Judicial Law Clerks Salary: $60,400 Median Pay (2026 stats)
Executive Summary
About 13,220 judicial law clerks work nationally, and $60,400 is the BLS national median annual wage. Projections imply about 8.6% annual decline; much hiring sits in federal, state, and local government, excluding state and local government schools and hospitals and the u.s. postal service (oews designation).
Judicial Law Clerks: what the data shows
Common questions about judicial law clerks careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a judicial law clerks?
Judicial Law Clerks is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 23-1012.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 13,220 workers.
What does a judicial law clerks do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Getting Information, Analyzing Data or Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Processing Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events, Working with Computers, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a judicial law clerks make?
BLS national median annual wage: $60,400 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $74,357 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $50,578 |
| 25th percentile | $64,157 |
| Median (50th) | $78,487 |
| 75th percentile | $80,181 |
| 90th percentile | $88,430 |
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Writing, Speaking, Active Learning, and knowledge areas including Law and Government, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is judicial law clerks in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 8.6% annual decline (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: -36.2%.
Ten-year projected employment change: -59.2%.
Current U.S. headcount: 13,220.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do judicial law clerkss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 13,220 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 13,170 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, excluding State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 13,170 | 16.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 13,170 | 16.7% |
| State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 7,440 | 9.4% |
| State Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 7,440 | 9.4% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Judicial Law Clerks 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 747,750 | $151,160 |
| Public Safety Telecommunicators | 101,140 | $50,730 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | 19,860 | $81,500 |
| Elementary School Teachers | 1,393,310 | $62,340 |
| Public Relations Managers | 76,060 | $138,520 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Judicial Law Clerks workforce.
Employment Over Time
13,220 U.S. workforce (OEWS)
California employment for Judicial Law Clerks shrank from 15,040 in 2011 to 4,280 in 2025 (71.5%).
Historical employment for Judicial Law Clerks from the California OEWS series, 2011–2025. The U.S. workforce figure is national and is not the endpoint of this line.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$60,400 Median pay (BLS national)
Judicial Law Clerks earn $60,400 as the BLS national median annual wage.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Judicial Law Clerks.
Salary distribution for Judicial Law Clerks.
Employment Growth Projections
-8.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
2,732 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: -36.2%
1,744 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: -59.2%
This occupation is experiencing a decline. Consider related fields with better growth prospects.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Judicial Law Clerks.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Judicial Law Clerks and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Judicial Law Clerks employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Judicial Law Clerks.
Wage Trends by Industry
0.6% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Total, All Industry: 15.4% growth (Current: $95,343)
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Judicial Law Clerks.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Judicial Law Clerks.
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:
- CA: 1,520 employees, $72,390 avg wage
- FL: 1,390 employees, $58,210 avg wage
- PA: 940 employees, $48,930 avg wage
- NY: 900 employees, $118,180 avg wage
- UT: 590 employees, $54,980 avg wage
- TN: 590 employees, $81,080 avg wage
- GA: 570 employees, $64,450 avg wage
- WA: 540 employees, $81,720 avg wage
- NJ: 520 employees, $56,990 avg wage
- HI: 360 employees, $51,510 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Judicial Law Clerks.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 560 employees, $73,780 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 450 employees, $53,890 avg wage
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL: 410 employees, $66,950 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 400 employees, $68,700 avg wage
- Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN: 370 employees, $83,800 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA: 330 employees, $70,560 avg wage
- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA: 310 employees, $81,570 avg wage
- Salt Lake City-Murray, UT: 280 employees, $57,870 avg wage
- Pittsburgh, PA: 240 employees, $48,200 avg wage
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA: 180 employees, $85,820 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Judicial Law Clerks.
Diversity
Demographic information on Judicial Law Clerks in the US.
Gender and Age
The U.S. workforce for Judicial Law Clerks is about 13,220 people in our OEWS extract.
Gender and age distribution for Judicial Law Clerks.
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 Judicial Law Clerks.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Judicial Law Clerks.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Judicial Law Clerks in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Judicial Law Clerks.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Judicial Law Clerks workers.
Education level distribution for Judicial Law Clerks.
Skills
Judicial Law Clerks need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Writing, Speaking.
Required skills for Judicial Law Clerks.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Judicial Law Clerks.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Judicial Law Clerks include Law and Government, English Language, Administrative, Computers and Electronics, Public Safety and Security.
Knowledge areas required for Judicial Law Clerks.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Judicial Law Clerks include Written Comprehension, Written Expression, Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Judicial Law Clerks.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Judicial Law Clerks.
Daily Activities
Judicial Law Clerks spend their time on activities such as Getting Information, Analyzing Data or Information, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Processing Information, Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events.
Most important work activities for Judicial Law Clerks.
About
Judicial Law Clerks
Judicial Law Clerks earn $60,400 as the BLS national median annual wage.
SOC Code
23-1012 - Judicial Law Clerks
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Judicial Law Clerks reports an average salary of $74,357.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 13,220 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual decline is -8.6%, 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.