How are Georgia 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 Georgia employ?

BLS OES counts 23,010 Lawyers employed in Georgia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia 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. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.

Where does Georgia rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.

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.

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

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 Georgia 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.

Is the Georgia bar reciprocity (admission on motion / UBE) factor relevant to pay?

Yes — Georgia's admission-on-motion rules (or UBE-score portability) determine whether out-of-state lawyers can practice without re-sitting the bar exam, which affects labor-supply elasticity for senior roles. Georgia markets that allow broad admission on motion typically see less premium for in-state-only attorneys at the lateral level. The DeepComps Bar Admission Reciprocity by State page (linked under license reciprocity) tracks current rules; states with strict re-sit requirements show more pay compression for incoming senior laterals.

Georgia Lawyer Salary: BLS $126K Median, Real $131K (2026)

TL;DR

BLS reports Georgia Lawyer median pay at $126,240. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $130,827.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Mid-band breakdown: P25 $78,750, P50 $126,240, P75 $188,090. Tail percentiles withheld by BLS — common when tech-sector wages exceed the OES survey cap.
State ranks #25 nationally on nominal wage, #26 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Georgia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$52,360	$54,262
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,750	$81,611
P50 (median)	$126,240	$130,827
P75 (upper quartile)	$188,090	$194,924
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$185,830	$192,582
Employment	23,010 Lawyers in Georgia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Georgia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	96.5
Goods	97.7
Services	92.3
Rents	88.3

Georgia's overall RPP (96.5) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$126,240	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$19,116	15.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,929	5.19% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,657	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$91,538	72.5% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$94,864	÷ (96.5 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.7% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $91,538 (72.5% of gross). After the 96.5 RPP, real take-home is $94,864.

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. Georgia sits at #25 on nominal pay and #26 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Georgia falls 1 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Georgia 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 Georgia employ?: BLS OES counts 23,010 Lawyers employed in Georgia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for Georgia 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. Georgia's overall index of 96.5 reflects rents 88.3, services 92.3, and goods 97.7.
Where does Georgia rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Georgia 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.
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.
Does the BLS lawyer median include partner profit-share in Georgia?: 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 Georgia 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.
Is the Georgia bar reciprocity (admission on motion / UBE) factor relevant to pay?: Yes — Georgia's admission-on-motion rules (or UBE-score portability) determine whether out-of-state lawyers can practice without re-sitting the bar exam, which affects labor-supply elasticity for senior roles. Georgia markets that allow broad admission on motion typically see less premium for in-state-only attorneys at the lateral level. The DeepComps Bar Admission Reciprocity by State page (linked under license reciprocity) tracks current rules; states with strict re-sit requirements show more pay compression for incoming senior laterals.

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 Georgia 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.