Last updated: 2025 BLS data · Page refreshed:
California employs 144,700 Legal professionals across 5 occupations. Explore salary ranges, top paying jobs, and career opportunities within the Legal industry.
The best-compensated occupations within Legal in California, based on median salary data.
Complete breakdown of all occupations in the Legal industry in California, sorted by median salary (highest to lowest). Click any job title for state-specific salary details.
| # | Job Title | Median Salary | Mean Salary | Employment | Hourly Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lawyers | $195,080 | $230,040 | 95,770 | $93/hr |
| 2 | Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators | $97,680 | $118,080 | N/A | $46/hr |
| 3 | Judicial Law Clerks | $79,030 | $76,070 | 1,800 | $38/hr |
| 4 | Paralegals and Legal Assistants | $77,390 | $81,320 | 47,130 | $37/hr |
| 5 | Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers | $67,230 | $76,950 | N/A | $32/hr |
Explore salary data and job opportunities in other industries across California:
California has 5 Legal occupations with 144,700 total employed workers (2025 BLS data).
The highest-paying Legal occupation in California is Lawyers with a median salary of $195,080/year.
The average median salary across 5 Legal occupations in California is $103,282/year.
Salaries in Legal in California range from $50,460 (entry-level) to $369,180 (senior) across all occupations.
Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes organize jobs into groups. Legal occupations use SOC prefix 23. Data comes from BLS OEWS.
Data: BLS OEWS 2025. Salary figures represent May 2025 compensation for occupations classified under SOC code 23* in California. Percentile ranges (P10–P90) reflect the lowest and highest earning 10% of workers. Our Methodology · Data Sources