Money · 1 of 5
What lawyers make
Typical
$159,670
Starting out
$78,360
Top tenth
$351,600
The national median is $159,670 a year and the bottom tenth start near $78,360. These are the published figures for Lawyers as a whole, which includes government and public interest work. Corporate lawyers at large firms in big cities sit well above the median from their first year, and partners are far above the top of this range, because equity partners are owners rather than employees and are not counted the same way.