Legal externs make $55,979 per year on average, or $26.91 per hour, in the United States. Legal externs on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $26,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $116,000.
Location impacts how much a legal extern can expect to make. Legal externs make the most in California, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland.
The darker areas on the map show where legal externs earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Rank | State | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Count |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | District of Columbia | $99,655 | $47.91 | 238 |
2 | New York | $77,861 | $37.43 | 357 |
3 | West Virginia | $69,413 | $33.37 | 61 |
4 | California | $80,560 | $38.73 | 771 |
5 | Illinois | $71,321 | $34.29 | 219 |
6 | Texas | $71,958 | $34.60 | 389 |
7 | Pennsylvania | $73,518 | $35.35 | 146 |
8 | New Jersey | $69,716 | $33.52 | 157 |
9 | Maryland | $73,199 | $35.19 | 111 |
10 | New Hampshire | $67,925 | $32.66 | 32 |
11 | Connecticut | $75,603 | $36.35 | 37 |
12 | Virginia | $65,589 | $31.53 | 173 |
13 | Mississippi | $55,675 | $26.77 | 58 |
14 | North Dakota | $55,765 | $26.81 | 26 |
15 | Georgia | $57,631 | $27.71 | 228 |
16 | Vermont | $62,358 | $29.98 | 12 |
17 | Nevada | $63,883 | $30.71 | 23 |
18 | Washington | $59,405 | $28.56 | 145 |
19 | Arizona | $56,993 | $27.40 | 106 |
20 | Maine | $62,710 | $30.15 | 13 |
21 | Oregon | $61,506 | $29.57 | 48 |
22 | Delaware | $61,081 | $29.37 | 15 |
23 | Nebraska | $56,258 | $27.05 | 33 |
24 | Michigan | $53,463 | $25.70 | 166 |
25 | Massachusetts | $55,815 | $26.83 | 203 |
26 | Colorado | $53,333 | $25.64 | 137 |
27 | Rhode Island | $55,583 | $26.72 | 14 |
28 | North Carolina | $51,679 | $24.85 | 148 |
29 | Arkansas | $49,977 | $24.03 | 40 |
30 | Utah | $54,583 | $26.24 | 28 |
31 | Minnesota | $51,082 | $24.56 | 117 |
32 | Tennessee | $45,474 | $21.86 | 114 |
33 | Hawaii | $56,996 | $27.40 | 13 |
34 | Ohio | $52,092 | $25.04 | 98 |
35 | New Mexico | $52,994 | $25.48 | 18 |
36 | Wyoming | $43,208 | $20.77 | 35 |
37 | Florida | $43,244 | $20.79 | 662 |
38 | Kentucky | $45,814 | $22.03 | 72 |
39 | Alaska | $42,867 | $20.61 | 18 |
40 | Missouri | $44,457 | $21.37 | 100 |
41 | Oklahoma | $48,663 | $23.40 | 24 |
42 | Montana | $38,379 | $18.45 | 31 |
43 | Wisconsin | $45,405 | $21.83 | 62 |
44 | Kansas | $46,605 | $22.41 | 27 |
45 | South Dakota | $46,069 | $22.15 | 10 |
46 | South Carolina | $42,580 | $20.47 | 75 |
47 | Louisiana | $42,475 | $20.42 | 41 |
48 | Iowa | $43,661 | $20.99 | 40 |
49 | Alabama | $42,025 | $20.20 | 32 |
50 | Indiana | $38,805 | $18.66 | 72 |
51 | Idaho | $33,118 | $15.92 | 18 |
Rank | City | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Washington, DC | $101,496 | $48.80 |
2 | San Francisco, CA | $86,580 | $41.63 |
3 | New York, NY | $78,895 | $37.93 |
4 | Hartford, CT | $74,723 | $35.92 |
5 | San Antonio, TX | $74,562 | $35.85 |
6 | Philadelphia, PA | $74,303 | $35.72 |
7 | Baltimore, MD | $73,566 | $35.37 |
8 | Chicago, IL | $71,920 | $34.58 |
9 | Cherry Hill, NJ | $69,840 | $33.58 |
10 | McLean, VA | $69,475 | $33.40 |
11 | Seattle, WA | $60,055 | $28.87 |
12 | Atlanta, GA | $57,688 | $27.73 |
13 | Tucson, AZ | $57,298 | $27.55 |
14 | Marlborough, MA | $55,358 | $26.61 |
15 | Denver, CO | $53,260 | $25.61 |
Here Are The Five Most In Demand Cities Right Now:
Percentile | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|---|
90th Percentile | $116,000 | $9,667 | $56 |
75th Percentile | $82,000 | $6,833 | $39 |
Average | $55,979 | $4,665 | $27 |
25th Percentile | $38,000 | $3,167 | $18 |
10th Percentile | $26,000 | $2,167 | $13 |
Job Title | Annual Salary | Monthly Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
Housing Counselor | $97,941 | $8,162 | $47.09 | 33,639 |
Attorney At Law | $122,285 | $10,190 | $58.79 | 7,025 |
District Attorney | $57,138 | $4,761 | $27.47 | 13,378 |
Attorney | $86,966 | $7,247 | $41.81 | 10,991 |
Contract Attorney | $88,179 | $7,348 | $42.39 | 13,592 |
General Counsel | $122,795 | $10,233 | $59.04 | 50,275 |
Here are the five companies hiring the most now:
Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jones Day | $200,562 | $96.42 | |
2 | eBay | $144,063 | $69.26 | 2 |
3 | Medline | $141,702 | $68.13 | |
4 | AbbVie | $134,170 | $64.50 | |
5 | Qorvo | $103,424 | $49.72 | 2 |
6 | Formlabs | $102,537 | $49.30 | 1 |
7 | Fortinet | $97,174 | $46.72 | 1 |
