Lawyers Salary in Michigan

In Michigan, lawyers earn a median $130,520 a year, well below the national median of $159,670 (−18%); the state ranks 28th of 51 states by median. Lawyers earn 2.6 times the median across all occupations in Michigan ($49,270). Among neighbouring states, Ohio pays more (up to $131,020 in Ohio) and Indiana and Wisconsin pay less (down to $126,760 in Wisconsin). Michigan employs 16,620 lawyers, 3.77 per 1,000 jobs, the 15th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 0.78 means it is less common in Michigan than nationally.

Michigan vs the United States, May 2025

Lawyers: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Michigan and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
MichiganHourly$37.11$48.15$62.75$82.86$114.60$71.5516,6203.770.78
Annual$77,180$100,160$130,520$172,340$238,370$148,820
United StatesHourly$37.67$49.51$76.76$106.43$169.04$89.35754,500––
Annual$78,360$102,990$159,670$221,370$351,600$185,840
$0$100k$200k$300k10th10th: $77,180$77,18025th25th: $100,160$100,160MedianMedian: $130,520$130,52075th75th: $172,340$172,34090th90th: $238,370$238,370US median
Michigan annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
28th of 51 states
Rank by employment
15th of 51 states
Location quotient
0.78
Jobs per 1,000
3.77

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Michigan's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Michigan

16 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Michigan publish a row for lawyers, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI$64.89$134,980$78,730$246,42010,1105.311.09
Ann Arbor, MI$63.90$132,920$79,450$274,1606402.920.60
Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI$62.19$129,360$79,090$308,1901,4302.400.49
Lansing-East Lansing, MI$61.83$128,610$80,660$212,7401,1305.211.07
Niles, MI$59.15$123,030$68,340$320,4001101.900.39
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI$54.04$112,400$74,770$255,8803302.730.56
Flint, MI$51.84$107,830$78,120$202,0802601.930.40
Traverse City, MI$51.67$107,460$67,330$236,6501902.710.56
Battle Creek, MI$50.37$104,770$65,680$190,420701.230.25
Saginaw, MI$50.37$104,760$73,390$233,8802002.490.51
Monroe, MI$50.01$104,020$65,160$224,070701.730.36
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI$49.54$103,050$61,810$239,6402802.090.43
Bay City, MI$48.82$101,540$69,450$168,180601.880.39
Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI$46.78$97,300$62,890$166,6001302.110.43
Jackson, MI****1602.860.59
Midland, MI****1002.620.54
Southern Michigan nonmetropolitan area$49.16$102,240$58,150$199,9502101.570.32
Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area$47.55$98,900$65,810$166,0001701.520.31
Mid Michigan nonmetropolitan area$46.78$97,300$55,410$209,5502201.460.30
Northern Michigan nonmetropolitan area$46.31$96,320$56,550$171,7102201.880.39

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Michigan$62.75$130,52016,6200.78
Indiana$60.99$126,8608,9700.58
Ohio$62.99$131,02019,9500.74
Wisconsin$60.94$126,7609,1600.64

See the national page for Lawyers (every state ranked) and the Michigan wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Michigan estimates.

*
Wage estimate not available.
  • Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
  • Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.