Legal Occupations

Broad Occupation

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2020 Workforce

1.61M

Average Age

45.2

Average Salary

$127,426

Average Male Salary

$167,579

Average Female Salary

$93,779

About

Legal Occupations are most often employed by the Legal services industry. The average yearly wage for Legal Occupations was $127,426 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Legal Occupations by wage are Management occupations, Computer & mathematical occupations, and Architecture & engineering occupations.

Legal Occupations are part of the Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations, along with Community & Social Service Occupations, Legal Occupations, Education, Training, & Library Occupations, and Arts, design, entertainment, sports, & media occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Legal Occupations are District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC, Bethesda, Potomac & North Bethesda PUMA, MD, and Upper West Side & West Side PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Legal Occupations are District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC, District of Columbia (Central) PUMA, DC, and Bethesda, Potomac & North Bethesda PUMA, MD.

Photo by Dave Wilson

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Legal Occupations and on wages and locations for those in the field. Legal services is the industry that employs the most Legal Occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Legal Occupations, by average wage, is Not specified food industries, manufacturing. Legal Occupations are paid most in Norwalk, Westport & Darien Towns PUMA, CT but are relatively concentrated in District of Columbia (West) PUMA, DC.

Yearly Wage

$127,426

AVERAGE SALARY

± $2,572

In 2020, Legal Occupations earned an average of $127,426, $71,472 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Legal Occupations are the highest paid occupation in the US followed by Management occupations. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Legal Occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.47

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Legal Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.47, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Legal Occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Legal Occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Legal Occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Legal Occupations.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Legal Occupations, by number of employees, are Legal services, Justice, public order, & safety activities , Insurance carriers, Executive offices & legislative bodies, Administration of human resource programs, Securities, commodities, funds, trusts & other financial investments, Administration of economic programs & space research, National security & international affairs, Lessors of real estate, and offices of real estate agents and brokers, Banking & related activities, and Computer Systems Design.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Legal Occupations, by average wage, are Not specified food industries, manufacturing, Waste management & remediation services, and Metal ore mining.

Industries by Share

1.61M

2020 Workforce

± 30,954

3.19%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.66%

The number of people employed as Legal Occupations has been growing at a rate of 3.19%, from 1,557,253 people in 2019 to 1,606,964 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Legal Occupations employed by various industries. Legal services employs the largest share of Legal Occupations at 63.1%, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities with 10.7% and Insurance carriers with 2.63%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Legal Occupations in the US. The average age of male Legal Occupations in the workforce is 47.2 and of female Legal Occupations is 43.6, and the most common race/ethnicity for Legal Occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

733k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 20,963

874k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 22,889

54.4% of Legal Occupations are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Legal Occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Legal Occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

75.7% of Legal Occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 6.97% of Legal Occupations, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Legal Occupations.

Age by Sex

47.2

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.405

43.6

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.331

The median age of Legal Occupations is 45.2, and Male employees are generally 3.53 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Legal Occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Legal Occupations is Social Sciences but a relatively high number of Legal Occupations hold a major in Legal.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Legal Occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Legal Occupations need many skills, but most especially Active Listening and Critical Thinking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Legal Occupations need more than the average amount of Negotiation, Active Listening, and Critical Thinking.