8 | Novelis | $94,208 | $45.29 | 3 |
9 | Red Hat | $89,449 | $43.00 | 4 |
10 | Bloom Energy | $84,711 | $40.73 | |
11 | Advance Auto Parts | $76,202 | $36.64 | 8 |
12 | Revlon | $75,225 | $36.17 | |
13 | Oracle | $75,021 | $36.07 | 47 |
14 | Ball | $74,783 | $35.95 | |
15 | Algolia | $72,263 | $34.74 | |
16 | Barnes Group | $72,254 | $34.74 | |
17 | Dolby Laboratories | $71,927 | $34.58 | 1 |
18 | Tastemade | $70,513 | $33.90 | |
19 | Federal Reserve | $69,235 | $33.29 | |
20 | Citizens Bank of Amsterdam | $68,106 | $32.74 |
Legal extern salaries can vary depending on the industry. In fact, our data shows that the professional, manufacturing, and finance industries tend to offer much higher salaries for legal externs. For example, legal externs make a whopping average salary of $73,649 while working in the professional industry. Meanwhile, other people in this field are making $63,055 in the manufacturing industry and $56,966 in the finance industry.
Legal externs may want to avoid working in the government industry as it offers the lowest average salary of $47,145.
Rank | Industry | Average Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Professional | $73,649 | $35.41 |
2 | Manufacturing | $63,055 | $30.31 |
3 | Finance | $56,966 | $27.39 |
4 | Media | $53,501 | $25.72 |
5 | Non Profits | $49,532 | $23.81 |
6 | Government | $47,145 | $22.67 |
Experience Level | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate |
---|---|---|
Entry Level | $32,500 | $15.62 |
Mid Level | $39,200 | $18.85 |
Senior Level | $82,200 | $39.54 |
Compare salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.
Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
---|---|---|---|
2022 | $56,000 | $26.91 | +3.1% |
2021 | $54,200 | $26.07 | +1.7% |
2020 | $53,300 | $25.64 | +1.4% |
2019 | $52,600 | $25.28 | +0.9% |
2018 | $52,100 | $25.05 | +2.0% |
Company | Job | Location | Date Added | Salary |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Civil Liberties Union | Legal Intern, Immigrant Rights Project (SF) | San Francisco, CA | 05/31/2022 | $38,756 |
Hitachi Data Systems | Legal Intern | Englewood, CO | 05/28/2022 | $31,305 |
State of Indiana | Legal Intern | Indianapolis, IN | 05/18/2022 | $27,569 |
VOXX International | Legal Summer Intern | Hauppauge, NY | 05/14/2022 | $31,305 |
Great American Insurance Group | Claims Legal Intern-Summer 2022 | Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ | 05/12/2022 | $52,801 |
National Women's Soccer League | Legal Intern (Fall 2022) | Chicago, IL | 05/11/2022 | $31,305 |
Young Brothers | Summer Intern 2022-Legal | Urban Honolulu, HI | 05/10/2022 | $56,349 |
American Civil Liberties Union | Fall 2022 Legal Intern, Racial Justice Program | New York, NY | 05/09/2022 | $38,756 |
Northrop Grumman | Legal Intern-Law Clerk | Falls Church, VA | 05/09/2022 | $61,045 |
Revision Energy | Legal Department Internship | South Portland, ME | 05/08/2022 | $31,305 |
California pays Legal Externs the most in the United States, with an average salary of $99,655 per year, or $47.91 per hour.
You know if you are being paid fairly as a Legal Extern 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 $80,560 per year.
Legal Counsel gets paid the most. Legal Counsel made a median salary of $131,667. The best-paid 10 percent make $164,000, while the lowest-paid 10 percent make $105,000.
A good starting salary for a legal extern is $26,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a legal extern in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for legal externs is $55,979, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a legal extern can vary by state.
Legal professionals earn different average salaries depending on their specific position; however, the average salary for a lawyer is around $120,000 in a year. Lawyers made a median salary of $123,000, the best-paid 25% earned $186,000 per year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $81,000 in a year.
The average litigator makes $120,000 in a year typically. Litigators made a median salary of $123,000, the best-paid 25% earned $186,000 per year, while the lowest-paid 25% made $81,000 in a year.
The highest-paid field in law is trial lawyers. Trial lawyers are among the highest-paid legal professionals in the world. Thousands practice across the globe, but civil litigators who handle high-dollar, high-profile, and high-stakes cases are the most highly compensated.
Search For Legal Extern Jobs