Lawyers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$100,079
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$34,181
25.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$98,985
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$134,260
Kept after tax
$100,079
Worth in national money
$98,985
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 22 of 51 states for lawyers, with a middle wage of $134,260. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, lawyers ranks 17 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $134,260, take-home of $100,079 is worth roughly $98,985 in national money. The average comes to $157,190, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 22 of 51 for lawyers at $134,260. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, lawyers sits 17 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for lawyers, whose median is $134,260, the adjusted figure of $98,985 differs little from $100,079 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $157,190 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lawyers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $134,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $268,170 |
| This salary | $134,260 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $100,079 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,033 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,043 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $129,938 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,013 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $134,260 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $85,990 and the ninetieth is $268,170 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arizona's $100,079, worked from $134,260. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 17 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $98,985 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 17.
- The Arizona median of $134,260 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $85,990 to $268,170. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Arizona take-home of $100,079, on $134,260 for work ranking 17 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 17 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $98,985, worked from $134,260, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arizona address, on work sitting at 17 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $157,190 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $85,990 at the bottom tenth to $268,170 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $98,985 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $100,079.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $157,190. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($85,990) and the ninetieth ($268,170) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $98,985 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $100,079 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.