Lawyers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $166K, rent takes 18.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,781/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new lawyers typically earn — is $87K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $5,224/month. At HUD’s $1,781/month FMR, rent would take 34% 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 — $166K locally vs. $160K nationally, a 4% difference.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin pays $166K median vs. the U.S. average of $160K — that’s +4%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 103.59), the purchasing-power equivalent is $160K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $165,660 a year, that works out to about $80 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $87,070, and experienced lawyers can clear $331,140. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $9,649/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,781/month, which eats 18.5% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Chicago-Naperville-Elgin has a Regional Price Parity of 103.59 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median lawyers salary is worth about $159,919 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.