Average Salary

• Lawyers earn an average salary of $129,020 per year in the United States as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Lawyers in the 25th percentile make $76,270 per year, while those in the 75th percentile earn more than $166,400. This estimate includes lawyers who work in both criminal and civil litigation that either specialize in a specific area or practice in many areas of law.
  
  

Biggest Employers

• The BLS names the industry of legal services as that with the highest number of employed lawyers, 363,170 out of the total of 556,790 lawyers employed in the U.S. This industry pays an annual average wage of $136,540. The government is the next biggest employer, but lawyers working for the government earn significantly less. The average salary for lawyers employed by the local government is $91,040, while those working for the state government earn $82,750. However, the federal executive branch offers a mean salary of $127,550, much closer to the national average. Lawyers working in the management of companies and enterprises, another significant employer, earn an average wage of $158,290 annually.
  
  

Higher Paying Industries

• Although opportunities for lawyers in other fields are fewer, wages tend to be higher. Those working in computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing earn an average salary of $172,430 per year according to the BLS, and those employed by professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers earn $172,600 on average. In semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing lawyers earn an average salary of $175,970, and those representing agents and managers for public figures such as entertainers and athletes earn an average wage of $176,640. The industry of petroleum and coal products manufacturing is the highest paying for lawyers with an average salary of $196,190 a year.
  
  

Location

• The demand for lawyers in an area, as well as that area's cost of living, will have an effect on wages and salaries. The BLS names Washington D.C. as the highest paying state for lawyers with an average annual wage of $156,750, followed by New York at $152,710. The five highest paying metropolitan areas in the country for lawyers are all in California; in San Jose, Santa Rosa, Napa, Madera and San Francisco, salary averages range from $167,130 to $192,020 per year.