Many readers find their way to The Last Gen X American by searching for the “number of attorneys per capita by state” and discover research I did way back in the summer of 2010. Other searches bring people to the Avery Index, which used the 2000 Census population numbers with 2007 Martindale-Hubble attorney listings. Better data are available.
This page uses the number of attorneys “active and resident” according to the “ABA’s National Lawyer Population by State” count (NLPS) and population figures for each state from the U.S. Census Bureau (via FRED or the American Factfinder for Puerto Rico). The NLPS usually does not tell us the number of inactive or nonresident attorneys, but the Lawyer Statistical Report at one time calculated those at 4.8 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. To give a comparison: For the 1.3 million attorneys on the rolls in 2017, between 1970 and 2017 ABA law schools conferred just over 1.8 million law degrees and state bars issued more than 2.2 million lawyer licenses (by examination and diploma privilege, which includes many duplicates). According to the Current Population Survey, 1.1 million attorneys were working in the United States in 2017, but the Labor Department’s Employment Projections program places the figure at 792,500 (2016).
WARNING: I suspect some people, including university administrators, have used the data on this page to argue that there is an attorney shortage in one state or another. This is very, very, very wrong. There is no evidence of a general shortage of lawyers anywhere in the United States. Those who use these data to argue that deliberately mislead their audiences by failing to recognize that having a law license and working as an attorney are not the same thing. Please be honest with your audience by understanding the entire page as presented. Furthermore, demand for legal services is dependent on the level of economic activity in a region, so it makes sense that sparsely populated states have lower lawyer densities. For more information, read the Lawyer Overproduction page.
Number of Active & Resident Lawyers Per Capita
Here is a table ranking active-and-resident lawyer concentration by each state (the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are counted as states). Some states include nonresident active attorneys or resident nonactive attorneys in their lawyer counts. For more information on that subject, see the ABA’s statistics page. The bottom of the table contains lawyer-per-capita information for Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) regions. I prefer these to Census regions because BEA regions include the District of Columbia with more northern states, especially New York. I this better illustrates the legal profession’s geography than including D.C. in the south would.
NO. LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY STATE (2017) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
RANK | STATE | POPULATION (MILLIONS) | NO. ACTIVE AND RESIDENT LAWYERS | NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS |
1. | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 54,692 | 788.1 |
2. | New York | 19,849,399 | 177,035 | 89.2 |
3. | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 38,800 | 64.1 |
4. | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 43,442 | 63.3 |
5. | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 21,341 | 59.5 |
6. | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 62,782 | 49.0 |
7. | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 41,168 | 45.7 |
8. | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 25,483 | 45.7 |
9. | Puerto Rico | 3,337,177 | 14,293 | 42.8 |
10. | California | 39,536,653 | 168,746 | 42.7 |
11. | Louisiana | 4,684,333 | 19,307 | 41.2 |
12. | Missouri | 6,113,532 | 24,787 | 40.5 |
13. | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 22,164 | 39.5 |
14. | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 4,167 | 39.3 |
15. | Pennsylvania | 12,805,537 | 49,406 | 38.6 |
16. | Vermont | 623,657 | 2,326 | 37.3 |
