How much do compliance attorneys make in 2026?
Compliance attorneys sit inside the BLS lawyers series, where OEWS May 2025 reports a national median of $159,670 a year ($76.76 an hour) for SOC 23-1011, a bottom 10% near $78,360 and a top 10% at $351,600 across 754,500 lawyers. The code covers all legal practice and cannot isolate regulatory work. The distinguishing feature of this career is a pay mechanic that few other legal specialisms share so clearly: the value of agency experience in private practice. Attorneys who have worked enforcement or examination at a regulator understand how investigations are actually opened, escalated and resolved, and firms and companies pay a substantial premium for that knowledge because it changes outcomes. The typical trajectory is therefore several years at an agency or in a government enforcement office at public sector pay near the lower half of this band, followed by a move into a firm's regulatory practice or into a senior in-house role at a multiple of that salary. It is one of the few legal paths where taking lower-paid work early is a straightforwardly rational financial decision. The regimes that generate the most demand are securities and financial services, healthcare fraud and abuse, sanctions and export control, antitrust and privacy. Employment is projected to grow 4.1% through 2034 with roughly 31,500 openings a year. → Full compliance attorney career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $159,670 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Compliance Attorneys earn a national median $159,670/yr ($76.76/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 23-1011); the P10 to P90 range is $78,360 to $351,600.
- Agency enforcement experience is the defining asset in this specialism, and firms pay a substantial premium for it because it genuinely changes how investigations resolve.
- The standard trajectory — several years of government pay near the lower half of the band, then a move to a firm or senior in-house role — makes accepting lower early pay a rational financial decision.
- Securities and financial services, healthcare fraud and abuse, sanctions and export control, antitrust and privacy generate the strongest demand for this expertise.
US Compliance Attorney Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do compliance attorneys earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 23-1011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 23-1011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a compliance attorney earn at each career stage?
Regulatory practice pay follows the credibility of your enforcement experience, not the years attached to it. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 23-1011.
By State
Which states pay compliance attorneys the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the national lawyer median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Regulatory practice concentrates around the agencies themselves and around the industries they supervise, so its geography is far narrower than a state-by-state table implies.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($183,620), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay compliance attorneys the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations. The metros hosting federal regulators and major regulated industries carry a disproportionate share of these roles.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a compliance attorney’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does compliance attorney pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Compliance Attorneys sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify compliance attorney wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a compliance attorney actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Compliance Attorney Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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