District court judge vs circuit judge

The differences between district court judges and circuit judges can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a district court judge and a circuit judge. Additionally, a circuit judge has an average salary of $58,451, which is higher than the $58,184 average annual salary of a district court judge.

The top three skills for a district court judge include district court, bench trials and oral arguments. The most important skills for a circuit judge are appeals, legal research, and court orders.

District court judge vs circuit judge overview

	District Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Yearly salary	$58,184	$58,451
Hourly rate	$27.97	$28.10
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	8,410	588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

District court judge vs circuit judge salary

District court judges and circuit judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	District Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Average salary	$58,184	$58,451
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $87,000	Between $38,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between district court judge and circuit judge education

There are a few differences between a district court judge and a circuit judge in terms of educational background:

	District Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

District court judge vs circuit judge demographics

Here are the differences between district court judges' and circuit judges' demographics:

	District Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 55.2% Female, 44.8%	Male, 58.8% Female, 41.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.6% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 5.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 75.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between district court judge and circuit judge duties and responsibilities

District court judge example responsibilities.

Manage, and update all scheduling of events, meetings, and appointments for mediation and arbitration for family law cases.
Perform extensive research and prepare legal memoranda on domestic relations and probate issues.
Train in Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

Circuit judge example responsibilities.

Manage, and update all scheduling of events, meetings, and appointments for mediation and arbitration for family law cases.
Perform extensive research and prepare legal memoranda on domestic relations and probate issues.
Perform clerical work by cross-referencing voters' names with their identification.

District court judge vs circuit judge skills

Common district court judge skills

District Court, 30%
Bench Trials, 18%
Oral Arguments, 10%
Legal Issues, 7%
Court Orders, 5%
Pre-Trial Conferences, 5%

Common circuit judge skills

Appeals, 54%
Legal Research, 24%
Court Orders, 12%
Probate, 9%

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District Court Judge vs Circuit Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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