Lawyers · SOC 23-1011

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Lawyers

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for lawyers. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked (14 such areas are excluded here). Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.

Top 25 of 378 metro areas

Lawyers: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$301,320	6,040	5.3
2	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$212,500	18,470	7.8
3	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$208,880	94,610	10.0
4	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$195,190	46,840	14.9
5	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$194,410	41,580	6.6
6	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$185,520	1,220	3.8
7	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$183,350	20,080	7.4
8	Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	$181,560	590	2.9
9	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$180,610	2,100	5.2
10	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$178,540	7,620	7.1
11	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$178,220	8,020	5.2
12	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	$177,380	11,860	7.4
13	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$175,780	290	2.3
14	Stockton-Lodi, CA	$174,880	490	1.7
15	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$170,970	700	3.5
16	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	$170,660	19,040	6.6
17	Vallejo, CA	$170,530	220	1.6
18	Birmingham, AL	$170,230	2,800	5.4
19	Napa, CA	$168,720	110	1.4
20	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	$168,510	17,110	4.2
21	Salinas, CA	$166,940	380	2.0
22	New Haven, CT	$166,080	1,280	4.5
23	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$165,660	28,320	6.3
24	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$164,980	9,210	4.4
25	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$164,790	350	3.5

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Lawyers overview.

About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.