How much does a Lawyer make in New York?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $177,210 for Lawyers in New York as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $108,530 and the 75th-percentile is —.

What is the real (cost-adjusted) Lawyer salary in New York?

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.8 for New York), the real-wage equivalent is $164,324 — what the $177,210 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $100,638 to —.

How many Lawyers does New York employ?

BLS OES counts 91,440 Lawyers employed in New York 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 New York 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. New York's overall index of 107.8 reflects rents 122.0, services 135.4, and goods 105.1.

Where does New York rank for Lawyer pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, New York 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.

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.

Lawyer Pay in New York: $177K Median + Purchasing Power (2026)

TL;DR

Lawyers in New York earn a BLS median of $177,210, with real take-home of $164,324 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Cost adjustment is small — neither an arbitrage state nor a high-cost penalty.
Mid-band breakdown: P25 $108,530, P50 $177,210, P75 —. Tail percentiles withheld by BLS — common when tech-sector wages exceed the OES survey cap.
State ranks #4 nationally on nominal wage, #6 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — New York

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$82,420	$76,427
P25 (lower quartile)	$108,530	$100,638
P50 (median)	$177,210	$164,324
P75 (upper quartile)
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$208,080	$192,949
Employment	91,440 Lawyers in New York

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New York index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	107.8
Goods	105.1
Services	135.4
Rents	122.0

New York is a high-cost state — RPP 107.8 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (122.0) and services (135.4).

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$177,210	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$31,348	17.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$9,584	4–10.9% (graduated; +NYC residents 3.078–3.876%)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$13,557	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$122,721	69.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$113,797	÷ (107.8 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New York state-tax burden means for Lawyer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 5.4% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $122,721 (69.3% of gross). After the 107.8 RPP, real take-home is $113,797. Local-tax overlay: New York City residents add 3.078–3.876% city tax (Yonkers ~16.75% surtax on state liability). NYC numbers are not in the table — subtract roughly $6,202/year for a 5-borough resident at this income.

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. New York sits at #4 on nominal pay and #6 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New York falls 2 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Lawyer make in New York?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $177,210 for Lawyers in New York as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $108,530 and the 75th-percentile is —.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Lawyer salary in New York?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 107.8 for New York), the real-wage equivalent is $164,324 — what the $177,210 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $100,638 to —.
How many Lawyers does New York employ?: BLS OES counts 91,440 Lawyers employed in New York 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 New York 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. New York's overall index of 107.8 reflects rents 122.0, services 135.4, and goods 105.1.
Where does New York rank for Lawyer pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, New York 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.
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.

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

Cross-comparison: see how New York 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.