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Associate Attorney salary: median $137,000 a year

Associate Attorney listings that state pay run from $110,500 to $179,000 for the middle half, based on 42 current job listings. 251 associate attorney roles are open now.

Associate Attorney pay range

From 42 open listings that state pay. Annual, in US dollars.

Lower quarter
$110,500
Median
$137,000
Upper quarter
$179,000

Do AI skills change associate attorney pay?

For Legal roles in general, as of November 9, 2026. This is the function’s figure, not one for associate attorney alone: one title rarely has enough listings on both sides.

Among Legal listings, those that ask for an AI skill advertise a median $207,000, against $136,000 for those that never mention AI (+52%). That raw gap is not matched on level or industry.

Listings that ask for an AI skill
$207,000
median, from 281 paid listings
Listings that never mention AI
$136,000
median, from 758 paid listings

Advertised pay only: the midpoint of the range an employer posted, on live U.S. postings read from the full text. “Asks for an AI skill” means the posting names a specific AI skill; “no AI” means it never mentions AI. A difference in what is advertised is not a promise of what you would be paid, and it does not show that learning a skill causes a raise.

See the AI-skill pay table for every function · Check your own pay against these listings

More pay data: Legal pay by level, skills that pay more and pay by employer size.

Open associate attorney jobs

Verified against the employer’s own career site within the last week.

Showing the newest 15 of about 251 verified open jobs here. Search all jobs

All 251 associate attorney jobs

Legal jobs in the rankings

Rankings about legal jobs

Legal jobs · Top Legal employers · All rankings

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Associate Attorney salary questions

How much does a associate attorney make?
Among 42 open associate attorney listings that state pay, the median is $137,000 a year, and half of listings fall between $110,500 and $179,000.
Where does this associate attorney pay data come from?
From current job listings on employers’ own career sites that state a pay range. Hourly pay is converted at 2,080 hours a year, and a listing’s midpoint is used. Listed pay is what employers advertise, not what people are paid.
Which state pays associate attorneys the most?
Of the states with enough listings, California has the highest median listed pay at $160,000.

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