Average Barrister Salary in Washington D.C., United States for 2025

In this article, we will look at the average Barrister salary for 2025 in Washington D.C. and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the United States dollar. To keep things simple, we are using the USD currency code instead of the currency symbol $.

How Much Does a Barrister Make in Washington D.C.?

A Barrister working in Washington D.C. will typically earn around 51,600 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 26,200 USD to the highest average salary of 81,200 USD.

Average Annual Salary51,600 USD
Average Monthly Salary4,300 USD
Average Lowest Salary26,200 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary2,183 USD
Average Highest Salary81,200 USD
Highest Monthly Salary6,766 USD

These are average salaries for a Barrister in Washington D.C. and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Barrister to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Barrister salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Barrister Salaries in Washington D.C.

So we've looked at the average salaries a Barrister will earn in Washington D.C.. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Barrister can earn between 26,200 USD and 81,200 USD on average in Washington D.C.. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Barrister in Washington D.C. is 51,900 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 51,900 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 51,900 USD.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Barrister salary in Washington D.C., 25% of the population are earning less than 33,600 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 33,600 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 68,100 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 68,100 USD.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Barrister Salary by Experience Level in Washington D.C.

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Barrister salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Barrister in Washington D.C. that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 27,200 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Barrister salary would increase to 41,700 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Barrister, the average salary would be 51,100 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 63,500 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Barrister with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 68,500 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Barrister with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 74,200 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
27,200 USD
2-5 Years+42%
41,700 USD
5-10 Years+31%
51,100 USD
10-15 Years+23%
63,500 USD
15-20 Years+6%
68,500 USD
20+ Years+10%
74,200 USD

Barrister Salary by Education Level in Washington D.C.

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Barrister in Washington D.C. based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Barrister in Washington D.C. with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 36,900 USD.
  • Bachelor's Degree. A Barrister in Washington D.C. with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 71,400 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Certificate or Diploma-
36,900 USD
Bachelor's Degree+90%
71,400 USD

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United States is around 39,500 to 118,000 USD and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Barrister Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Washington D.C., a male barrister will earn an average of 48,300 USD, while a female barrister will earn around 45,300 USD.

This means that a male barrister earns approximately 7% more than a female barrister for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Washington D.C.

Male-
48,300 USD
Female-7%
45,300 USD

Barrister Average Pay Raise in Washington D.C.

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Barrister in Washington D.C. is around 10% every 15 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United States is around 8% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 15 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Barrister in Washington D.C. can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Washington D.C. for 2025

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United States.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
4%
Energy-
8%
Information Technology-
3%
Healthcare-
7%
Travel-
2%
Construction-
6%
Education-
1%

Barrister Bonus and Incentive Rates in Washington D.C.

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Barrister is a low bonus based job, with 27% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

73% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus-
27%
No Bonus-
73%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United States earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
98,800 USD
Private Sector-6%
93,100 USD

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Barrister

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Barrister in Washington D.C..

