Find a Job You Really Want In
Attorneys are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as attorneys in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since attorneys are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where attorneys have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for attorneys.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s attorneys:
So there you have it — Lawyers is the best of the best when it comes to being an attorney.
How did Lawyers end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for attorneys and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 10 Best Cities For Attorneys
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Kansas City
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In St. Louis
How we determined the best states to be an attorney
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for attorneys in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well attorneys get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for attorneys in California is $119,500 and the average salary in Illinois is $, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for attorneys in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for attorneys.
1. Missouri
Total Jobs: 10,340
Average Annual Salary: $113,780
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,780
Average Experienced Salary: $194,120
Location Quotient: 0.83
2. Michigan
Total Jobs: 14,550
Average Annual Salary: $110,180
Average Entry Level Salary: $53,710
Average Experienced Salary: $183,410
Location Quotient: 0.76
3. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 11,270
Average Annual Salary: $119,330
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,730
Average Experienced Salary: $204,050
Location Quotient: 0.89
4. Indiana
Total Jobs: 7,980
Average Annual Salary: $113,360
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,140
Average Experienced Salary: $204,210
Location Quotient: 0.59
5. Utah
Total Jobs: 4,970
Average Annual Salary: $112,380
Average Entry Level Salary: $52,700
Average Experienced Salary: $189,680
Location Quotient: 0.77
6. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 790
Average Annual Salary: $105,600
Average Entry Level Salary: $55,500
Average Experienced Salary: $194,570
Location Quotient: 0.66
7. Alabama
Total Jobs: 5,540
Average Annual Salary: $117,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $49,310
Average Experienced Salary: $204,340
Location Quotient: 0.64
8. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 2,910
Average Annual Salary: $108,170
Average Entry Level Salary: $54,490
Average Experienced Salary: $178,290
Location Quotient: 0.67
9. New Mexico
Total Jobs: 2,970
Average Annual Salary: $105,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $56,140
Average Experienced Salary: $180,300
Location Quotient: 0.83
10. Iowa
Total Jobs: 3,170
Average Annual Salary: $112,630
Average Entry Level Salary: $49,670
Average Experienced Salary: $200,970
Location Quotient: 0.46
There You Have It – The Best States To Be An Attorney
If you’re looking to start out your career as an attorney these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be an attorney in America:
For more reading, check out:
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Missouri
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Missouri
- These Are The 10 Cities With The Highest Attorney Salaries
Detailed List Of The Best States For attorneys
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | $113,780 |
| 2 | Michigan | $110,180 |
| 3 | Minnesota | $119,330 |
| 4 | Indiana | $113,360 |
| 5 | Utah | $112,380 |
| 6 | Wyoming | $105,600 |
| 7 | Alabama | $117,100 |
| 8 | Nebraska | $108,170 |
| 9 | New Mexico | $105,910 |
| 10 | Iowa | $112,630 |
| 11 | Louisiana | $105,490 |
| 12 | Kansas | $109,020 |
| 13 | West Virginia | $98,630 |
| 14 | Kentucky | $100,100 |
| 15 | Rhode Island | $125,330 |
| 16 | Idaho | $99,360 |
| 17 | North Dakota | $107,290 |
| 18 | Arkansas | $98,780 |
| 19 | Mississippi | $97,990 |
| 20 | South Carolina | $105,320 |
| 21 | Alaska | $121,680 |
| 22 | Montana | $88,600 |
| 23 | South Dakota | $109,070 |
| 24 | Oregon | $119,500 |
| 25 | Vermont | $107,490 |
| 26 | Maine | $107,120 |
| 27 | Hawaii | $111,290 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
