Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of associate attorney salary by state for the United States:
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California has the highest associate attorney salary of $117,440
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Indiana has the lowest associate attorney salary of $58,191
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The national average salary for associate attorneys is $110,053
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The national hourly pay for associate attorneys is $52.91
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do associate attorneys get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for associate attorney by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for associate attorneys after this adjustment? That would be California.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for associate attorney salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Associate Attorneys By State
| Rank | State | Average Associate Attorney Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $117,440 | $75,000 | $181,000 |
| 2 | New York | $115,404 | $72,000 | $184,000 |
| 3 | New Mexico | $107,630 | $67,000 | $172,000 |
| 4 | Mississippi | $103,015 | $62,000 | $168,000 |
| 5 | Connecticut | $100,908 | $62,000 | $163,000 |
| 6 | Massachusetts | $97,966 | $60,000 | $158,000 |
| 7 | Vermont | $96,351 | $58,000 | $158,000 |
| 8 | North Dakota | $95,996 | $61,000 | $150,000 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $94,920 | $58,000 | $154,000 |
| 10 | Colorado | $94,668 | $58,000 | $152,000 |
| 11 | Rhode Island | $93,378 | $57,000 | $151,000 |
| 12 | Oregon | $92,457 | $58,000 | $145,000 |
| 13 | Maine | $92,306 | $56,000 | $150,000 |
| 14 | Utah | $91,468 | $57,000 | $146,000 |
| 15 | Virginia | $88,241 | $54,000 | $143,000 |
| 16 | Nevada | $87,849 | $55,000 | $138,000 |
| 17 | Texas | $87,640 | $53,000 | $142,000 |
| 18 | New Jersey | $84,394 | $52,000 | $136,000 |
| 19 | Louisiana | $83,472 | $50,000 | $137,000 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | $82,271 | $50,000 | $133,000 |
| 21 | Alaska | $81,828 | $54,000 | $122,000 |
| 22 | Washington | $81,278 | $51,000 | $128,000 |
| 23 | Florida | $81,250 | $49,000 | $132,000 |
| 24 | Delaware | $80,936 | $49,000 | $131,000 |
| 25 | Illinois | $80,606 | $49,000 | $130,000 |
| 26 | Arizona | $80,268 | $50,000 | $126,000 |
| 27 | Georgia | $79,718 | $48,000 | $131,000 |
| 28 | Kentucky | $78,059 | $47,000 | $128,000 |
| 29 | Montana | $77,944 | $49,000 | $123,000 |
| 30 | Minnesota | $76,877 | $48,000 | $122,000 |
| 31 | West Virginia | $75,652 | $46,000 | $123,000 |
| 32 | Maryland | $73,778 | $45,000 | $119,000 |
| 33 | Oklahoma | $73,186 | $44,000 | $120,000 |
| 34 | North Carolina | $72,239 | $44,000 | $118,000 |
| 35 | Alabama | $71,761 | $43,000 | $118,000 |
| 36 | Hawaii | $71,362 | $51,000 | $98,000 |
| 37 | Idaho | $71,117 | $44,000 | $113,000 |
| 38 | South Dakota | $70,529 | $44,000 | $112,000 |
| 39 | Michigan | $69,711 | $43,000 | $112,000 |
| 40 | Wisconsin | $68,832 | $42,000 | $110,000 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $68,827 | $42,000 | $110,000 |
| 42 | Tennessee | $68,748 | $41,000 | $113,000 |
| 43 | Kansas | $65,109 | $39,000 | $106,000 |
| 44 | Iowa | $65,033 | $40,000 | $105,000 |
| 45 | Ohio | $64,971 | $39,000 | $105,000 |
| 46 | Wyoming | $62,203 | $38,000 | $100,000 |
| 47 | Missouri | $61,185 | $37,000 | $99,000 |
| 48 | Arkansas | $60,085 | $36,000 | $98,000 |
| 49 | South Carolina | $59,961 | $36,000 | $98,000 |
| 50 | Indiana | $58,191 | $35,000 | $94,000 |
Methodology: Associate Attorney Salary By State
To better understand associate attorney pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for associate attorneys by state.
We took the average annual salary data for associate attorneys from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for associate attorneys.
Associate Attorney Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for associate attorneys?
The highest-paid state for associate attorneys is California with an average salary of $117,440 per year.
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What city pays associate attorneys the most?
San Francisco, CA pays associate attorneys the most with an average salary of $121,561 per year.
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What is the worst state for associate attorneys?
The worst state for associate attorneys is Indiana with an average salary of $58,191 per year.
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.
