How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer?

Understanding how your hourly rate compares to what other lawyers charge provides valuable insight into how competitive your rates are and helps you make strategic decisions regarding your billing rate. 

Every year, Clio’s researchers analyze data from tens of thousands of legal professionals working across all states and practice areas to determine the average cost for an hour of legal services in the United States. Each iteration of the Legal Trends Report includes annual data on average hourly rates and key performance indicators (KPIs) to help analyze lawyer and law firm productivity, efficiency, and revenue generation. 

Average lawyer hourly rates by state

The following chart provides the average lawyer hourly rate by state at a glance.

State
Average Lawyer Hourly Rate 2023
Average Lawyer Hourly Rate 2022
Alabama $208 $211
Arkansas $242 $248
Arizona $266 $268
California $344 $358
Colorado $261 $271
Connecticut $342 $350
District of Columbia $392 $424
Delaware $344 $358
Florida $297 $303
Georgia $286 $288
Iowa $202 $192
Idaho $233 $235
Illinois $305 $314
Indiana $242 $251
Kansas $227 $248
Kentucky $204 $216
Louisiana $245 $250
Massachusetts $285 $290
Maryland $310 $319
Maine $193 $195
Michigan $266 $269
Minnesota $271 $274
Missouri $249 $254
Mississippi $217 $225
Montana $199 $213
North Carolina $254 $262
North Dakota $253 $268
Nebraska $218 $219
New Hampshire $248 $256
New Jersey $306 $330
New Mexico $242 $244
Nevada $311 $318
New York $358 $378
Ohio $224 $238
Oklahoma $235 $230
Oregon $255 $263
Pennsylvania $288 $290
Rhode Island $240 $238
South Carolina $249 $259
South Dakota $199 $189
Tennessee $233 $247
Texas $300 $313
Utah $250 $260
Virginia $295 $304
Vermont $226 $235
Washington $288 $296
Wisconsin $231 $251
West Virginia $162 $168
Wyoming $241 $266

 

Guide to lawyer rate information for each state

Each lawyer rate information state page provides detailed information regarding average hourly rates and KPIs. Here’s how to interpret the information covered in each section.

Hourly rates by practice area

These are average hourly rates by practice area in each state. These rates include hourly rates for lawyers and cover common practice areas.  

Hourly rates versus adjusted hourly rates

These rates are divided into average hourly rates in each state for law firms, attorneys, and non-lawyers (non-lawyer rates may include non-lawyer staff such as paralegals, legal assistants, firm managers, or other administrative staff).

Adjusted hourly rates have been adjusted to reflect the cost of living for each state.

Key performance indicators (KPIs): utilization, realization, and collection rates

The right KPIs provide valuable insights into a law firm’s performance. This information helps lawyers understand how they and their staff contribute to revenue generation and can be instrumental in identifying areas for continuous improvement. 

Every lawyer should be familiar with the following KPIs: 

  1. Utilization rate: How much of a typical eight-hour work day is spent on billable hours for clients.
  2. Realization rate: The number of billable hours—after discounting and write-offs—that actually make it onto a client’s bill
  3. Collection rate: How many of these billed hours are actually paid by clients.

Hourly rates over the last five reports

For comparison, and to see trends over time, we provide the average and adjusted hourly rates for law firms, attorneys, and non-lawyers over the past five Legal Trends Reports

Methodology for hourly rate calculations

Clio’s hourly rate calculations compare aggregated and anonymized billing data from tens of thousands of legal professionals working across all states and practice areas. For more information on the methodology used in this analysis, please download the report and refer to the Methodology section in the Appendix.

Get more insights for your law firm

Staying on top of the right data and trends can help you make the best decisions for your practice. That’s why the Legal Trends Report provides information on the most important issues faced within the legal profession. Amid inflation, rising interest rates, and volatile employment markets, we provide key insights on how global trends have impacted business and productivity among law firms.

Read the Legal Trends Report