How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer?

Understanding how your hourly rate compares to what other lawyers charge provides valuable insight into how competitive your rates are and helps you make strategic decisions regarding your billing rate. 

Every year, Clio’s researchers analyze data from tens of thousands of legal professionals working across all states and practice areas to determine the average cost for an hour of legal services in the United States. Each iteration of the Legal Trends Report includes annual data on average hourly rates and key performance indicators (KPIs) to help analyze lawyer and law firm productivity, efficiency, and revenue generation. 

Average lawyer hourly rates by state

The following chart provides the average lawyer hourly rate by state at a glance.

State
Average Lawyer Hourly Rate 2022
Average Lawyer Hourly Rate 2021
Alabama $211 $206
Arkansas $248 $251
Arizona $268 $260
California $358 $352
Colorado $271 $267
Connecticut $350 $335
District of Columbia $424 $411
Delaware $358 $353
Florida $303 $296
Georgia $288 $275
Iowa $192 $189
Idaho $235 $227
Illinois $314 $309
Indiana $251 $239
Kansas $248 $237
Kentucky $216 $214
Louisiana $250 $244
Massachusetts $290 $285
Maryland $319 $312
Maine $195 $178
Michigan $269 $272
Minnesota $274 $275
Missouri $254 $246
Mississippi $225 $214
Montana $213 $207
North Carolina $262 $255
North Dakota $268 $264
Nebraska $219 $224
New Hampshire $256 $239
New Jersey $330 $324
New Mexico $244 $243
Nevada $318 $320
New York $378 $372
Ohio $238 $234
Oklahoma $230 $225
Oregon $263 $257
Pennsylvania $290 $287
Rhode Island $238 $221
South Carolina $259 $246
South Dakota $189 $183
Tennessee $247 $235
Texas $313 $301
Utah $260 $251
Virginia $304 $295
Vermont $235 $224
Washington $296 $286
Wisconsin $251 $248
West Virginia $168 $163
Wyoming $266 $257

Guide to lawyer rate information for each state

Each lawyer rate information state page provides detailed information regarding average hourly rates and KPIs. Here’s how to interpret the information covered in each section.

Hourly rates by practice area

These are average hourly rates by practice area in each state. These rates include hourly rates for lawyers and cover common practice areas.  

Hourly rates versus adjusted hourly rates

These rates are divided into average hourly rates in each state for law firms, attorneys, and non-lawyers (non-lawyer rates may include non-lawyer staff such as paralegals, legal assistants, firm managers, or other administrative staff).

Adjusted hourly rates have been adjusted to reflect the cost of living for each state.

Key performance indicators (KPIs): utilization, realization, and collection rates

The right KPIs provide valuable insights into a law firm’s performance. This information helps lawyers understand how they and their staff contribute to revenue generation and can be instrumental in identifying areas for continuous improvement. 

Every lawyer should be familiar with the following KPIs: 

  1. Utilization rate: How much of a typical eight-hour work day is spent on billable hours for clients.
  2. Realization rate: The number of billable hours—after discounting and write-offs—that actually make it onto a client’s bill
  3. Collection rate: How many of these billed hours are actually paid by clients.

Hourly rates over the last five reports

For comparison, and to see trends over time, we provide the average and adjusted hourly rates for law firms, attorneys, and non-lawyers over the past five Legal Trends Reports

Methodology for hourly rate calculations

Clio’s hourly rate calculations compare aggregated and anonymized billing data from tens of thousands of legal professionals working across all states and practice areas. For more information on the methodology used in this analysis, please download the report and refer to the Methodology section in the Appendix.

Get more insights for your law firm

Staying on top of the right data and trends can help you make the best decisions for your practice. That’s why the Legal Trends Report provides information on the most important issues faced within the legal profession. Amid inflation, rising interest rates, and volatile employment markets, we provide key insights on how global trends have impacted business and productivity among law firms.

Read the Legal Trends Report