Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2020 to 2030, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 46,000 openings for lawyers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
National estimates for Lawyers:Employment (1)Employment RSE (3)Mean annual wage (2)681,0101.0 %$ 148,030Mar 31, 2022
1.3 million lawyersThere are 1.3 million lawyers in the United States.
1.33 million lawyersThe total number of lawyers in the United States has seen little increase in the last few years; in 2020, there were 1.33 million lawyers in the U.S. – virtually unchanged from the previous year, and not much above the 2015 figure of 1.3 million.
1.3 million lawyersExactly how many lawyers are there in the US? According to the American Bar Association's 2020 ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, there are currently about 1.3 million lawyers in the US.
Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, president and CEO of the NALP Foundation, said at the time that the decline, in part, is due to firms postponing the start dates for first-year associates, and because fewer existing associates left their jobs last year.
According to the American Bar Association there are currently 1,116,967 lawyers practicing in the United States. That is approximately one for every 300 people, or approximately 0.36% of the total population.
4% (2019)6% (2014)Lawyer/Projected 10-year growth
36%According to the American Bar Association, about 36% of all attorneys say they are very successful, and about half indicate they are successful.
For much of the 20th century, the industry's growth was much slower: It took 50 years for the number of lawyers to nearly double – from 114,000 in 1900 to 221,000 in 1950.
Employment Outlook for Lawyers Employment of lawyers is projected to grow 9 percent from 2016 to 2026, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Demand for legal work is expected to continue as individuals, businesses, and all levels of government require legal services in many areas.
Lawyer head count for the largest global firms based on total attorneys was 244,970 in 2020, an increase of 5.8% from 2019. Seventy-seven of the firms had 1,000 or more lawyers, compared with 70 last year. The number of lawyers listed here is the average full-time equivalent for the 2020 fiscal year.