17. | Florida | 20,984,400 | 77,008 | 36.7 |
18. | Michigan | 9,962,311 | 35,236 | 35.4 |
19. | Washington | 7,405,743 | 25,786 | 34.8 |
20. | Oklahoma | 3,930,864 | 13,470 | 34.3 |
21. | Ohio | 11,658,609 | 38,623 | 33.1 |
22. | Alaska | 739,795 | 2,402 | 32.5 |
23. | Texas | 28,304,596 | 89,361 | 31.6 |
24. | Delaware | 961,939 | 2,978 | 31.0 |
25. | Wyoming | 579,315 | 1,776 | 30.7 |
26. | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 31,672 | 30.4 |
27. | Kentucky | 4,454,189 | 13,509 | 30.3 |
28. | Alabama | 4,874,747 | 14,717 | 30.2 |
29. | Montana | 1,050,493 | 3,159 | 30.1 |
30. | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 4,236 | 29.7 |
31. | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 12,227 | 29.5 |
32. | Maine | 1,335,907 | 3,940 | 29.5 |
33. | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 5,545 | 28.9 |
34. | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 24,249 | 28.6 |
35. | Kansas | 2,913,123 | 8,218 | 28.2 |
36. | Tennessee | 6,715,984 | 18,461 | 27.5 |
37. | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 15,549 | 26.8 |
38. | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 4,862 | 26.8 |
39. | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 5,524 | 26.5 |
40. | Utah | 3,101,833 | 8,204 | 26.4 |
41. | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 3,507 | 26.1 |
42. | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 7,281 | 24.3 |
43. | Iowa | 3,145,711 | 7,523 | 23.9 |
44. | Indiana | 6,666,818 | 15,826 | 23.7 |
45. | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 7,067 | 23.7 |
46. | North Carolina | 10,273,419 | 23,694 | 23.1 |
47. | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 6,851 | 22.8 |
48. | North Dakota | 755,393 | 1,698 | 22.5 |
49. | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 3,836 | 22.3 |
50. | South Dakota | 869,666 | 1,933 | 22.2 |
51. | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 14,960 | 21.3 |
52. | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 10,316 | 20.5 |
U.S.A. AVERAGE (EXCL. P.R.) | 325,719,178 | 1,320,850 | 40.6 | |
NO. LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY BEA REGION (2017) | ||||
BEA REGION | POPULATION (MILLIONS) | NO. ACTIVE AND RESIDENT LAWYERS | NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS | |
New England | 14,810,001 | 78,723 | 53.2 | |
Mideast | 49,368,668 | 364,079 | 73.7 | |
Great Lakes | 46,885,244 | 168,016 | 35.8 | |
Plains | 21,294,107 | 75,187 | 35.3 | |
Southeast | 83,715,076 | 251,713 | 30.1 | |
Southwest | 41,339,800 | 123,315 | 29.8 | |
Rocky Mountains | 12,055,738 | 39,139 | 32.5 | |
Far West | 56,250,544 | 220,678 | 39.2 |
Here’s a geographic representation of the above data by state.
And here is the same data by BEA region along with a chart depicting the change in lawyer concentration since 1989.
There might be a correlation between active and resident status and bar authorities that require significant fees, CLE requirements, and pro bono work.
Number of Employed Lawyers Per Capita
Next, we have the number of employed lawyers per capita by state based on data supplied by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and state government labor departments. The cumulative state total excludes Puerto Rico and the states that did not provide attorney employment information for 2014.
NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS (2014) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
RANK | STATE/REGION | POPULATION | NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS | NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS |
1. | District of Columbia | 658,893 | 38,920 | 590.69 |
2. | New York | 19,746,227 | 90,830 | 46.00 |
3. | Rhode Island | 1,055,173 | 4,210 | 39.90 |
4. | Delaware | 935,614 | 3,540 | 37.84 |
5. | Connecticut | 3,596,677 | 12,620 | 35.09 |
6. | Massachusetts | 6,745,408 | 22,100 | 32.76 |
7. | Vermont | 626,562 | 1,940 | 30.96 |
8. | Florida | 19,893,297 | 59,400 | 29.86 |
9. | Colorado | 5,355,866 | 15,800 | 29.50 |
10. | Illinois | 12,880,580 | 35,840 | 27.82 |
11. | New Jersey | 8,938,175 | 24,520 | 27.43 |
