Lawyer Salaries Dip Compared To Other Professions

In 2006, only six occupational groups had higher median incomes than lawyers: chief executives, physicians, dentists, air traffic controllers, podiatrists, and engineering managers. Ten years later, add information systems managers, pharmacists, and nurse anesthetists to the list. The median annual salary for lawyers is $118,160, which, after adjusting for inflation, is a decrease of 2.9 percent from 2006, according to Ohio State University law professor Deborah J. Merritt. The data tracks only salaried positions and therefore excludes solo practitioner and law firm equity partner compensation. Other jobs now getting paid more, on average, than lawyers: airline pilots, petroleum engineers, financial managers, and advertising or sales managers. The data estimates there are 619,530 salaried lawyers in 2016, and predicts an increase of 9,600 in the number of positions available for lawyers.