of 2024 overall median; the mean was $125,926), because most new lawyers work outside large firms.
The best-paying practice areas are big-firm corporate and M&A, patent and other intellectual property, tax, and finance and securities law. These fields pay most at large firms that follow the market scale. Pay for each specialty currently runs roughly $235,000 in market-rate BigLaw regardless of practice area; BLS does not break lawyer pay out by specialty.
The Biglaw scale (the market or Cravath scale) is a standardized base-salary ladder that top firms adopt together, paying every associate in a class year the same base. The current entry rung is $235,000, rising annually, with separate year-end bonuses set by market leaders.
Verified August 2026.
August 21, 2026
August 21, 2026