How are Missouri 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 Missouri employ?

BLS OES counts 11,950 Lawyers employed in Missouri 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 Missouri 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. Missouri's overall index of 91.1 reflects rents 70.5, services 85.6, and goods 97.3.

Where does Missouri rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, Missouri 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.

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.

BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Missouri?

BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Missouri, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Missouri) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Missouri can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

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

Yes — Missouri'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. Missouri 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.

2026 Lawyer Salary — Missouri ($124K BLS, RPP-Adjusted Real Wage)

TL;DR

$124,210 is the BLS median wage for Lawyers in Missouri; $136,339 is the BEA-adjusted purchasing-power equivalent.
BLS percentiles available for this state: P25 $80,220, P50 $124,210, P75 $168,090. P10 or P90 is suppressed by BLS for this occupation-state cell.
Below-100 RPP flips this state above its nominal rank in real-wage terms; the gap is about $12,129.
State ranks #29 nationally on nominal wage, #19 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Missouri

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$57,560	$63,181
P25 (lower quartile)	$80,220	$88,053
P50 (median)	$124,210	$136,339
P75 (upper quartile)	$168,090	$184,503
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$158,200	$173,648
Employment	11,950 Lawyers in Missouri

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Missouri index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	91.1
Goods	97.3
Services	85.6
Rents	70.5

Missouri sits below the national baseline (RPP 91.1), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 70.5.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$124,210	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,628	15.0% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$5,233	0–4.95% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,502	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$90,847	73.1% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$99,718	÷ (91.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $90,847 (73.1% of gross). After the 91.1 RPP, real take-home is $99,718.

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. Missouri sits at #29 on nominal pay and #19 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Missouri climbs 10 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How are Missouri 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 Missouri employ?: BLS OES counts 11,950 Lawyers employed in Missouri 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 Missouri 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. Missouri's overall index of 91.1 reflects rents 70.5, services 85.6, and goods 97.3.
Where does Missouri rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, Missouri 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.
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.
BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Missouri?: BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Missouri, BigLaw and major-market AmLaw 100/200 associates earn at or above BLS P90 on the published Cravath-adjacent pay scale plus year-end bonuses. In-house counsel at established companies sits mid-band with stronger work-life economics. Government attorneys (state AG, public defender, DOJ, federal agencies in Missouri) typically earn at or below BLS median, with PSLF loan-forgiveness eligibility partly compensating. Solo and small-firm practitioners are highly bimodal — successful niche practices in Missouri can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.
Is the Missouri bar reciprocity (admission on motion / UBE) factor relevant to pay?: Yes — Missouri'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. Missouri 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 Missouri 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.