How much does a Lawyer make in Utah?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $125,710 for Lawyers in Utah as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $89,660 and the 75th-percentile is $172,750.

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

After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 95.7 for Utah), the real-wage equivalent is $131,336 — what the $125,710 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $93,673 to $180,482.

How are Utah 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.

Is Utah a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?

No — Utah'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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Utah?

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 Utah.

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

BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Utah, 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 Utah) 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 Utah can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

How Much Do Lawyers Make in Utah? $126K (2026 BLS + BEA)

TL;DR

BLS reports Utah Lawyer median pay at $125,710. Adjusted for state cost of living, real purchasing power equals $131,336.
Cost of living tracks roughly with the national index, so nominal and real wages stay close.
Quartile range $89,660 (bottom 25%) to $172,750 (top 25%). BLS suppresses the P10 or P90 tail for this state, typically because the top tier exceeds the OES wage cap.
State ranks #26 nationally on nominal wage, #25 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Utah

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$62,430	$65,224
P25 (lower quartile)	$89,660	$93,673
P50 (median)	$125,710	$131,336
P75 (upper quartile)	$172,750	$180,482
P90 (top tier)
Mean	$151,220	$157,988
Employment	5,850 Lawyers in Utah

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Utah index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	95.7
Goods	94.7
Services	73.0
Rents	106.2

Utah's overall RPP (95.7) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.

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

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

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Lawyer)	$125,710	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$18,988	15.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$4,948	4.5% flat (2026)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$9,617	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$92,157	73.3% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$96,281	÷ (95.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

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

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.9% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $92,157 (73.3% of gross). After the 95.7 RPP, real take-home is $96,281.

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. Utah sits at #26 on nominal pay and #25 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Utah climbs 1 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Lawyer make in Utah?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $125,710 for Lawyers in Utah as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $89,660 and the 75th-percentile is $172,750.
What is the real (cost-adjusted) Lawyer salary in Utah?: After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 95.7 for Utah), the real-wage equivalent is $131,336 — what the $125,710 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $93,673 to $180,482.
How are Utah 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.
Is Utah a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Lawyers?: No — Utah'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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for Utah?: 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 Utah.
BigLaw associate vs in-house vs government vs solo practice in Utah?: BLS aggregates all lawyers (23-1011) regardless of practice setting. In Utah, 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 Utah) 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 Utah can exceed BigLaw associate pay; struggling solos earn below the median.

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 Utah 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.