Average Counsel Salary in Massachusetts, United States for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Counsel salary for 2026 in Massachusetts 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 Counsel Make in Massachusetts?

A Counsel working in Massachusetts will typically earn around 146,900 USD per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 79,800 USD to the highest average salary of 223,800 USD.

Average Annual Salary146,900 USD
Average Monthly Salary12,241 USD
Average Lowest Salary79,800 USD
Lowest Monthly Salary6,650 USD
Average Highest Salary223,800 USD
Highest Monthly Salary18,650 USD

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

Counsel 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 Counsel Salaries in Massachusetts

So we've looked at the average salaries a Counsel will earn in Massachusetts. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Counsel can earn between 79,800 USD and 223,800 USD on average in Massachusetts. 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 Counsel in Massachusetts is 140,700 USD. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 140,700 USD, and 50% of the population earn more than 140,700 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 Counsel salary in Massachusetts, 25% of the population are earning less than 97,400 USD while 75% of the population earn more than 97,400 USD.

75% of the population earn less than 171,300 USD, and 25% of the population earn more than 171,300 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.

Counsel Salary by Experience Level in Massachusetts

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 Counsel 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 Counsel in Massachusetts that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 90,300 USD.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Counsel salary would increase to 111,700 USD.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Counsel, the average salary would be 156,200 USD.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 184,700 USD.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Counsel with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 199,700 USD.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Counsel with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 211,200 USD.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
90,300 USD
2-5 Years+23%
111,700 USD
5-10 Years+42%
156,200 USD
10-15 Years+17%
184,700 USD
15-20 Years+10%
199,700 USD
20+ Years+6%
211,200 USD

Counsel Salary by Education Level in Massachusetts

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 Counsel in Massachusetts based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Counsel in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 103,600 USD.
  • Master's Degree. A Counsel in Massachusetts with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 195,500 USD.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Bachelor's Degree-
103,600 USD
Master's Degree+93%
195,500 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.

Counsel 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 Massachusetts, a male counsel will earn an average of 139,100 USD, while a female counsel will earn around 130,400 USD.

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

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Massachusetts

Male-
139,100 USD
Female-7%
130,400 USD

Counsel Average Pay Raise in Massachusetts

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 Counsel in Massachusetts is around 11% every 16 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 = ( 11 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Counsel in Massachusetts can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Massachusetts for 2026

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%

Counsel Bonus and Incentive Rates in Massachusetts

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 Counsel is a low bonus based job, with 32% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

68% 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 0% to 3%.

Received Bonus-
32%
No Bonus-
68%

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 Counsel

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Counsel in Massachusetts.

Job TitleCategorySalary
Administrative Law JudgeLegal245,400 USD
ArbitratorLegal119,700 USD
Associate AttorneyLegal117,100 USD
AttorneyLegal192,600 USD
BailiffLegal58,200 USD
BarristerLegal49,700 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
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
Atlanta124,500 USD
Austin153,700 USD
Baltimore132,000 USD
Boston138,700 USD
Bristol108,200 USD
Chicago152,900 USD
Cincinnati114,300 USD
Cleveland123,800 USD
Dallas150,100 USD
Denver140,700 USD
Detroit134,700 USD
Honolulu114,600 USD
Houston153,800 USD
Indianapolis140,700 USD
Iowa City114,600 USD
Jacksonville140,200 USD
Kansas City128,400 USD
Kent109,000 USD
Las Vegas140,700 USD
Long Beach123,800 USD
Los Angeles163,500 USD
Memphis141,000 USD
Miami127,600 USD
Minneapolis121,800 USD
New Orleans118,900 USD
New York157,600 USD
Oakland128,400 USD
Oklahoma City132,000 USD
Orlando116,400 USD
Philadelphia152,900 USD
Phoenix164,100 USD
Sacramento134,100 USD
San Antonio158,900 USD
San Diego151,800 USD
San Francisco147,900 USD
San Jose157,600 USD
Seattle147,900 USD
Tampa115,600 USD
Vancouver114,900 USD
Washington D.C.142,100 USD

Salary Comparison by State

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

StateAverage Salary
Alabama138,700 USD
Alaska128,200 USD
Arizona146,700 USD
Arkansas130,500 USD
California157,600 USD
Colorado134,700 USD
Connecticut140,700 USD
Delaware123,800 USD
District of Columbia115,600 USD
Florida153,700 USD
Georgia147,900 USD
Hawaii130,400 USD
Idaho128,200 USD
Illinois142,300 USD
Indiana147,900 USD
Iowa128,400 USD
Kansas139,100 USD
Kentucky138,700 USD
Louisiana130,500 USD
Maine127,600 USD
Maryland140,700 USD
Michigan146,900 USD
Minnesota134,100 USD
Mississippi134,100 USD
Missouri139,100 USD
Montana128,400 USD
Nebraska130,500 USD
Nevada127,700 USD
New Hampshire127,600 USD
New Jersey142,300 USD
New Mexico134,700 USD
New York153,800 USD
North Carolina140,200 USD
North Dakota124,500 USD
Ohio147,900 USD
Oklahoma142,100 USD
Oregon134,700 USD
Pennsylvania142,300 USD
Rhode Island127,700 USD
South Carolina134,700 USD
South Dakota127,600 USD
Tennessee142,300 USD
Texas148,300 USD
Utah132,000 USD
Vermont117,100 USD
Virginia153,800 USD
Washington146,700 USD
West Virginia124,500 USD
Wisconsin142,300 USD
Wyoming115,600 USD

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