Lawyers vs Accountants Salary Comparison

Students, career changers, and hiring managers often ask whether Lawyers or Accountants & auditors pays more on a nationally representative benchmark. This page anchors that question to BLS OEWS May 2024 national medians — half of workers earn more, half earn less — then layers 2026 paycheck math so you see take-home, not just gross.

Lawyers leads on gross median by $69,480 per year. That is roughly $33.40 per hour on a standard 2,080-hour schedule — before you factor training time, licensing, or non-wage benefits.

Use the scoreboard for medians and ranks, the state ladder for take-home in Texas, California, New York, and Florida, then open each occupation profile for BLS source links and calculator deep links.

OEWS medians are employer-reported cash wages for W-2 workers in the occupation nationally. They do not add RSU vests, many bonuses, overtime premiums, or self-employment income.

Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) and Accountants (SOC 13-2011) can look closer or farther apart in a specific metro than on this national line — especially tech and healthcare roles with shift or equity pay.

When an offer exceeds the median, model it in the US paycheck calculator. When you need city context, pair this page with metro paycheck examples or the relocation salary calculator.

At Lawyers's median ($151,160), modeled effective employee levy rates run 24.2% in Texas and 32.0% in California. At Accountants's median ($81,680): 18.8% (TX) and 24.3% (CA).

Texas isolates federal income tax and FICA because it has no state income tax on wages. California and New York show how state brackets compress net pay even when gross medians favor the higher-paying occupation.

These are single-filer vignettes with the standard deduction — not a forecast of your W-2 withholding or year-end refund.

Education debt, licensing exams, night shifts, union steps, and equity refresh cycles can invert a simple median ranking over a full career.

Healthcare pairs often compare years of training (physicians vs nurse practitioners). Tech pairs compare equity-heavy total comp against cash-wage medians.

Use the career path simulator when you need promotion, job-hop, or RSU scenarios above the published median — still after tax, still engine-backed.

Lawyers ranks #12 of 92 tracked occupations; Accountants ranks #51.

The $69,480 gap is 85% relative to Accountants's median — use hourly equivalents when comparing to part-time or contract offers.

Featured corridors on the hub (software vs nursing, lawyers vs accountants) exist because search volume clusters there — your pair may still be valid even when ranks are far apart.

Open the Lawyers and Accountants profiles for BLS source links, percentile tables when published, and calculator deep links prefilled at each median.

If relocation is involved, stack metro paycheck examples and effective tax rate by state on top of this occupation comparison — gross median alone does not price rent or commute.

When an offer exceeds either median, model it in the US paycheck calculator with your filing status and pre-tax deductions.