Lawyers Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $148K, rent takes 31.2% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $2,624/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $2,500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new lawyers typically earn — is $87K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $5,212/month. At HUD’s $2,624/month FMR, rent would take 50% 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 — $148K locally vs. $160K nationally, a 7% difference.

Kahului-Wailuku pays $148K median vs. the U.S. average of $160K — that’s -7%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 109.39), the purchasing-power equivalent is $136K — below the national median.

The median is $148,370 a year, that works out to about $71 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $86,860, and experienced lawyers can clear $194,440. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $8,404/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $2,624/month, which eats 31.2% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Kahului-Wailuku has a Regional Price Parity of 109.39 (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 $135,634 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.