Lawyer · Arizona · SOC 23-1011
Arizona Lawyer Salary — 2026 BLS + BEA RPP
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-07.
TL;DR
- Headline Lawyer pay in Arizona is $133,360. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $132,378.
- Mid-band breakdown: P25 $102,090, P50 $133,360, P75 $189,730. Tail percentiles withheld by BLS — common when tech-sector wages exceed the OES survey cap.
- BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
- State ranks #16 nationally on nominal wage, #22 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.
Wage breakdown — Arizona
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $82,880 | $82,270 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $102,090 | $101,338 |
| P50 (median) | $133,360 | $132,378 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $189,730 | $188,333 |
| P90 (top tier) | ||
| Mean | $161,480 | $160,291 |
| Employment | 12,130 Lawyers in Arizona | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Arizona index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 100.7 |
| Goods | 97.9 |
| Services | 83.3 |
| Rents | 108.6 |
Arizona's overall RPP (100.7) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Arizona (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)
Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median
| Layer | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer) | $133,360 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$20,824 | 15.6% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | −$2,940 | 2.5% flat (2026) |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$10,202 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $99,393 | 74.5% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $98,661 | ÷ (100.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Arizona state-tax burden means for Lawyer take-home
Arizona's state tax is light at this income tier (~2.2% effective). The bigger compensation lever is the cost-of-living premium (RPP 100.7), which still erodes real take-home despite the low state tax — net real after-tax $98,661.
Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).
National context
Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $151,160 for Lawyers with mean pay of $182,760 and total employment of 747,750. Arizona sits at #16 on nominal pay and #22 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Arizona falls 6 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Lawyer make in Arizona?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $133,360 for Lawyers in Arizona as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $102,090 and the 75th-percentile is $189,730.
- How are Arizona Lawyer salaries calculated on this page?
- Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
- How many Lawyers does Arizona employ?
- BLS OES counts 12,130 Lawyers employed in Arizona in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- Where does Arizona rank for Lawyer pay?
- On nominal BLS wages alone, Arizona ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
- Is Arizona a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?
- No — Arizona's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
- What are the limits of these Lawyer salary numbers?
- BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
- When does this data update?
- BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.
Sources & methodology
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 23-1011, 2024 reference period.
- U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
- Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
- See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.
Cross-comparison: see how Arizona Lawyer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.