Post job

Best states for a city attorney

  • Rank 1 - 10
  • 11 - 20
  • 21 - 30
  • 31 - 40
  • 41 - 51
Do you want to become a city attorney at Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, and you wonder what that means or entails? We have the full list of best states for city attorneys that you can check out, before you begin your journey. We wanted to look at the best states for city attorneys -- where there are plenty of city attorney jobs to go around and city attorneys get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
California is the best state for jobs for city attorneys, and Mississippi is the worst. The most common pay in California is $142,281, while the median pay in Mississippi is $65,605.California is the best state, and Monterey is the city with the highest pay for city attorneys.

10 best states for city attorneys in 2025

  1. California #1 best state for city attorneys

    1. California

    Total city attorney jobs:473
    Average annual salary:$142,281
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$94,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$213,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.27
  2. New York #2 best state for city attorneys

    2. New York

    Total city attorney jobs:244
    Average annual salary:$117,698
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$74,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$186,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.49
  3. Massachusetts #3 best state for city attorneys

    3. Massachusetts

    Total city attorney jobs:121
    Average annual salary:$116,492
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$73,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$185,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.03
  4. Nevada #4 best state for city attorneys

    4. Nevada

    Total city attorney jobs:28
    Average annual salary:$103,410
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$66,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$161,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.05
  5. District of Columbia #5 best state for city attorneys

    5. District of Columbia

    Total city attorney jobs:133
    Average annual salary:$103,171
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$64,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$165,000
    Location Quotient:
    6.23
  6. New Jersey #6 best state for city attorneys

    6. New Jersey

    Total city attorney jobs:106
    Average annual salary:$98,705
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$61,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$158,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.05
  7. Oregon #7 best state for city attorneys

    7. Oregon

    Total city attorney jobs:48
    Average annual salary:$101,570
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$65,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$157,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.91
  8. Vermont #8 best state for city attorneys

    8. Vermont

    Total city attorney jobs:11
    Average annual salary:$89,132
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$54,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$145,000
    Location Quotient:
    1.13
  9. Washington #9 best state for city attorneys

    9. Washington

    Total city attorney jobs:85
    Average annual salary:$97,451
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$62,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$151,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.91
  10. Utah #10 best state for city attorneys

    10. Utah

    Total city attorney jobs:37
    Average annual salary:$91,879
    Lowest 10 percent earn:$58,000
    Highest 10 percent earn:$144,000
    Location Quotient:
    0.91

City attorney jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a city attorney

You can read about how the best state rankings are calculated here.

Detailed list of the best states for a city attorney

RankStateAverage salaryLowest 10% earnPopulationJob count
1California$142,281$94,00039,536,653473
2New York$117,698$74,00019,849,399244
3Massachusetts$116,492$73,0006,859,819121
4Nevada$103,410$66,0002,998,03928
5District of Columbia$103,171$64,000693,972133
6New Jersey$98,705$61,0009,005,644106
7Oregon$101,570$65,0004,142,77648
8Vermont$89,132$54,000623,65711
9Washington$97,451$62,0007,405,74385
10Utah$91,879$58,0003,101,83337
11Arizona$88,995$57,0007,016,27067
12Minnesota$84,263$54,0005,576,60691
13Texas$84,370$53,00028,304,596260
14Rhode Island$83,218$51,0001,059,63917
15Florida$82,755$52,00020,984,400313
16Alaska$95,344$67,000739,7955
17Tennessee$84,890$54,0006,715,98455
18Michigan$81,386$51,0009,962,31191
19Illinois$86,897$55,00012,802,023120
20Virginia$87,681$54,0008,470,020104
21Georgia$82,541$52,00010,429,379125
22Colorado$86,991$55,0005,607,15464
23Iowa$78,685$50,0003,145,71143
24Connecticut$87,790$54,0003,588,18426
25Pennsylvania$80,012$49,00012,805,537127
26Louisiana$79,454$50,0004,684,33336
27Idaho$76,939$49,0001,716,94320
28Maryland$86,230$53,0006,052,17759
29Ohio$78,003$49,00011,658,60986
30Wyoming$72,454$46,000579,31526
31Delaware$82,165$51,000961,9399
32Nebraska$72,320$46,0001,920,07632
33Montana$72,181$46,0001,050,49323
34North Carolina$77,845$49,00010,273,41967
35Missouri$73,152$46,0006,113,53277
36New Mexico$76,376$48,0002,088,07021
37West Virginia$75,911$47,0001,815,8576
38New Hampshire$76,737$47,0001,342,79514
39North Dakota$73,725$48,000755,3938
40Indiana$72,075$45,0006,666,81874
41Wisconsin$73,324$46,0005,795,48357
42Alabama$74,936$47,0004,874,74725
43Hawaii$79,150$60,0001,427,5384
44Kansas$69,040$44,0002,913,12327
45South Carolina$64,579$41,0005,024,36949
46Arkansas$50,412$32,0003,004,27930
47Oklahoma$64,561$41,0003,930,86431
48South Dakota$68,360$44,000869,6666
49Kentucky$66,587$42,0004,454,18924
50Maine$55,419$33,0001,335,90714
51Mississippi$65,605$41,0002,984,10016

Highest paying states for city attorneys

RankStateAvg. City Attorney Salary
1California$142,281
2New York$117,698
3Massachusetts$116,492
4Nevada$103,410
5District of Columbia$103,171
6New Jersey$98,705
7Oregon$101,570
8Vermont$89,132
9Washington$97,451
10Utah$91,879
11Arizona$88,995
12Minnesota$84,263
13Texas$84,370
14Rhode Island$83,218
15Florida$82,755
16Alaska$95,344
17Tennessee$84,890
18Michigan$81,386
19Illinois$86,897
20Virginia$87,681
21Georgia$82,541
22Colorado$86,991
23Iowa$78,685
24Connecticut$87,790
25Pennsylvania$80,012
26Louisiana$79,454
27Idaho$76,939
28Maryland$86,230
29Ohio$78,003
30Wyoming$72,454
31Delaware$82,165
32Nebraska$72,320
33Montana$72,181
34North Carolina$77,845
35Missouri$73,152
36New Mexico$76,376
37West Virginia$75,911
38New Hampshire$76,737
39North Dakota$73,725
40Indiana$72,075
41Wisconsin$73,324
42Alabama$74,936
43Hawaii$79,150
44Kansas$69,040
45South Carolina$64,579
46Arkansas$50,412
47Oklahoma$64,561
48South Dakota$68,360
49Kentucky$66,587
50Maine$55,419
51Mississippi$65,605

City attorney best states FAQs

Search for city attorney jobs