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Lawyers in California

Is California a good place for you to work as a Lawyer?

10.9% Jobs Projection
$152,930 Median Salary
5,330 Job Openings

You’re in luck! Jobs for Lawyers in California are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

  • Projected employment for Lawyers in California is growing faster than average.

  • Lawyers in California earn higher salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

How Many Lawyers Work in California?

In California, there were 82,180 people working as Lawyers in the year 2018.

There were 79,980 Lawyers employed in this state in 2017.

That’s growth of 2,200 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

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The typical state has 6,420 Lawyers working in it, which means California has more Lawyers than average.

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Job Projections for California

Jobs for Lawyers in this state are growing at a rate of 10.9% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 8.2%.

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California Annual Job Openings

The BLS estimates there will be 5,330 annual job openings, and 108,000 total jobs in 2026 for Lawyers in this state.

Nationwide, the prediction is 40,700 annual jobs and 857,500 total jobs in 2026.

What do Lawyers Make in California?

In 2018 wages for Lawyers ranged from $71,020 to $208,000 with $152,930 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $34.14 to $100. The median hourly rate was $73.53.

Workers in this field were paid a median of $71.95 an hour in 2017.

The hourly rate grew by $1.58.

The median salary in California is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top California Metros for Lawyers

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Lawyers.

Metro Number Employed Annual Median Salary
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 37,320 $157,590
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 16,490 $164,200
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 7,390 $143,910
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA 5,610 $129,010
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 5,610 $190,930
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 2,550 $157,450
Fresno, CA 1,290 $107,040
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 1,210 $162,620
Bakersfield, CA 550 $146,120
Santa Rosa, CA 480 $141,550
Stockton-Lodi, CA 400 $77,940
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 400 $113,770
Modesto, CA 310 $116,630
Salinas, CA 240 $115,030
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA 200 $136,860
Napa, CA 200 $141,330
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA 200 $125,150
Redding, CA 190 $110,670
Visalia-Porterville, CA 150 $95,040
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 130 $113,040
El Centro, CA 90 $96,090
Chico, CA 90 $109,470
Hanford-Corcoran, CA 60 n/a
Yuba City, CA 40 $116,770

Top States for Lawyers Employment

View the list below to see where most Lawyers work.

State Number Employed Annual Median Salary
California 82,180 $152,930
New York 76,840 $144,150
Florida 47,280 $100,090
Texas 42,590 $127,550
District of Columbia 31,680 $164,210
Illinois 31,260 $126,770
Pennsylvania 24,980 $116,860
New Jersey 21,070 $119,540
Georgia 20,080 $104,940
Massachusetts 18,420 $142,100
Ohio 17,600 $98,530
Virginia 15,890 $127,110
Michigan 14,550 $94,990
Colorado 12,930 $127,070
North Carolina 12,560 $99,400
Maryland 12,490 $107,450
Minnesota 11,270 $103,630
Washington 11,000 $115,500
Missouri 10,340 $99,990
Arizona 9,370 $111,590

Below are the states where Lawyers get paid the most:

State Annual Median Salary
District of Columbia $164,210
California $152,930
New York $144,150
Massachusetts $142,100
Connecticut $129,160
Texas $127,550
Virginia $127,110
Colorado $127,070
Illinois $126,770
Nevada $121,740

You may also be interested in the following careers:

Occupation CA Employment Total

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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