Best US Cities for Lawyers
Top US cities for Lawyers ranked by estimated median salary, with cost-of-living-adjusted earning power.
| # | City | Estimated salary | Cost mult. | vs national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $178,500 | 1.45× | +$43,500 |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $168,300 | 1.32× | +$33,300 |
| 3 | Honolulu, HI | $166,700 | 1.30× | +$31,700 |
| 4 | Irvine, CA | $166,700 | 1.30× | +$31,700 |
| 5 | Oakland, CA | $161,000 | 1.35× | +$26,000 |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $160,400 | 1.22× | +$25,400 |
| 7 | Yonkers, NY | $158,800 | 1.20× | +$23,800 |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $157,300 | 1.18× | +$22,300 |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $154,000 | 1.05× | +$19,000 |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $153,200 | 1.04× | +$18,200 |
| # | City | Salary | Hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco, CA | $178,500 | $86/hr |
| 2 | New York City, NY | $168,300 | $81/hr |
| 3 | Honolulu, HI | $166,700 | $80/hr |
| 4 | Irvine, CA | $166,700 | $80/hr |
| 5 | Oakland, CA | $161,000 | $77/hr |
| 6 | Boston, MA | $160,400 | $77/hr |
| 7 | Yonkers, NY | $158,800 | $76/hr |
| 8 | Scottsdale, AZ | $157,300 | $76/hr |
| 9 | Chicago, IL | $154,000 | $74/hr |
| 10 | Plano, TX | $153,200 | $74/hr |
| 11 | Miami, FL | $152,500 | $73/hr |
| 12 | Tampa, FL | $151,500 | $73/hr |
| 13 | Los Angeles, CA | $151,300 | $73/hr |
| 14 | Newark, NJ | $150,900 | $73/hr |
| 15 | Sacramento, CA | $150,900 | $73/hr |
| 16 | Riverside, CA | $150,900 | $73/hr |
| 17 | San Diego, CA | $150,600 | $72/hr |
| 18 | St. Paul, MN | $149,900 | $72/hr |
| 19 | Anchorage, AK | $149,800 | $72/hr |
| 20 | St. Petersburg, FL | $149,100 | $72/hr |
| 21 | Madison, WI | $149,100 | $72/hr |
| 22 | Seattle, WA | $148,400 | $71/hr |
| 23 | Long Beach, CA | $148,400 | $71/hr |
| 24 | Anaheim, CA | $148,400 | $71/hr |
| 25 | Frisco, TX | $147,000 | $71/hr |
| 26 | Minneapolis, MN | $146,300 | $70/hr |
| 27 | Chula Vista, CA | $146,100 | $70/hr |
| 28 | Milwaukee, WI | $144,900 | $70/hr |
| 29 | Phoenix, AZ | $144,700 | $70/hr |
| 30 | Philadelphia, PA | $144,700 | $70/hr |
| 31 | Atlanta, GA | $144,700 | $70/hr |
| 32 | Salt Lake City, UT | $144,700 | $70/hr |
| 33 | Kansas City, MO | $143,300 | $69/hr |
| 34 | Wilmington, DE | $143,100 | $69/hr |
| 35 | Raleigh, NC | $143,100 | $69/hr |
| 36 | Dallas, TX | $142,400 | $68/hr |
| 37 | Nashville, TN | $142,400 | $68/hr |
| 38 | Portland, OR | $142,400 | $68/hr |
| 39 | Omaha, NE | $141,600 | $68/hr |
| 40 | Denver, CO | $140,900 | $68/hr |
| 41 | Charlotte, NC | $140,800 | $68/hr |
| 42 | Lincoln, NE | $140,700 | $68/hr |
| 43 | Pittsburgh, PA | $139,200 | $67/hr |
| 44 | Tallahassee, FL | $139,200 | $67/hr |
| 45 | Austin, TX | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 46 | Baltimore, MD | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 47 | Stockton, CA | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 48 | Aurora, CO | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 49 | Hialeah, FL | $138,700 | $67/hr |
| 50 | Las Vegas, NV | $138,000 | $66/hr |
| 51 | Chandler, AZ | $138,000 | $66/hr |
| 52 | Columbus, OH | $136,800 | $66/hr |
| 53 | Detroit, MI | $136,800 | $66/hr |
| 54 | Buffalo, NY | $136,800 | $66/hr |
| 55 | Henderson, NV | $136,500 | $66/hr |
| 56 | Reno, NV | $136,500 | $66/hr |
| 57 | Gilbert, AZ | $136,500 | $66/hr |
| 58 | Charleston, SC | $136,500 | $66/hr |
| 59 | Cleveland, OH | $136,000 | $65/hr |
| 60 | Winston-Salem, NC | $136,000 | $65/hr |
| 61 | Orlando, FL | $135,700 | $65/hr |
