Best states for a corporate attorney

Q: What is the best state for corporate attorneys?

The best state to be a corporate attorney is New York based on corporate attorney salaries and job opportunities.

Q: What is the highest paying state for corporate attorneys?

The highest paying state for corporate attorneys is Maine based on Zippia’s salary database.

Q: What is the worst state for corporate attorneys?

The worst state for corporate attorneys is Mississippi, due to a combination of low salaries and few job opportunities.

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We decided to bring you a list of the best states for jobs for corporate attorneys in the United States. Corporate attorney positions are available in every state, but not all states are the same. Some states do not offer the same wages, benefits, time off, etc for corporate attorneys.We wanted to look at the best states for corporate attorneys -- where there are plenty of corporate attorney jobs to go around and corporate attorneys get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.

To that end, we dove into our dataset of job and salary numbers to figure out which states have the best opportunities for corporate attorneys. New York is the best state for corporate attorneys, where the median salary is $140,200.If you are currently seeking employment as a corporate attorney, you can find open job positions using Zippia's search tools.

10 best states for corporate attorneys in 2026

1. New York
Total corporate attorney jobs: 770
Average annual salary: $140,200
Lowest 10 percent earn: $89,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $220,000
Location Quotient:
2.17
Corporate attorney jobs in New York
2. Massachusetts
Total corporate attorney jobs: 340
Average annual salary: $120,417
Lowest 10 percent earn: $74,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $195,000
Location Quotient:
1.34
Corporate attorney jobs in Massachusetts
3. District of Columbia
Total corporate attorney jobs: 230
Average annual salary: $127,572
Lowest 10 percent earn: $79,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $204,000
Location Quotient:
4.95
Corporate attorney jobs in District of Columbia
4. Colorado
Total corporate attorney jobs: 173
Average annual salary: $122,096
Lowest 10 percent earn: $74,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $198,000
Location Quotient:
1.05
Corporate attorney jobs in Colorado
5. California
Total corporate attorney jobs: 1,308
Average annual salary: $120,430
Lowest 10 percent earn: $73,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $197,000
Location Quotient:
1.62
Corporate attorney jobs in California
6. Nevada
Total corporate attorney jobs: 60
Average annual salary: $109,744
Lowest 10 percent earn: $66,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $182,000
Location Quotient:
1.04
Corporate attorney jobs in Nevada
7. New Jersey
Total corporate attorney jobs: 202
Average annual salary: $119,930
Lowest 10 percent earn: $74,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $194,000
Location Quotient:
0.92
Corporate attorney jobs in New Jersey
8. Virginia
Total corporate attorney jobs: 259
Average annual salary: $117,672
Lowest 10 percent earn: $72,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $191,000
Location Quotient:
0.99
Corporate attorney jobs in Virginia
9. Pennsylvania
Total corporate attorney jobs: 228
Average annual salary: $112,404
Lowest 10 percent earn: $68,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $183,000
Location Quotient:
0.71
Corporate attorney jobs in Pennsylvania
10. Illinois
Total corporate attorney jobs: 372
Average annual salary: $103,597
Lowest 10 percent earn: $62,000
Highest 10 percent earn: $170,000
Location Quotient:
1.13
Corporate attorney jobs in Illinois

