Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $140K, rent takes 16% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,415/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,883/month. At HUD’s $1,415/month FMR, rent would take 75% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $140K locally vs. $154K nationally, a 9% difference.

Texas pays $140K median vs. the U.S. average of $154K — that’s -9%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 91.49), the purchasing-power equivalent is $153K — below the national median.

The median is $139,990 a year, that works out to about $67 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $31,380, and experienced judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates can clear $184,790. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $8,870/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,415/month, which eats 16% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Texas has a Regional Price Parity of 91.49 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates salary is worth about $153,011 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.