What is an Assistant District Attorney?

An assistant district attorney is a government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal cases. He/she works directly under the district attorney and assists him/her in managing all departmental operations. An assistant district attorney represents the government on behalf of the district attorney and assists the DA in researching, examining, and prosecuting individuals accused of committing crimes within a county.

An assistant district attorney works very closely with law enforcement officers and crime victims to prepare for cases. They have the power to prosecute any level of cases ranging from minor offenses to serious cases. Another essential duty of an assistant district attorney is policy formulation and implementation within the department.

Assistant district attorneys have a flexible work schedule. They may work long hours, especially when they are preparing for trials or when handling emergencies.

What Does an Assistant District Attorney Do

There are certain skills that many assistant district attorneys have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed analytical skills, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what an Assistant District Attorney does

How To Become an Assistant District Attorney

If you're interested in becoming an assistant district attorney, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 39.3% of assistant district attorneys have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 3.7% of assistant district attorneys have master's degrees. Even though most assistant district attorneys have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become an Assistant District Attorney

Top Assistant District Attorney Jobs Near You

Assistant District Attorney Career Paths

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of senior counselor you might progress to a role such as deputy chief counsel eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title deputy chief counsel.

Assistant District Attorney

Legal Department Manager

Top Careers Before Assistant District Attorney

Legal Extern (10,986 Jobs)

20.3 %

Law Clerk (75,014 Jobs)

17.3 %

Internship (51,064 Jobs)

14.3 %

Top Careers After Assistant District Attorney

Attorney (10,991 Jobs)

22.4 %

Associate (569,041 Jobs)

11.6 %

Associate Attorney (9,183 Jobs)

10.2 %

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for an Assistant District Attorney

Assistant District Attorneys in America make an average salary of $73,970 per year or $36 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $108,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $50,000 per year.

Average Assistant District Attorney Salary

$73,970 Yearly

$35.56 hourly

$50,00010%

$73,000Median

$108,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Assistant District Attorney

There are several types of assistant district attorney, including:

Legal Extern

Role:

Let's rip the Band-Aid off, shall we? As a legal extern, you're probably not going to get paid. But what you take away from these opportunities may prove more useful in the longterm. What you'll take away from a legal externship will be experience and academic credit. Which really is priceless, if you ask us.

You'll have experience right off the bat within a legal setting. This definitely will give you an edge against your other colleagues. A legal extern is very similar to an internship, but is usually much shorter. So while you're getting the experience, you don't have to commit to it for as long.

Since being a legal extern won't last very long, it's a good way to see if you even want to work in the legal industry. It'll give you a glimpse into everything you will be doing, like conducting client interviews, making a court appearance, and even some legal research and writing. Just think of it as a very in-depth glimpse into "a day in the life" of a legal profession.

Average Salary: $47,238
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Attorney

Role:

An attorney's job is to be there for people who are down on their luck, legally, of course. They provide legal advice to individuals, businesses and even government agencies (yes, the government can get into trouble too).

While a degree in law may not sound too bad, this profession also requires that you pass the bar exam. Which, if you haven't heard of before, it's pretty difficult to pass. If you're willing to put in the study hours, though, the average attorney makes $122,960 a year. So that's definitely a plus.

Average Salary: $109,476
Degree: Doctoral Degree

Contract Attorney

Role:

Whether you're a recent law graduate or a seasoned professional with years of experience, becoming a contract attorney might be the best way to generate money using your legal skills. Working as a contract attorney may help secure your dream position, or it may help you make a steady income while you search for that dream job. Not only will you learn valuable skills, but you can also build a valuable network of professional contacts.

In general, a contract attorney works on legal cases on an as-needed or temporary basis. Contracts can be for a few days, a few weeks, or even a few years. Generally, a contract lawyer's core responsibility is drawing up and reviewing legal contracts and documents. They may also perform contract research, prepare case strategies, offer legal advisory services to clients, and support the litigation team.

This position requires a bachelor's degree, a Juris Doctor (J.D.), a law degree, and a Bar certification. Contract lawyers must possess excellent research and multitasking skills, be detail-oriented, and have an ability to adapt to new situations regularly. They may work for an agency, serve as a part of an in-house legal department, or work for a law firm.

