Municipal court judge vs circuit judge

The differences between municipal 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 municipal court judge and a circuit judge. Additionally, a circuit judge has an average salary of $58,451, which is higher than the $31,278 average annual salary of a municipal court judge.

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

Municipal court judge vs circuit judge overview

	Municipal Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Yearly salary	$31,278	$58,451
Hourly rate	$15.04	$28.10
Growth rate	-1%	-1%
Number of jobs	1,005	588
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	10	10

Municipal court judge vs circuit judge salary

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

	Municipal Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Average salary	$31,278	$58,451
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $40,000	Between $38,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between municipal court judge and circuit judge education

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

	Municipal Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Most common degree	Doctoral Degree, 43%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Law	Law
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Municipal court judge vs circuit judge demographics

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

	Municipal Court Judge	Circuit Judge
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 62.4% Female, 37.6%	Male, 58.8% Female, 41.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.7% 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 municipal court judge and circuit judge duties and responsibilities

Municipal court judge example responsibilities.

Prepare and manage the annual budget of the court, manage oversight regarding billing procedures in accordance with state regulations.
Process and review all post-conviction appeals motions file by defendants serving long sentences.
Patrol areas in an undercover capacity to combat organize burglary, drug manufacturing/sales and prostitution.
Patrol areas in an undercover capacity to combat organize burglary, drug manufacturing/sales and prostitution.

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.

Municipal court judge vs circuit judge skills

Common municipal court judge skills

Municipal Court, 42%
Legal Research, 12%
Court Judge, 9%
Jury Trials, 9%
Subpoenas, 7%
Court Administration, 4%

Common circuit judge skills

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

Municipal Court Judge vs. similar jobs

Municipal Court Judge related careers

Municipal Court Judge related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Legal Industry
Municipal Court Judge
Municipal Court Judge vs Circuit Judge

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse legal jobs