Lawyer-Friendly States 2025
Overall Index
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State | Overall Index↓ | Lawyers per 1k workers | Average Earnings | 5 Year Income % Change | 5 Year Job Growth % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Illinois | 100 | 5.22 | $152,980 | 22.7% | 4.86% |
 | Massachusetts | 92.41 | 5.16 | $165,610 | 14.98% | 7.22% |
 | District of Columbia | 91.03 | 44.47 | $192,530 | 14.1% | 0.83% |
 | California | 88.28 | 4.83 | $171,550 | 8.44% | 16.42% |
 | Florida | 87.59 | 5.49 | $128,920 | 5.65% | 8.59% |
 | New York | 84.14 | 8.19 | $167,110 | 8.27% | 8% |
 | Georgia | 82.07 | 4.57 | $128,930 | -2.72% | 34.86% |
 | Colorado | 77.24 | 4.94 | $147,560 | 12.97% | 8.02% |
 | Texas | 73.1 | 3.52 | $150,250 | 6.38% | 5.71% |
 | Nevada | 67.59 | 3.59 | $138,920 | 12.17% | -3.78% |
 | New Jersey | 65.52 | 5.20 | $139,020 | -1.24% | 9.68% |
 | Louisiana | 64.83 | 4.27 | $105,460 | -7.33% | 13.47% |
 | Oklahoma | 64.83 | 4.03 | $118,790 | 5.57% | -9.19% |
 | Kentucky | 64.14 | 3.04 | $100,100 | 8.7% | 12.77% |
 | Ohio | 62.76 | 3.25 | $121,520 | 7.35% | 10.9% |
 | Arizona | 62.07 | 3.36 | $145,750 | 24.17% | -4.78% |
 | Pennsylvania | 61.38 | 4.27 | $138,610 | 7.07% | 0.97% |
 | Montana | 60.69 | 4.53 | $88,600 | 17.01% | 14.75% |
 | New Mexico | 60.69 | 3.66 | $105,910 | 9.73% | 2.06% |
 | Alabama | 58.62 | 2.85 | $117,100 | 3.62% | 8.2% |
 | Maryland | 55.86 | 4.65 | $128,340 | 1.81% | 11.82% |
 | Rhode Island | 52.41 | 3.52 | $125,330 | 5.31% | 0.6% |
 | Indiana | 51.03 | 2.62 | $113,360 | 10.05% | 9.77% |
 | New Hampshire | 50.34 | 2.87 | $125,980 | 13.36% | 14.63% |
 | Washington | 50.34 | 3.38 | $136,480 | 13.04% | 2.9% |
 | West Virginia | 46.9 | 3.56 | $98,360 | 4.91% | -6.77% |
 | North Carolina | 46.21 | 2.87 | $129,990 | 9.87% | 1.45% |
 | Wisconsin | 45.52 | 2.75 | $130,450 | 27.92% | 3.98% |
 | Tennessee | 42.76 | 2.57 | $124,470 | 9.59% | 6.44% |
 | Missouri | 42.07 | 3.69 | $113,780 | -6.35% | 5.62% |
 | South Dakota | 38.62 | 2.10 | $109,070 | 10.89% | 14.29% |
 | Nebraska | 37.93 | 2.98 | $108,170 | 15.3% | -1.36% |
 | Virginia | 37.93 | 4.15 | $139,180 | 5.99% | -7.02% |
 | Mississippi | 34.48 | 2.73 | $97,990 | -1.49% | 5.86% |
 | South Carolina | 30.34 | 2.85 | $105,320 | -7.42% | 8.7% |
 | Hawaii | 28.28 | 3.15 | $111,290 | 5.58% | 12.22% |
 | Michigan | 26.21 | 3.37 | $110,180 | -5.6% | -1.76% |
 | Vermont | 26.21 | 3.44 | $107,490 | 5.78% | -1.87% |
 | Minnesota | 24.83 | 3.93 | $119,330 | -6.98% | 7.74% |
 | Kansas | 21.38 | 2.51 | $109,220 | 10.29% | -10.36% |
 | Oregon | 20 | 3.35 | $119,500 | 4.03% | -2.62% |
 | Iowa | 17.93 | 2.06 | $112,630 | 6.17% | -3.06% |
 | Utah | 11.72 | 3.41 | $112,380 | -5.49% | 5.52% |
 | Wyoming | 9.66 | 2.92 | $105,600 | 2.24% | -12.22% |
 | Arkansas | 8.28 | 2.61 | $98,780 | -1.9% | -13.93% |
 | Alaska | 2.76 | 3.01 | $121,680 | 3.2% | -12.84% |
 | Idaho | 2.92 | $99,360 | -1.53% | -3.74% | |
 | Maine | 2.82 | $107,120 | 6.35% | -10.94% |
- Higher scores in the Overall Lawyer Index are preferable.
- Delaware and North Dakota are excluded from the rankings below due to insufficient data.
- The remaining 48 states were evaluated based upon the following six criteria: number of lawyers per 1,000 workers, average lawyer incomes, five-year income growth, five-year employment growth, median home value, and the density of law offices.
Illinois
One of the best states for practicing lawyers, as well as those aspiring to enter the legal field, in Illinois. Home to one of the highest-paying positions, lawyers in the state of Illinois enjoy some of the highest earnings growth over the last few years. Between the years of 2014 and 2018, the annual earnings of all lawyers rose beyond 22%, maintaining one of the highest averages in the country, especially when considering the population. The average salary for a lawyer in Illinois is $152,980 annually. Of course, New York and California have some of the most well-paid lawyers in the country as well as the most opportunities, but it is also extremely competitive and has a much higher cost of living. Illinois offers a great ratio of compensation to quality of living, as well as great access to education.
The reason behind this may evidently be that most of the lawyers are concentrated in the city of Chicago, which can be rough around the edges in certain areas. However, the overall affordability of the area does not detract from the earning potential of the lawyer and also provides ample opportunities to take on clients and cases.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts can easily be considered a gem when it comes down to its ability to provide lawyers with fulfilling and well-compensated work. During a survey conducted in 2018, there were about 5.16 lawyers for every 1000 workers in the state, showing a reasonable concentration on the practice. It has a higher annual average income of $165,610, when compared to Illinois. Surprisingly, it is not as concentrated around the Boston area as suspected, which may not come as a surprise. Massachusetts has many urban and suburban places that offer a variety of opportunities for various practices in different parts of the legal field.
District of Columbia
Home to the federal government, DC is one of the best places to work as a lawyer, especially due to its proximity to Maryland, which can offer lower commute times in exchange for more affordable housing and the cost of living. DC has over 44 lawyers for every 1000 works, which is the highest concentrated metric in the country. Purely looking at that metric alone may seem astonishing, but D.C. has one of the lowest populations and is concentrated with those who have access to much higher education.
This is also the reason why it has one of the highest average wages for lawyers in the country, $192,530. Lawyers come here to work at bigger law firms rather than starting independent practices, who are in search of upper-level guidance from more experienced professionals in the legal field. As such, D.C. does not compete with itself but rather the entire country when it comes to career advancement and role fulfillment.
Although this may seem like a haven, the concentration of lawyers to workers is extremely high, making it more difficult to stand out from the crowd. One thing is for sure if you are selected to work at one of the big law offices in D.C. you can count yourself among the lucky few.