12. | Virginia | 8,326,289 | 21,860 | 26.25 |
13. | Montana | 1,023,579 | 2,550 | 24.91 |
14. | Washington | 7,061,530 | 17,290 | 24.48 |
15. | Oklahoma | 3,878,051 | 9,480 | 24.45 |
16. | Pennsylvania | 12,787,209 | 31,240 | 24.43 |
17. | Maine | 1,330,089 | 3,170 | 23.83 |
18. | California | 38,802,500 | 91,900 | 23.68 |
19. | North Dakota | 739,482 | 1,740 | 23.53 |
20. | Minnesota | 5,457,173 | 12,640 | 23.16 |
21. | Kentucky | 4,413,457 | 9,490 | 21.50 |
22. | Nevada | 2,839,099 | 6,030 | 21.24 |
23. | Nebraska | 1,881,503 | 3,910 | 20.78 |
24. | Oregon | 3,970,239 | 8,250 | 20.78 |
25. | Missouri | 6,063,589 | 12,470 | 20.57 |
26. | Wyoming | 584,153 | 1,160 | 19.86 |
27. | Louisiana | 4,649,676 | 9,180 | 19.74 |
28. | Maryland | 5,976,407 | 11,690 | 19.56 |
29. | Texas | 26,956,958 | 51,420 | 19.07 |
30. | New Mexico | 2,085,572 | 3,810 | 18.27 |
31. | Michigan | 9,909,877 | 17,900 | 18.06 |
32. | Utah | 2,942,902 | 5,310 | 18.04 |
33. | Georgia | 10,097,343 | 18,160 | 17.98 |
34. | Kansas | 2,904,021 | 5,090 | 17.53 |
35. | Ohio | 11,594,163 | 20,180 | 17.41 |
36. | Hawaii | 1,419,561 | 2,410 | 16.98 |
37. | Wisconsin | 5,757,564 | 9,620 | 16.71 |
38. | North Carolina | 9,943,964 | 16,020 | 16.11 |
39. | Arkansas | 2,966,369 | 4,720 | 15.91 |
40. | New Hampshire | 1,326,813 | 2,010 | 15.15 |
41. | South Carolina | 4,832,482 | 7,220 | 14.94 |
42. | Alabama | 4,849,377 | 7,050 | 14.54 |
43. | Alaska | 736,732 | 1,070 | 14.52 |
44. | Indiana | 6,596,855 | 9,450 | 14.33 |
45. | Arizona | 6,731,484 | 9,630 | 14.31 |
46. | Iowa | 3,107,126 | 4,340 | 13.97 |
47. | Mississippi | 2,994,079 | 3,760 | 12.56 |
48. | Puerto Rico | 3,548,397 | 4,420 | 12.46 |
49. | Tennessee | 6,549,352 | 7,990 | 12.20 |
50. | South Dakota | 853,175 | 980 | 11.49 |
N/A | Idaho | 1,634,464 | N/A | N/A |
N/A | West Virginia | 1,850,326 | N/A | N/A |
U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.) | 315,372,266 | 771,910 | 24.48 | |
U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.) | 318,857,056 | 778,700 | 24.42 | |
New England | 14,680,722 | 46,050 | 31.37 | |
Mideast | 49,042,525 | 200,740 | 40.93 | |
Great Lakes | 46,739,039 | 92,990 | 19.90 | |
Plains | 21,006,069 | 41,170 | 19.60 | |
Southeast | 79,515,685 | 164,850 | 20.73 | |
Southwest | 39,652,065 | 74,340 | 18.75 | |
Rocky Mountains | 9,906,500 | 24,820 | 25.05 | |
Far West | 54,829,661 | 126,950 | 23.15 |
‘Excess Attorneys’
Finally, “Excess Attorneys” attempts to measure the number of licensed attorneys who are not directly employed as lawyers. It is the difference between lawyers on the rolls and the number of employed lawyers as determined by state governments. “Excess Attorneys” may be judges, politicians, businesspeople whose careers advanced due to their law degrees; or, they may be people who were unable to find careers as lawyers, are working in fields that don’t require law degrees, are choosing not to work at all, or are unemployed yet still maintaining active licenses. Alternatively, they could simply indicate the measurement gap between employed lawyers measured by the Current Population Survey and the Employment Projections program, a phenomenon discussed in the Lawyer Overproduction page.
Compared to data from the Law Graduate Oversupply page, the correlation between surplus graduates per capita (2015, omitted) and “Excess Attorneys” per capita is 0.61 by BEA region. I wouldn’t use this information as conclusive evidence that excess law school enrollments leads to unneeded attorneys—there are better arguments out there—but it is an interesting relationship. Readers should note that the distribution of “Excess Attorneys” is highly skewed, with nearly a third of them appearing in New York and California.
Interestingly, three states have negative “Excess Attorney” counts. Two of them, Delaware and Rhode Island, may be attributable to commuting lawyers, but North Dakota, small a state though it is, is more inexplicable.
NO. ‘EXCESS ATTORNEYS’ PER CAPITA (2014) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