Average Salary: $97,474
Degree: Doctoral Degree

States With The Most Assistant District Attorney Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active assistant district attorney jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where assistant district attorneys earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Assistant District Attorney Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	861	$116,036
2	Florida	590	$56,940
3	Texas	547	$73,560
4	New York	388	$70,552
5	Georgia	304	$74,517
6	Massachusetts	268	$72,518
7	Illinois	259	$69,064
8	Virginia	239	$77,240
9	Minnesota	213	$65,408
10	North Carolina	213	$58,156
11	Pennsylvania	207	$61,122
12	Ohio	193	$60,900
13	New Jersey	177	$83,490
14	Michigan	164	$69,761
15	Arizona	143	$74,993
16	Missouri	134	$57,102
17	Tennessee	133	$59,136
18	Indiana	126	$58,919
19	Maryland	122	$68,337
20	Wisconsin	118	$56,606
21	Washington	112	$84,862
22	Colorado	104	$81,955
23	South Carolina	104	$58,552
24	Alabama	99	$61,872
25	Louisiana	98	$61,195
26	Connecticut	88	$74,092
27	Mississippi	76	$53,880
28	Oregon	71	$74,029
29	Oklahoma	70	$52,309
30	Kentucky	62	$54,372
31	Iowa	55	$57,526
32	Nevada	45	$82,381
33	Utah	44	$68,951
34	Kansas	44	$56,633
35	Arkansas	42	$43,553
36	Nebraska	39	$58,621
37	Montana	29	$53,294
38	New Hampshire	28	$54,782
39	Wyoming	27	$58,145
40	South Dakota	25	$53,832
41	New Mexico	25	$57,608
42	Rhode Island	24	$62,767
43	North Dakota	22	$56,705
44	Idaho	21	$59,357
45	Maine	20	$36,550
46	Delaware	18	$66,667
47	West Virginia	17	$62,753
48	Hawaii	17	$67,562
49	Alaska	9	$74,035
50	Vermont	7	$61,844

Assistant District Attorney Education

Assistant District Attorney Majors

Law

54.6 %

Political Science

11.2 %

Criminal Justice

5.5 %

Assistant District Attorney Degrees

Admissions

Most Popular Majors

Business

Law

Accounting

Political Science

Economics

Top Skills For an Assistant District Attorney

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 7.1% of assistant district attorneys listed felony cases on their resume, but soft skills such as analytical skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.

Felony Cases, 7.1%

Criminal Justice, 6.6%

Criminal Cases, 6.1%

Litigation, 6.0%

Crime Scenes, 5.6%

Other Skills, 68.6%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Assistant District Attorney Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Assistant District Attorney templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Assistant District Attorney resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Assistant District Attorney Demographics

Assistant District Attorney Gender Distribution

Male

55%

Female

45%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among assistant district attorneys, 44.8% of them are women, while 55.2% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among assistant district attorneys is White, which makes up 76.0% of all assistant district attorneys.

The most common foreign language among assistant district attorneys is Spanish at 52.2%.

Online Courses For Assistant District Attorney That You May Like

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Job type you want

Full Time

Part Time

Internship

Temporary

Best States For an Assistant District Attorney

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an assistant district attorney. The best states for people in this position are California, Washington, New Jersey, and Nevada. Assistant district attorneys make the most in California with an average salary of $116,036. Whereas in Washington and New Jersey, they would average $84,862 and $83,490, respectively. While assistant district attorneys would only make an average of $82,381 in Nevada, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. California

Total Assistant District Attorney Jobs: 861

Highest 10% Earn:

$183,000

Location Quotient:

1.2

$116,036

Avg. Salary

View 861 Assistant District Attorney Jobs In CA

2. District of Columbia

Total Assistant District Attorney Jobs: 167

Highest 10% Earn:

$139,000

Location Quotient:

4.05

$87,440

Avg. Salary

View 167 Assistant District Attorney Jobs In DC

3. Georgia

Total Assistant District Attorney Jobs: 304

Highest 10% Earn:

$118,000

Location Quotient:

1.2

$74,517

Avg. Salary

View 304 Assistant District Attorney Jobs In GA

Full List Of Best States For Assistant District Attorneys

How Do Assistant District Attorney Rate Their Jobs?

Top Assistant District Attorney Employers

Most Common Employers For Assistant District Attorney

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	New York & Company	$100,428	$48.28	6
2	Brooklyn Law School	$91,822	$44.15	5
3	Delaware County	$86,835	$41.75	5
4	Chester County Government	$82,360	$39.60	9
5	King County	$79,881	$38.40	17
6	Travis County	$75,982	$36.53	6
7	Nueces County	$75,678	$36.38	8
8	Hidalgo County	$75,610	$36.35	6
9	Allegheny County	$75,408	$36.25	22
10	Suffolk AME	$74,828	$35.98	77

Updated February 6, 2023

What is an Assistant District Attorney?

What Does an Assistant District Attorney Do

How To Become an Assistant District Attorney

Assistant District Attorney Career Paths

Top Careers Before Assistant District Attorney

Top Careers After Assistant District Attorney

Recent Job Searches

Average Salary for an Assistant District Attorney

Roles and Types of Assistant District Attorney

Legal Extern

Attorney

Contract Attorney

States With The Most Assistant District Attorney Jobs

Number Of Assistant District Attorney Jobs By State

Assistant District Attorney Education

Assistant District Attorney Majors

Assistant District Attorney Degrees

Top Colleges for Assistant District Attorneys

1. Stanford University

2. Harvard University

3. Duke University

4. University of Pennsylvania

5. Yale University

6. Cornell University

7. Georgetown University

8. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

9. Northwestern University

10. University of Notre Dame

Top Skills For an Assistant District Attorney

Choose From 10+ Customizable Assistant District Attorney Resume templates

Assistant District Attorney Demographics

Assistant District Attorney Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Assistant District Attorney That You May Like

Best States For an Assistant District Attorney

How Do Assistant District Attorney Rate Their Jobs?

Top Assistant District Attorney Employers

Most Common Employers For Assistant District Attorney

Assistant District Attorney Related Careers

Assistant District Attorney Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs