General magistrate vs circuit judge

The differences between general magistrates 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 general magistrate and a circuit judge. Additionally, a general magistrate has an average salary of $69,134, which is higher than the $58,451 average annual salary of a circuit judge.

The top three skills for a general magistrate include legal research, and . The most important skills for a circuit judge are appeals, legal research, and court orders.

General magistrate vs circuit judge overview

	General Magistrate	Circuit Judge
Yearly salary	$69,134	$58,451
Hourly rate	$33.24	$28.10
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	41,785	588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

General magistrate vs circuit judge salary

General magistrates and circuit judges have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Magistrate	Circuit Judge
Average salary	$69,134	$58,451
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $113,000	Between $38,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between general magistrate and circuit judge education

There are a few differences between a general magistrate and a circuit judge in terms of educational background:

	General Magistrate	Circuit Judge
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 50%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Stanford University

General magistrate vs circuit judge demographics

Here are the differences between general magistrates' and circuit judges' demographics:

	General Magistrate	Circuit Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5%	Male, 58.8% Female, 41.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.1% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 6.2% Asian, 5.0% White, 80.2% 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 general magistrate and circuit judge duties and responsibilities

General magistrate example responsibilities.

Handle all aspects of arbitration proceeding from fact gathering to witness testimony to, determination and authoring/rendering decision.
Handle all aspects of arbitration proceeding from fact gathering to witness testimony to, determination and authoring/rendering decision.

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.

General magistrate vs circuit judge skills

Common general magistrate skills

Legal Research, 100%

Common circuit judge skills

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

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General Magistrate
General Magistrate vs Circuit Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

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