Corporate attorney jobsNear Columbus, OH

How Zippia determines the best states to be a corporate attorney

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

Detailed list of the best states for a corporate attorney

Rank	State	Average salary	Lowest 10% earn	Population	Job count
1	New York	$140,200	$89,000	19,849,399	770
2	Massachusetts	$120,417	$74,000	6,859,819	340
3	District of Columbia	$127,572	$79,000	693,972	230
4	Colorado	$122,096	$74,000	5,607,154	173
5	California	$120,430	$73,000	39,536,653	1,308
6	Nevada	$109,744	$66,000	2,998,039	60
7	New Jersey	$119,930	$74,000	9,005,644	202
8	Virginia	$117,672	$72,000	8,470,020	259
9	Pennsylvania	$112,404	$68,000	12,805,537	228
10	Illinois	$103,597	$62,000	12,802,023	372
11	Oregon	$104,399	$62,000	4,142,776	110
12	Tennessee	$104,834	$62,000	6,715,984	87
13	Delaware	$102,440	$61,000	961,939	43
14	Minnesota	$103,178	$62,000	5,576,606	151
15	Utah	$100,346	$60,000	3,101,833	85
16	Michigan	$102,543	$61,000	9,962,311	144
17	Connecticut	$104,839	$63,000	3,588,184	69
18	Washington	$101,542	$61,000	7,405,743	294
19	Ohio	$100,750	$60,000	11,658,609	192
20	Vermont	$104,272	$62,000	623,657	11
21	Maryland	$108,852	$66,000	6,052,177	117
22	Texas	$96,213	$55,000	28,304,596	632
23	Georgia	$98,825	$57,000	10,429,379	249
24	Arizona	$96,776	$56,000	7,016,270	144
25	Rhode Island	$97,853	$58,000	1,059,639	20
26	West Virginia	$98,267	$59,000	1,815,857	4
27	Wisconsin	$92,356	$55,000	5,795,483	108
28	Iowa	$95,664	$57,000	3,145,711	27
29	Florida	$88,800	$50,000	20,984,400	508
30	Wyoming	$83,337	$50,000	579,315	28
31	Nebraska	$90,690	$54,000	1,920,076	35
32	Alaska	$98,483	$59,000	739,795	6
33	North Carolina	$86,432	$50,000	10,273,419	232
34	Louisiana	$91,841	$52,000	4,684,333	44
35	North Dakota	$87,895	$53,000	755,393	14
36	Idaho	$87,063	$51,000	1,716,943	30
37	Alabama	$88,916	$51,000	4,874,747	31
38	New Hampshire	$89,654	$53,000	1,342,795	25
39	Kentucky	$85,356	$50,000	4,454,189	51
40	Arkansas	$82,519	$47,000	3,004,279	44
41	Kansas	$85,288	$50,000	2,913,123	32
42	Montana	$78,324	$47,000	1,050,493	27
43	South Dakota	$83,888	$50,000	869,666	8
44	New Mexico	$85,314	$49,000	2,088,070	22
45	South Carolina	$79,296	$45,000	5,024,369	64
46	Missouri	$71,970	$42,000	6,113,532	101
47	Hawaii	$77,580	$50,000	1,427,538	11
48	Indiana	$68,701	$41,000	6,666,818	103
49	Oklahoma	$76,964	$44,000	3,930,864	33
50	Maine	$64,370	$38,000	1,335,907	21
51	Mississippi	$77,430	$43,000	2,984,100	11

Highest paying states for corporate attorneys

Rank	State	Avg. Corporate Attorney Salary
1	New York	$140,200
2	Massachusetts	$120,417
3	District of Columbia	$127,572
4	Colorado	$122,096
5	California	$120,430
6	Nevada	$109,744
7	New Jersey	$119,930
8	Virginia	$117,672
9	Pennsylvania	$112,404
10	Illinois	$103,597
11	Oregon	$104,399
12	Tennessee	$104,834
13	Delaware	$102,440
14	Minnesota	$103,178
15	Utah	$100,346
16	Michigan	$102,543
17	Connecticut	$104,839
18	Washington	$101,542
19	Ohio	$100,750
20	Vermont	$104,272
21	Maryland	$108,852
22	Texas	$96,213
23	Georgia	$98,825
24	Arizona	$96,776
25	Rhode Island	$97,853
26	West Virginia	$98,267
27	Wisconsin	$92,356
28	Iowa	$95,664
29	Florida	$88,800
30	Wyoming	$83,337
31	Nebraska	$90,690
32	Alaska	$98,483
33	North Carolina	$86,432
34	Louisiana	$91,841
35	North Dakota	$87,895
36	Idaho	$87,063
37	Alabama	$88,916
38	New Hampshire	$89,654
39	Kentucky	$85,356
40	Arkansas	$82,519
41	Kansas	$85,288
42	Montana	$78,324
43	South Dakota	$83,888
44	New Mexico	$85,314
45	South Carolina	$79,296
46	Missouri	$71,970
47	Hawaii	$77,580
48	Indiana	$68,701
49	Oklahoma	$76,964
50	Maine	$64,370
51	Mississippi	$77,430

Corporate attorney best states FAQs

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What is the worst state for corporate attorneys?

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Best states for Corporate Attorneys

Updated January 8, 2025

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Total corporate attorney jobs:	770
Average annual salary:	$140,200
Lowest 10 percent earn:	$89,000
Highest 10 percent earn:	$220,000
Location Quotient:	2.17

Best states for a corporate attorney

10 best states for corporate attorneys in 2026

1. New York

2. Massachusetts

3. District of Columbia

4. Colorado

5. California

6. Nevada

7. New Jersey

8. Virginia

9. Pennsylvania

10. Illinois