Lawyer pay in Boston, by the numbers
Monthly take-home on that median is roughly US$12,600; local prices sit at COL 100, so its buying power is about US$183,400.
Lawyer pay in Boston: national and in-state ranking
Directly above Boston is Los Angeles (US$194,410); directly below is San Diego (US$178,220). The full range runs from US$127,920 in Jacksonville to US$301,320 in San Jose.
No other MA metro has observed lawyer percentiles here, so Boston is judged against the 21-metro national list instead.
What the Boston median is worth after tax and rent
With a COL index of 100, there is little difference between headline pay and price-adjusted pay (US$183,400).
Cash rank and buying-power rank match for Boston: 6th of 21.
Take-home on the median comes to roughly US$12,600 monthly (18% effective tax in our simplified model). Rent for a modeled 1-bedroom is 13% of it, and the single-adult budget ends about US$9,050 in the black.
If you compared Boston with similarly priced cities
In New York — similar cost level, COL 100 — the median is US$208,880 (+14% vs Boston), and the modeled budget leaves US$1,620 more each month.
In Los Angeles — similar cost level, COL 100 — the median is US$194,410 (+6% vs Boston), and the modeled budget leaves US$700 more each month.
A lawyer moving from Boston to Chicago (similar cost level, COL 100) would see the median fall 10% to US$165,660, with US$1,120 less left over monthly in our model.
Lawyer vs other occupations in Boston
No tracked occupation in Boston out-earns lawyer (9 roles compared); the runner-up, Software Engineer, sits at US$166,090.
Where Boston stands for junior and senior lawyers
Top earners do comparatively well in Boston — 4th of 21 at the 90th percentile — while entry-level pay ranks 13th.
For the top 10% of earners, San Jose leads with US$421,000 at the 90th percentile, +11% against Boston.
The lawyer pay range in Boston
Pay is spread out: US$84,280 at the 10th percentile to US$379,350 at the 90th (4.5×). Level and setting matter more than the city average here.