Lawyers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$81,367
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$27,803
25.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$90,032
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$109,170
Kept after tax
$81,367
Worth in national money
$90,032
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska is among the lower-paying states for lawyers. The middle earner takes $109,170, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 31.63% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Nebraska reports, lawyers comes in at 26 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $109,170 you keep $81,367, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $90,032 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $133,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska ranks 39 of 51 for lawyers, with a median of $109,170 — about 31.63% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Lawyers ranks 26 of 488 occupations by median in Nebraska, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for lawyers on $109,170 is $81,367. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $90,032 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $133,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Lawyers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $109,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $217,700 |
| This salary | $109,170 |
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 Nebraska | $81,367 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $85,631 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,912 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $103,109 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,640 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of lawyers in Nebraska earn under $109,170 and half over. The published range runs $65,030 at the tenth percentile to $217,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nebraska's $81,367, worked from $109,170. 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 26 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $90,032, the adjusted value of that $109,170 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 26 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for lawyers in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,030 to $217,700; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Nebraska take-home of $81,367, on $109,170 for work ranking 26 of 488 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 26 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $90,032 — the adjusted value of that $109,170 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 26 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $133,490, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $65,030 at the bottom tenth to $217,700 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $90,032 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $81,367.
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 Nebraska is $133,490. 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 ($65,030) and the ninetieth ($217,700) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $90,032 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $81,367 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.