Associate Attorney Salary

Updated April 6, 2023

Associate Attorney Salary Estimate

$110,053

$52.91 hourly

Entry level Salary

$70,000 yearly

$70,00010%

$110,053Median

$170,00090%

How much does an Associate Attorney make?

The average salary for an associate attorney in the United States is $110,053. Associate attorney salaries typically range between $70,000 and $170,000 a year. The average hourly rate for associate attorneys is $52.91 per hour.

Location, education, and experience impacts how much an associate attorney can expect to make. Associate attorneys make the most in California, New York, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Connecticut.

Research Summary.

The average salary for an associate attorney is $110,053 in the US.
The average associate attorney salary ranges between $70,000 and $170,000 in the US.
Hourly rates for associate attorneys in the US typically range between $33 and $81 an hour.
The average associate attorney salary is $117,440 in California, $115,404 in New York, and $107,630 in New Mexico. These are the three highest-paying states for associate attorneys in the US.
Schiff Hardin has the highest average salary for associate attorneys.
Professional is the highest-paying industry for associate attorneys in the US.

Highest Paying States For Associate Attorneys

While an associate attorney can average a salary of $110,053 per year, or $52.91 per hour, there are many opportunities for associate attorneys to make more. For example, in San Francisco, CA you might make $121,561 per year. Other high-paying locations include Washington, DC, New York, NY and Boston, MA. If you're in an entry-level position, your best bet is to move to San Francisco, CA where the average starting salary is $77,000. The highest paying states for associate attorneys include California, New York and New Mexico. Meanwhile, Ohio, Wyoming, and Missouri offer the lowest salaries.

State View
County View

Average Salary:

Associate Attorney average salary by State

Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	New York	$115,404	$55.48	286
2	California	$117,440	$56.46	503
3	District of Columbia	$117,991	$56.73	193
4	New Mexico	$107,630	$51.75	13
5	Massachusetts	$97,966	$47.10	99
6	Colorado	$94,668	$45.51	57
7	North Dakota	$95,996	$46.15	6
8	Rhode Island	$93,378	$44.89	9
9	Connecticut	$100,908	$48.51	18
10	Texas	$87,640	$42.13	301
11	Mississippi	$103,015	$49.53	4
12	Maine	$92,306	$44.38	8
13	Virginia	$88,241	$42.42	93
14	New Hampshire	$94,920	$45.63	6
15	Vermont	$96,351	$46.32	1
16	Florida	$81,250	$39.06	294
17	Oregon	$92,457	$44.45	22
18	Utah	$91,468	$43.98	11
19	Louisiana	$83,472	$40.13	23
20	Nevada	$87,849	$42.24	11
21	Georgia	$79,718	$38.33	125
22	Montana	$77,944	$37.47	18
23	New Jersey	$84,394	$40.57	73
24	Pennsylvania	$82,271	$39.55	73
25	Arizona	$80,268	$38.59	48
26	Illinois	$80,606	$38.75	107
27	Washington	$81,278	$39.08	67
28	Delaware	$80,936	$38.91	9
29	Minnesota	$76,877	$36.96	68
30	Alaska	$81,828	$39.34	4
31	Kentucky	$78,059	$37.53	14
32	Idaho	$71,117	$34.19	17
33	Michigan	$69,711	$33.51	72
34	West Virginia	$75,652	$36.37	2
35	North Carolina	$72,239	$34.73	66
36	Maryland	$73,778	$35.47	44
37	Wyoming	$62,203	$29.91	25
38	Nebraska	$68,827	$33.09	20
39	Oklahoma	$73,186	$35.19	11
40	Wisconsin	$68,832	$33.09	38
41	Tennessee	$68,748	$33.05	31
42	Alabama	$71,761	$34.50	10
43	South Dakota	$70,529	$33.91	1
44	Hawaii	$71,362	$34.31	3
45	Missouri	$61,185	$29.42	48
46	Ohio	$64,971	$31.24	50
47	Kansas	$65,109	$31.30	12
48	South Carolina	$59,961	$28.83	29
49	Iowa	$65,033	$31.27	12
50	Indiana	$58,191	$27.98	44
51	Arkansas	$60,085	$28.89	14

Highest Paying Cities For Associate Attorneys

Rank	City	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Count
1	San Francisco, CA	$121,561	$58.44	16
2	Washington, DC	$118,592	$57.02	6
3	New York, NY	$116,048	$55.79	41
4	Boston, MA	$98,089	$47.16	13
5	Denver, CO	$94,154	$45.27	10
6	Portland, OR	$91,445	$43.96	5
7	Reston, VA	$89,856	$43.20
8	Las Vegas, NV	$87,791	$42.21	12
9	Dallas, TX	$87,679	$42.15	14
10	Fort Lee, NJ	$84,546	$40.65
11	Philadelphia, PA	$82,995	$39.90	13
12	Tampa, FL	$82,040	$39.44	15
13	Seattle, WA	$81,860	$39.36	5
14	Chicago, IL	$81,068	$38.98	32
15	Phoenix, AZ	$80,642	$38.77	8

Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:

Associate Attorney Salary by Years of Experience

The salary for an associate attorney can vary depending on the years of experience that a person has, from entry level to senior level. An accountant with 0-2 years of experience earns an average salary of $63,869, a mid-career professional with 3-6 years of experience makes $110,053 a year on average, and a senior level accountant with 7-12 years of experience enjoys an average annual salary of $161,666. Data on how experience level affects total compensation is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as part of their National Compensation Survey, which is based on factors such as knowledge, complexity, contacts, and environment.