| 62 | Virginia Beach, VA | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 63 | Chesapeake, VA | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 64 | North Las Vegas, NV | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 65 | Boise, ID | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 66 | Fresno, CA | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 67 | Worcester, MA | $135,000 | $65/hr |
| 68 | Oklahoma City, OK | $134,400 | $65/hr |
| 69 | Colorado Springs, CO | $134,300 | $65/hr |
| 70 | Bakersfield, CA | $134,300 | $65/hr |
| 71 | Norfolk, VA | $133,500 | $64/hr |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | $132,800 | $64/hr |
| 73 | Mesa, AZ | $132,800 | $64/hr |
| 74 | Fort Wayne, IN | $132,100 | $64/hr |
| 75 | Houston, TX | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 76 | Fort Worth, TX | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 77 | Tucson, AZ | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 78 | Glendale, AZ | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 79 | Garland, TX | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 80 | Spokane, WA | $132,000 | $63/hr |
| 81 | Arlington, TX | $131,300 | $63/hr |
| 82 | Albuquerque, NM | $130,500 | $63/hr |
| 83 | New Orleans, LA | $130,500 | $63/hr |
| 84 | San Antonio, TX | $129,800 | $62/hr |
| 85 | Grand Rapids, MI | $129,800 | $62/hr |
| 86 | Cincinnati, OH | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 87 | Lexington, KY | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 88 | Corpus Christi, TX | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 89 | Greensboro, NC | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 90 | Knoxville, TN | $129,100 | $62/hr |
| 91 | El Paso, TX | $128,300 | $62/hr |
| 92 | St. Louis, MO | $128,300 | $62/hr |
| 93 | Indianapolis, IN | $127,600 | $61/hr |
| 94 | Louisville, KY | $127,600 | $61/hr |
| 95 | Memphis, TN | $126,800 | $61/hr |
| 96 | Birmingham, AL | $126,100 | $61/hr |
| 97 | Toledo, OH | $126,100 | $61/hr |
| 98 | Lubbock, TX | $126,100 | $61/hr |
| 99 | Wichita, KS | $124,600 | $60/hr |
| 100 | Mobile, AL | $124,600 | $60/hr |
Does location actually decide Lawyer pay?
Lawyer work is usually hybrid, so the metro you choose still largely determines what you earn. Pay ranges from $124,600 in Mobile to $178,500 in San Francisco — a spread of 43%.
Worth checking before you plan around these numbers: Lawyer needs State bar exam and admission required to practice, and reciprocity between states varies from automatic to nonexistent. The higher-paying metro is only worth what you can actually earn there after re-credentialing.
Highest-paying is not the same as best-off
The number that ranks these metros is not the number you live on. In San Francisco, $178,500 against $3,000/month rent leaves roughly $142,500 a year after housing. In Mobile, $124,600 against $850 leaves about $114,400. The top still wins after rent, but by $28,100 rather than the $53,900 the headline suggests.
Why these metros and not others
The metros at the top are not simply the expensive ones; they are where the hiring is. San Francisco (Salesforce, Google); New York City (JPMorgan Chase, NYC Health + Hospitals); Honolulu (U.S. Pacific Fleet/Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Queen's Health Systems). Depth of demand for legal work is what lifts pay above the local baseline, and it is why two equally costly cities can pay this role differently.
Salaries are modelled from BLS national medians adjusted for local price level at a wage elasticity below 1 — pay rises with local costs but not proportionally. See our methodology.