RANK | STATE/REGION | NO. LAWYERS ACTIVE AND RESIDENT | NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS | NO. EXCESS LAWYERS | NO. EXCESS LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS | PERCENT EXCESS |
1. | Puerto Rico | 14,193 | 4,420 | 9,773 | 27.54 | 68.9% |
2. | Alaska | 2,469 | 1,070 | 1,399 | 18.99 | 56.7% |
3. | Tennessee | 17,203 | 7,990 | 9,213 | 14.07 | 53.6% |
4. | Alabama | 14,531 | 7,050 | 7,481 | 15.43 | 51.5% |
5. | Missouri | 25,337 | 12,470 | 12,867 | 21.22 | 50.8% |
6. | Louisiana | 18,532 | 9,180 | 9,352 | 20.11 | 50.5% |
7. | Maryland | 23,508 | 11,690 | 11,818 | 19.77 | 50.3% |
8. | Massachusetts | 44,257 | 22,100 | 22,157 | 32.85 | 50.1% |
9. | Minnesota | 25,272 | 12,640 | 12,632 | 23.15 | 50.0% |
10. | South Dakota | 1,934 | 980 | 954 | 11.18 | 49.3% |
11. | Michigan | 34,739 | 17,900 | 16,839 | 16.99 | 48.5% |
12. | Ohio | 38,234 | 20,180 | 18,054 | 15.57 | 47.2% |
13. | New York | 169,756 | 90,830 | 78,926 | 39.97 | 46.5% |
14. | Mississippi | 6,955 | 3,760 | 3,195 | 10.67 | 45.9% |
15. | California | 163,327 | 91,900 | 71,427 | 18.41 | 43.7% |
16. | Hawaii | 4,260 | 2,410 | 1,850 | 13.03 | 43.4% |
17. | New Hampshire | 3,515 | 2,010 | 1,505 | 11.34 | 42.8% |
18. | Illinois | 61,871 | 35,840 | 26,031 | 20.21 | 42.1% |
19. | New Jersey | 41,250 | 24,520 | 16,730 | 18.72 | 40.6% |
20. | Indiana | 15,883 | 9,450 | 6,433 | 9.75 | 40.5% |
21. | Georgia | 30,463 | 18,160 | 12,303 | 12.18 | 40.4% |
22. | Arizona | 15,993 | 9,630 | 6,363 | 9.45 | 39.8% |
23. | Iowa | 7,183 | 4,340 | 2,843 | 9.15 | 39.6% |
24. | Texas | 84,800 | 51,420 | 33,380 | 12.38 | 39.4% |
25. | Kansas | 8,261 | 5,090 | 3,171 | 10.92 | 38.4% |
26. | Wisconsin | 15,481 | 9,620 | 5,861 | 10.18 | 37.9% |
27. | Pennsylvania | 50,072 | 31,240 | 18,832 | 14.73 | 37.6% |
28. | Wyoming | 1,778 | 1,160 | 618 | 10.58 | 34.8% |
29. | Oregon | 12,276 | 8,250 | 4,026 | 10.14 | 32.8% |
30. | Connecticut | 18,655 | 12,620 | 6,035 | 16.78 | 32.4% |
31. | Utah | 7,840 | 5,310 | 2,530 | 8.60 | 32.3% |
32. | North Carolina | 23,136 | 16,020 | 7,116 | 7.16 | 30.8% |
33. | New Mexico | 5,468 | 3,810 | 1,658 | 7.95 | 30.3% |
34. | Washington | 24,620 | 17,290 | 7,330 | 10.38 | 29.8% |
35. | Oklahoma | 13,465 | 9,480 | 3,985 | 10.28 | 29.6% |
36. | Kentucky | 13,328 | 9,490 | 3,838 | 8.70 | 28.8% |
37. | South Carolina | 9,874 | 7,220 | 2,654 | 5.49 | 26.9% |
38. | Colorado | 21,545 | 15,800 | 5,745 | 10.73 | 26.7% |
39. | District of Columbia | 51,928 | 38,920 | 13,008 | 197.42 | 25.1% |
40. | Nebraska | 5,028 | 3,910 | 1,118 | 5.94 | 22.2% |
41. | Arkansas | 5,970 | 4,720 | 1,250 | 4.21 | 20.9% |
42. | Maine | 3,863 | 3,170 | 693 | 5.21 | 17.9% |
43. | Montana | 3,084 | 2,550 | 534 | 5.22 | 17.3% |
44. | Vermont | 2,300 | 1,940 | 360 | 5.75 | 15.7% |
45. | Nevada | 7,080 | 6,030 | 1,050 | 3.70 | 14.8% |
46. | Florida | 68,464 | 59,400 | 9,064 | 4.56 | 13.2% |
47. | Virginia | 24,064 | 21,860 | 2,204 | 2.65 | 9.2% |
48. | Rhode Island | 4,179 | 4,210 | -31 | -0.29 | -0.7% |
49. | North Dakota | 1,599 | 1,740 | -141 | -1.91 | -8.8% |
50. | Delaware | 2,881 | 3,540 | -659 | -7.04 | -22.9% |
N/A | Idaho | 3,705 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
N/A | West Virginia | 4,942 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.) | 1,257,511 | 771,910 | 485,601 | 15.23 | 38.6% | |
U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.) | 1,266,158 | 778,700 | 487,458 | 15.12 | 38.5% | |
New England | 76,769 | 46,050 | 30,719 | 20.92 | 40.0% | |
Mideast | 339,395 | 200,740 | 138,655 | 28.27 | 40.9% | |
Great Lakes | 166,208 | 92,990 | 73,218 | 15.67 | 44.1% | |
Plains | 74,614 | 41,170 | 33,444 | 15.92 | 44.8% | |
Southeast | 232,520 | 164,850 | 67,670 | 8.32 | 29.1% | |
Southwest | 119,726 | 74,340 | 45,386 | 11.45 | 37.9% | |
Rocky Mountains | 34,247 | 24,820 | 9,427 | 8.17 | 27.5% | |
Far West | 214,032 | 126,950 | 87,082 | 15.88 | 40.7% |
For fun, here’s a chart sorted by the number of “Excess Attorneys” per capita by state.
And here’s a map of “Excess Attorneys” per capita by BEA region. The concentration in the northeast is quite apparent.
Fin.