Associate Attorney Salary By Experience Level

Experience Level	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
Entry Level	$63,900	$30.71
Mid Level	$77,100	$37.06
Senior Level	$162,000	$77.72

Associate Attorneys Salary Details

Average Associate Attorney Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an Associate Attorney's Salary?

Percentile	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate
90th Percentile	$170,000	$14,167	$82
75th Percentile	$138,000	$11,500	$66
Average	$110,053	$9,171	$53
25th Percentile	$87,000	$7,250	$42
10th Percentile	$70,000	$5,833	$34

Highest Paying Types of Associate Attorneys

Job Title	Annual Salary	Monthly Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
Legal Consultant	$75,024	$6,252	$36.07	16,118
Litigation Paralegal	$58,484	$4,874	$28.12	5,132
Law Clerk	$55,916	$4,660	$26.88	75,014
Lawyer	$115,808	$9,651	$55.68	2,897
Housing Counselor	$78,730	$6,561	$37.85	33,639
Attorney At Law	$108,018	$9,002	$51.93	7,025

Here are the five companies hiring the most now:

Which Companies Pay Associate Attorneys The Most?

According to our most recent salary estimates, Schiff Hardin and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough are the highest paying companies for associate attorneys.

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Schiff Hardin	$213,499	$102.64
2	Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough	$206,375	$99.22	12
3	Irell & Manella	$205,922	$99.00
4	Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton	$205,728	$98.91
5	Cozen O'Connor	$204,881	$98.50
6	Reed Smith	$203,681	$97.92
7	Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner	$202,483	$97.35
8	Vinson & Elkins	$202,225	$97.22
9	Nixon Peabody	$200,784	$96.53
10	Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld	$200,553	$96.42
11	Hughes Hubbard & Reed	$200,547	$96.42
12	O'Melveny	$200,480	$96.38
13	Alston & Bird	$198,913	$95.63
14	McGuireWoods	$193,885	$93.21
15	Perkins Coie	$193,201	$92.89	23
16	Cahill Gordon & Reindel	$192,613	$92.60
17	Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman	$192,239	$92.42	2
18	Day Pitney	$189,554	$91.13
19	Boies Schiller Flexner	$187,771	$90.27
20	Manatt, Phelps & Phillips	$186,182	$89.51

Associate Attorney Pay Trends

Average Associate Attorney Salary Over Time

Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

Associate Attorney Salary By Year

Year	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate	% Change
2023	$110,000	$52.91	+3.1%
2022	$107,000	$51.26	+1.7%
2021	$105,000	$50.40	+1.4%
2020	$103,000	$49.71	+0.9%
2019	$102,000	$49.25	+2.0%

Recently Added Associate Attorney Salaries

Company	Job	Location	Date Added	Salary
Confidential	Associate Attorney	Houston, TX	05/02/2023	$100,000
South Atlanta Family Law	Associate Attorney	McDonough, GA	05/02/2023	$70,000
Zwicker & Associates	Associate Attorney	Andover, MA	05/01/2023	$75,000
Hooks Meng & Clement	Associate Attorney	Las Vegas, NV	05/01/2023	$100,000
Applebaum & Stone PLC	Associate Attorney	Southfield, MI	05/01/2023	$75,000
Martin and Bonnett	Associate Attorney	Phoenix, AZ	05/01/2023	$90,000
Law Firm	Associate Attorney	Las Vegas, NV	04/30/2023	$150,000
Ehsan Law, PLLC	Associate Attorney	Federal Way, WA	04/30/2023	$80,000
CDF Labor Law LLP	Associate Attorney	Sacramento, CA	04/30/2023	$150,000
Russo Frye & Associates LLP	Associate Attorney	Boston, MA	04/29/2023	$75,000

Associate Attorney Salaries FAQs

What State Pays Associate Attorneys The Most?

California pays Associate Attorneys the most in the United States, with an average salary of $117,991 per year, or $56.73 per hour.

How Do I Know If I'm Being Paid Fairly As An Associate Attorney?

You know if you are being paid fairly as an Associate Attorney if your pay is close to the average pay for the state you live in. For example, if you live in California you should be paid close to $117,440 per year.

What Is A Good Starting Salary For An Associate Attorney?

A good starting salary for an associate attorney is $58,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for an associate attorney in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for associate attorneys is $99,101, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for an associate attorney can vary by state.

Have more questions? See all answers to common legal questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023