How much does a Lawyer make in Delaware?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $172,710 for Lawyers in Delaware as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $128,540 and the 75th-percentile is $212,050.

How are Delaware 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.

Why is the BEA RPP for Delaware different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Delaware's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 98.9, services 104.4, and goods 97.3.

Where does Delaware rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware 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 Delaware a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?

No — Delaware's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.

Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in Delaware?

No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In Delaware BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.

Delaware Lawyer Salary: BLS $173K Median, Real $175K (2026)

TL;DR

$172,710 is the BLS median wage for Lawyers in Delaware; $174,880 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #2 of 51; nominal rank is #5.
Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $128,540, P50 $172,710, P75 $212,050. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.

Wage breakdown — Delaware

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$94,080	$95,262
P25 (lower quartile)	$128,540	$130,155
P50 (median)	$172,710	$174,880
P75 (upper quartile)	$212,050	$214,715
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$196,880	$199,354
Employment	2,970 Lawyers in Delaware

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Delaware index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	98.8
Goods	97.3
Services	104.4
Rents	98.9

Delaware's overall RPP (98.8) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

After-tax take-home — Delaware (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$172,710	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$30,268	17.5% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$10,168	2.2–6.6% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$13,212	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$119,061	68.9% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$120,558	÷ (98.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Delaware state-tax burden means for Lawyer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $119,061 (68.9% of gross). After the 98.8 RPP, real take-home is $120,558.

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. Delaware sits at #5 on nominal pay and #2 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Delaware climbs 3 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Lawyer make in Delaware?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $172,710 for Lawyers in Delaware as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $128,540 and the 75th-percentile is $212,050.
How are Delaware 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.
Why is the BEA RPP for Delaware different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Delaware's overall index of 98.8 reflects rents 98.9, services 104.4, and goods 97.3.
Where does Delaware rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Delaware 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 Delaware a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?: No — Delaware's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Delaware?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within Delaware.
Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in Delaware?: No — BLS OEWS captures W-2 wage and salary income only. Equity-partner distributions at law firms are reported on K-1 (partnership income), not W-2, and are excluded entirely. In Delaware BigLaw and major regional firms, this means the BLS-reported median understates total compensation for the partnership tier substantially: P90 partner draw often runs 3-10× the BLS-reported P90 once profits-per-equity-partner are factored in. The BLS figure on this page accurately represents salaried associates, of-counsel, and staff attorneys; it does not represent equity-partner income.

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.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-07.

Cross-comparison: see how Delaware 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.