Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers (2026 stats)
TL;DR
The national workforce is about 16,230 administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers. Projections imply about 0.9% annual growth; much hiring sits in federal, state, and local government, including state and local government schools and hospitals and the u.s. postal service (oews designation).
Key Statistics
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers: what the data shows
Common questions about administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers?
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 23-1021.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 16,230 workers.
What does a administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Processing Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $115,230 (May 2024 in our extract).
What education do you need?
For Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Judgment and Decision Making, Speaking, and knowledge areas including Law and Government, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Administrative. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 0.9% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 4.6%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 9.3%.
Current U.S. headcount: 16,230.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officerss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 16,230 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 16,160 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 16,110 | 16.6% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 16,110 | 16.6% |
| State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 8,660 | 8.9% |
| State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 8,650 | 8.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 154,540 | $54,140 |
| Veterinary Technologists and Technicians | 131,320 | $45,980 |
| Medical Secretaries and Administrative Assistants | 830,760 | $44,640 |
| Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive | 1,737,820 | $46,290 |
| Veterinary Assistants and Laboratory Animal Caretakers | 114,190 | $37,320 |
| Lawyers | 747,750 | $151,160 |
| Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates | 25,580 | $156,210 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers workforce.
Employment Over Time
16,230 Workforce in 2023
The Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$N/A Average Wage
In 2023, Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers earned an average of $N/A.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Salary distribution for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Employment Growth Projections
0.9% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
3,304 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 4.6%
3,454 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 9.3%
This occupation is projected to grow at 0.9% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Wage Trends by Industry
0.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- NY: 1,390 employees, $120,910 avg wage
- TX: 1,090 employees, $101,680 avg wage
- PA: 760 employees, $105,230 avg wage
- OH: 750 employees, $94,050 avg wage
- VA: 610 employees, $105,970 avg wage
- IL: 590 employees, $103,240 avg wage
- FL: 560 employees, $124,580 avg wage
- OR: 470 employees, $100,850 avg wage
- GA: 450 employees, $94,810 avg wage
- AR: 430 employees, $63,390 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 1,220 employees, $124,320 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 650 employees, $146,290 avg wage
- Columbus, OH: 430 employees, $75,470 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 380 employees, $95,230 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 380 employees, $103,720 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 360 employees, $123,840 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 340 employees, $126,380 avg wage
- Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: 320 employees, $67,050 avg wage
- Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD: 260 employees, $120,910 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 250 employees, $118,150 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers in 2023 was 16,230 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers in 2023 were Business Administration, Health Sciences, Law.
Common majors for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers workers.
Education level distribution for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Skills
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Writing, Judgment and Decision Making.
Required skills for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers include Law and Government, English Language, Customer and Personal Service, Administrative, Medicine and Dentistry.
Knowledge areas required for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers include Inductive Reasoning, Written Comprehension, Oral Comprehension, Written Expression, Deductive Reasoning.
Required abilities for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
Daily Activities
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers spend their time on activities such as Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Getting Information, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge, Processing Information.
Most important work activities for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers.
About
Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
The average yearly wage for Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers was $N/A in 2023.
SOC Code
23-1021 - Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers
Insights and Analysis
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 16,230 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 0.9%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.