Job TitleCategorySalary
Administrative Law JudgeLegal245,400 USD
ArbitratorLegal119,700 USD
Associate AttorneyLegal117,100 USD
AttorneyLegal192,600 USD
BailiffLegal58,200 USD
Candidate AttorneyLegal114,600 USD
ConciliatorLegal95,300 USD
Contracts AssociateLegal59,200 USD
Contracts ManagerLegal108,200 USD
Contracts NegotiatorLegal88,300 USD
Contracts SpecialistLegal62,500 USD
Conveyancing SecretaryLegal48,600 USD
Corporate CounselLegal137,100 USD
CounselLegal134,700 USD
Court ClerkLegal45,200 USD
Court Judicial AssistantLegal75,500 USD
Court Liaison SpecialistLegal81,000 USD
Court ReporterLegal76,000 USD
Court RepresentativeLegal57,800 USD
Crown Prosecution Service LawyerLegal257,700 USD
General CounselLegal250,600 USD
Immigration ExecutiveLegal130,500 USD
In House CounselLegal142,300 USD
Intellectual Property SpecialistLegal99,600 USD
Judge AdvocateLegal192,600 USD
Law ClerkLegal43,800 USD
LawyerLegal177,100 USD
Legal Administrative AssistantLegal49,300 USD
Legal AdvisorLegal116,400 USD
Legal AssistantLegal46,700 USD
Legal AssociateLegal87,000 USD
Legal ConsultantLegal118,900 USD
Legal ConsultantLegal119,700 USD
Legal CounselLegal132,000 USD
Legal EditorLegal93,800 USD
Legal ExecutiveLegal167,100 USD
Legal Executive SecretaryLegal51,300 USD
Legal IP OfficerLegal45,000 USD
Legal OfficerLegal59,500 USD
Legal SecretaryLegal55,400 USD
Legal Services DirectorLegal211,200 USD
Legal Services ManagerLegal209,700 USD
Legal Support WorkerLegal34,400 USD
Legislative LiaisonLegal91,500 USD
Litigation AttorneyLegal223,800 USD
Litigation ParalegalLegal108,200 USD
Magistrate JudgeLegal278,500 USD
ParalegalLegal72,400 USD
Patent AttorneyLegal147,900 USD
Staff AttorneyLegal147,900 USD

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United States, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Atlanta45,600 USD
Austin55,700 USD
Baltimore49,300 USD
Boston52,000 USD
Bristol42,700 USD
Chicago60,200 USD
Cincinnati44,700 USD
Cleveland44,500 USD
Dallas58,700 USD
Denver54,100 USD
Detroit48,500 USD
Honolulu42,500 USD
Houston59,700 USD
Indianapolis51,500 USD
Iowa City43,500 USD
Jacksonville57,200 USD
Kansas City45,000 USD
Kent41,700 USD
Las Vegas48,000 USD
Long Beach47,500 USD
Los Angeles59,500 USD
Memphis52,300 USD
Miami48,600 USD
Minneapolis46,000 USD
New Orleans45,800 USD
New York60,800 USD
Oakland49,700 USD
Oklahoma City50,000 USD
Orlando44,300 USD
Philadelphia56,800 USD
Phoenix58,200 USD
Sacramento50,300 USD
San Antonio56,100 USD
San Diego55,600 USD
San Francisco54,100 USD
San Jose57,900 USD
Seattle51,400 USD
Tampa41,500 USD
Vancouver41,900 USD

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United States.

StateAverage Salary
Alabama51,600 USD
Alaska47,600 USD
Arizona55,400 USD
Arkansas47,200 USD
California58,500 USD
Colorado52,000 USD
Connecticut49,400 USD
Delaware47,100 USD
District of Columbia44,200 USD
Florida55,700 USD
Georgia55,300 USD
Hawaii45,800 USD
Idaho45,400 USD
Illinois57,800 USD
Indiana54,600 USD
Iowa48,600 USD
Kansas50,000 USD
Kentucky51,300 USD
Louisiana48,500 USD
Maine48,600 USD
Maryland53,300 USD
Massachusetts52,300 USD
Michigan57,800 USD
Minnesota52,600 USD
Mississippi48,600 USD
Missouri54,100 USD
Montana45,600 USD
Nebraska45,400 USD
Nevada49,700 USD
New Hampshire45,000 USD
New Jersey50,100 USD
New Mexico50,800 USD
New York54,100 USD
North Carolina53,600 USD
North Dakota43,800 USD
Ohio53,800 USD
Oklahoma51,800 USD
Oregon49,300 USD
Pennsylvania55,700 USD
Rhode Island47,400 USD
South Carolina51,400 USD
South Dakota43,100 USD
Tennessee54,500 USD
Texas58,600 USD
Utah45,300 USD
Vermont48,600 USD
Virginia56,100 USD
Washington53,300 USD
West Virginia48,300 USD
Wisconsin51,300 USD
Wyoming45,000 USD

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