Lawyer pay in Seattle, by the numbers
After a simplified 17% national tax estimate that is about US$11,400 a month, in a metro with a cost-of-living index of 100.
Lawyer pay in Seattle: national and in-state ranking
Directly above Seattle is Chicago (US$165,660); directly below is Miami (US$160,320). The full range runs from US$127,920 in Jacksonville to US$301,320 in San Jose.
No other WA metro has observed lawyer percentiles here, so Seattle is judged against the 21-metro national list instead.
Is US$164,980 a good salary in Seattle?
Price levels in Seattle (index 100) neither inflate nor shrink the paycheck much; adjusted for costs it is worth about US$165,000.
Adjusting for prices does not move Seattle in the ranking: it is 12th of 21 on both cash and buying power.
After a simplified 17% effective national income tax, the median nets about US$11,400 a month. A modeled 1-bedroom (US$1,650) takes 14% of that, leaving around US$7,890 after modeled living costs.
If you compared Seattle with similarly priced cities
In New York — similar cost level, COL 100 — the median is US$208,880 (+27% vs Seattle), and the modeled budget leaves US$2,780 more each month.
Los Angeles (similar cost level, COL 100) pays US$194,410, 18% more than Seattle; modeled monthly leftover is US$1,860 higher.
A lawyer moving from Seattle to Chicago (similar cost level, COL 100) would see the median stay level to US$165,660, with US$40 more left over monthly in our model.
Other Seattle jobs compared with lawyer
Software Engineer is the best-paid tracked role in Seattle at US$167,280; lawyer comes 2nd of 9.
Closest neighbours in the Seattle list: Data Scientist at US$164,740 (0%).
How Seattle ranks at the low and high end
Starting pay holds up better than senior pay here. The 10th percentile places 4th nationally among observed metros; the 90th places 18th.
For the top 10% of earners, San Jose leads with US$421,000 at the 90th percentile, +34% against Seattle.
How wide lawyer pay runs in Seattle
Pay is spread out: US$99,910 at the 10th percentile to US$314,120 at the 90th (3.1×). Level and setting matter more than the city average here.