NALP Bulletin+
June 2025

NALP's 2025 Associate Salary Survey report reveals that although many large firms raised their entry-level associate salaries to $225,000 in late 2023 and early 2024, those higher salaries have not yet become the prevailing wage across all law firms, or even within BigLaw. The overall median first-year associate base salary as of January 1, 2025, was $200,000; however, it is important to note that approximately 87% of survey respondents were from offices in firms of more than 250 lawyers. Smaller-sized law firms generally offer lower entry-level salaries as compared to larger firms, and that was reflected in this year's survey as well. For example, the median first-year salary in firms of 250 or fewer lawyers was $150,000, while it was $215,000 in the largest firms of more than 700 lawyers. At a regional level, median first-year salaries ranged from $180,000 in the Midwest to $205,000 in the South and West.

Although the median entry-level salary has not yet reached $225,000 within the largest firms, as Chart 1 shows, it was the most frequently reported first-year salary across all firms (32% of offices) and among firms with 701+ lawyers (45% of offices). For smaller firms of 250 or fewer lawyers, salaries of $150,000 or less were most common (44% of offices). While nationally most law offices are not yet paying a $225,000 starting salary, it has become the standard first-year figure in several cities, including Austin, Boston, Houston, New York City, San Francisco, and the Washington, DC area. (See Table 1.)

Offices paying $225,000 entry-level salaries were also concentrated primarily within a few major cities. Well over half (54.8%) of the offices reporting this figure were located in one of six major markets: the Washington, DC area; New York City; Los Angeles/Orange County; Houston; San Francisco; and Dallas. (See Table 2.)

When further exploring salary data by geographic market, at least half of the offices in eight major cities now offer a $225,000 starting salary. These cities or markets include Austin; Boston; Charlotte; Dallas; Houston; New York City; San Francisco; and the Washington, DC area. However, many locations, including Minneapolis; Nashville; Northern New Jersey/Newark; Raleigh/Durham; and Seattle had fewer than 20% of offices reporting this first-year figure. (See Table 3.)

There's much more to discover about law firm compensation in NALP's 2025 Associate Salary Survey report, available now in the NALP bookstore. The publication includes detailed information on associate compensation by year, firm size, metropolitan area size, region, and city, as well as salary information for summer associates, staff lawyers, and law clerks. Learn more under Salaries & Compensation.

Table 1. Distribution of Average Associate First-Year Base Salaries by Firm Size (in $ per year, as of January 1, 2025)

Note: The salaries included in this table are those that accounted for 3% or more of reported salaries nationally. The overall column reports the percentage of all first-year salaries that were reported at each salary level. Salaries are then further disaggregated by firm size.
Source: NALP's 2025 Associate Salary Survey

Table 2. Distribution of Average Associate First-Year Base Salaries of $225,000 by City (as of January 1, 2025)

Note: In total, 115 offices reported $225,000 as the average first-year associate base salary. In addition to the cities listed, 21 additional offices across 17 cities reported a $225,000 average first-year salary, collectively accounting for 18.2% of all $225,000 salaries.
Source: NALP's 2025 Associate Salary Survey

Table 3. Percentage of Offices Reporting a $225,000 Average Associate First-Year Base Salary by City (as of January 1, 2025)

Note: The cities included in this table had at least six offices reporting an average first-year associate salary.
Source: NALP's 2025 Associate Salary Survey