Lawyers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$113,873
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$43,307
27.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$116,793
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$157,180
Kept after tax
$113,873
Worth in national money
$116,793
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for lawyers is strong here. Pennsylvania's middle earner gets $157,180, putting the state 11 of 51 — about 1.56% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports, lawyers comes in at 9 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $157,180, take-home of $113,873 is worth roughly $116,793 in national money. The average comes to $169,170, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For lawyers, Pennsylvania sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $157,180, ranking 11 of 51 and running about 1.56% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Lawyers ranks 9 of 492 occupations by median in Pennsylvania, 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for lawyers, whose median is $157,180, the adjusted figure of $116,793 differs little from $113,873 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $169,170 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 | $77,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $157,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $323,370 |
| This salary | $157,180 |
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 Pennsylvania | $113,873 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $118,699 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,356 |
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 | $150,120 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,615 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $157,180. The published range is $77,100 up to $323,370, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $113,873, from $157,180, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 9 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $116,793 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 9.
- Reported values are medians; for lawyers in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $77,100 to $323,370. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $113,873 from $157,180. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 9 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $116,793, worked from $157,180, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 9 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $169,170, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $77,100 at the bottom tenth to $323,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $116,793 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Pennsylvania's own levy, $113,873 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Pennsylvania is $169,170. 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 ($77,100) and the ninetieth ($323,370) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $116,793 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 $113,873 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.