Lawyers in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$91,990
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$35,320
27.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$95,194
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$127,310
Kept after tax
$91,990
Worth in national money
$95,194
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont sits in the middle of the pack for lawyers. The median is $127,310, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 453 occupations Vermont reports, lawyers comes in at 23 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $127,310 you keep $91,990 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $95,194 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $179,630, since top earners drag the number up.
- Vermont occupies the middle band for lawyers: a median of $127,310, ranking 30 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Lawyers ranks 23 of 453 occupations by median in Vermont, 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.
- Retained pay in Vermont is $91,990 after the full tax stack, from $127,310. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $95,194 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $179,630 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $85,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $127,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $336,450 |
| This salary | $127,310 |
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 Vermont | $91,990 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $98,282 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,946 |
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 | $118,209 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,370 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Vermont earn less than $127,310. The published range is $85,510 up to $336,450, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Vermont the take-home figure of $91,990, from $127,310, 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 23 of 453 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Vermont, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $95,194, the adjusted value of that $127,310 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 23 of 453 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for lawyers in Vermont the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $85,510 to $336,450. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Vermont is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $91,990 from $127,310. 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 23 of 453 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Vermont, so $95,194 — the adjusted value of that $127,310 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 23 of 453 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 $179,630, 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 $85,510 at the bottom tenth to $336,450 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 Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $95,194 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Vermont's own levy, $91,990 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 Vermont is $179,630. 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 ($85,510) and the ninetieth ($336,450) 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?
Vermont'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 $95,194 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 $91,990 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.