Associate Attorney Statistics 2026: Live Listings, Pay, Demand & Workforce
Live figures from 754 open associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires, next to federal employment and wage data.
Every number names its source and date, and the listing figures refresh every six hours.
Key Associate Attorney Statistics (2026)
- As of October 13, 2026, LawFirmHires listed 754 open associate attorney positions from 301 employers in 43 states and the District of Columbia.
- 525 of the 754 associate attorney listings live on LawFirmHires on October 13, 2026 (69.6%) were first posted in the previous 30 days.
- Employers hiring associate attorneys on LawFirmHires advertise a median of $115,000 a year (179 employers, 297 listings stating annual pay, October 13, 2026); this is advertised pay, not earnings.
- 40.1% of associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires carried a readable hourly or annual pay figure on October 13, 2026.
- At least 7.4% of associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires offered remote or hybrid work on October 13, 2026 (listings that do not say are counted as on-site).
- The five largest employers posted 17.5% of associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires on October 13, 2026, led by Greenberg Traurig with 39.
- California had the most associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires on October 13, 2026: 127, or 16.8% of the national total.
- The median annual wage for all lawyers was $159,670 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, SOC 23-1011).
- 92.8% of the law school Class of 2025 was employed about ten months after graduation, the second-highest rate on record after the Class of 2024's 93.4% (NALP).
- 60.9% of employed Class of 2025 law graduates took private-practice jobs, the highest share since the Class of 1990 (NALP).
Associate Attorney Listing Statistics
LawFirmHires had 754 open associate attorney listings from 301 employers on October 13, 2026.
332 were first posted in the previous 14 days and 525 in the previous 30 days.
At least 4.4% of associate attorney listings were fully remote and 3.1% hybrid on October 13, 2026.
Listings that do not mention a work arrangement are counted as on-site, so the real shares may be higher.
At least 1.7% of associate attorney listings were part-time on October 13, 2026.
Listings that name no schedule are counted as full-time, so the real part-time share is likely higher.
The benefit associate attorney listings named most often on October 13, 2026 was dental & Vision, in 38.5% of listings, followed by health Insurance (35.9%).
A listing that does not mention a benefit may still offer it.
To browse the openings themselves, see all associate attorney listings.
Associate Attorney Pay Statistics
BLS publishes no separate associate attorney series, so federal figures here are for all lawyers.
The median annual wage for all lawyers was $159,670 in May 2025, and the middle half earned $102,990 to $221,370 (BLS OEWS, SOC 23-1011 (all lawyers), May 2025).
Employers hiring associate attorneys on LawFirmHires advertise a median of $115,000 a year across 179 employers on October 13, 2026; this is advertised pay, not earnings.
For pay by state and percentile, see the associate attorney salary guide, and for the full distribution of posted pay see our quarterly associate attorney pay data release.
Associate Attorney Demand by State
States with at least 25 open associate attorney listings from 10 or more employers on October 13, 2026.
California had the most open associate attorney listings on October 13, 2026, with 127 (16.8% of the national total).
Florida followed with 65 (8.6%).
To browse the openings in one state, start with associate attorney openings in California.
| State | Open listings | Share of U.S. | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 127 | 16.8% | 66 |
| Florida | 65 | 8.6% | 37 |
| New York | 64 | 8.5% | 44 |
| Texas | 61 | 8.1% | 35 |
| Illinois | 58 | 7.7% | 31 |
| Colorado | 26 | 3.4% | 21 |
| District of Columbia | 26 | 3.4% | 12 |
LawFirmHires listings, October 13, 2026. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Associate Attorney Employer Mix
301 employers had open associate attorney listings on LawFirmHires on October 13, 2026, and the five largest posted 17.5% of them.
212 employers (70.4%) had exactly one open associate attorney listing.
Associate Attorney Workforce
92.8% of the law school Class of 2025 was employed about ten months after graduation, the second-highest rate on record after the Class of 2024's 93.4% (NALP).
84.6% of Class of 2025 law graduates held jobs requiring or anticipating bar admission, the highest share since NALP's current job classifications began in 2001 (NALP).
60.9% of employed Class of 2025 law graduates took private-practice jobs, the highest share since the Class of 1990 (NALP).
Firms of more than 500 lawyers accounted for 33.2% of Class of 2025 law firm jobs, and firms of 1 to 10 lawyers for 26.4% (NALP).
Law firms (the Legal Services industry, NAICS 5411) employed 448,040 lawyers in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
BLS projects lawyer employment to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with about 28,700 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35).
For the full job outlook, see our lawyer job outlook guide.
For why small firms find associates and paralegals hard to hire, see our hiring analysis.
For how to enter the field, see the associate attorney career guide.
Associate Attorney Statistics FAQ
How many associate attorney openings are there right now?
LawFirmHires listed 754 open associate attorney positions from 301 employers in 43 states and the District of Columbia on October 13, 2026.
332 of them were first posted in the previous 14 days.
The count is refreshed every six hours from live listings.
What do associate attorney job listings pay?
Employers hiring associate attorneys on LawFirmHires advertise a median of $115,000 a year (179 employers, 297 listings, October 13, 2026), and the middle half of listings offer $92,500 to $162,500.
That is advertised pay, not earnings.
The BLS median annual wage for all lawyers was $159,670 in May 2025.
What share of new law graduates go into private practice?
60.9% of employed Class of 2025 law graduates took private-practice jobs, according to NALP, the highest share since the Class of 1990.
Firms of more than 500 lawyers accounted for 33.2% of the law firm jobs and firms of 1 to 10 lawyers for 26.4%.
Methodology and Sources
Listing figures are computed from every active, paid associate attorney listing on LawFirmHires at the time shown, and refreshed every six hours.
Listings on a job board are not a random sample of all associate attorney jobs, so read them as a picture of current hiring, not of total employment.
Advertised pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posts, or its single figure, and hourly and annual postings are never converted into each other.
The headline is the employer median: each employer’s own median, then the median across employers, so a firm posting dozens of openings counts once.
A pay figure needs at least 30 listings from 10 employers and is withheld when one employer posted more than half of them.
Federal figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, NALP and are quoted as published, with the year in each sentence.
BLS wage figures cover employees only and leave out the self-employed.
Associate attorney and senior associate listings are counted together, as in the associate attorney pay data release.
- LawFirmHires job listings — active, paid listings for associate attorneys, queried live and refreshed every six hours.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- NALP, Class of 2025 Selected Findings (August 2026)
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Legal Services (NAICS 5411)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Lawyers (2025–35 projections)