Lawyers Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $103K, rent takes 17.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,136/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new lawyers typically earn — is $51K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,410/month. At HUD’s $1,136/month FMR, rent would take 33% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 35% below the national median — $103K here vs. $160K nationally. Cost of living is 6% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Idaho pays $103K median vs. the U.S. average of $160K — that’s -35%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 93.88), the purchasing-power equivalent is $110K — below the national median.

The median is $103,400 a year, that works out to about $50 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $50,730, and experienced lawyers can clear $216,660. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,350/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,136/month, which eats 17.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Idaho has a Regional Price Parity of 93.88 (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 lawyers salary is worth about $110,141 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.