LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY STATE

Many readers find their way to the Law School Tuition Bubble 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 by state from the U.S. Census Bureau via FRED (Puerto Rico’s is from one year earlier from the World Bank). The NLPS does not tell us the number of inactive or nonresident attorneys, but the Lawyer Statistical Report (pdf) calculates those at 4.8 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. To give you a comparison: For the 1.3 million attorneys on the rolls in 2013, between 1970 and 2012 the ABA conferred just over 1.6 million law degrees and state bars issued nearly 2 million lawyer licenses. According to the Current Population Survey, 1.1 million attorneys were working in the United States in 2012, but the Labor Department’s Employment projections program places the figure at 759,800.

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 general shortage of lawyers anywhere in the United States. If you use these data to argue that, you are deliberately misleading your audience by failing to understand that having a law license and working as an attorney are not the same thing (doubly so for people who just have a law degree). You should 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.

This page will be regularly updated.

Number of Active & Resident Lawyers Per Capita

The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are counted as states.

NO. OF LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY STATE (2013)
RANK	STATE	POPULATION (2013)	NO. LAWYERS ACTIVE & RESIDENT (2013)	NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS (2013)
1.	District of Columbia	646,449	51,928	803.28
2.	New York	19,651,127	166,317	84.63
3.	Massachusetts	6,692,824	43,008	64.26
4.	Connecticut	3,596,080	21,150	58.81
5.	Illinois	12,882,135	62,496	48.51
6.	New Jersey	8,899,339	40,993	46.06
7.	Minnesota	5,420,380	24,091	44.45
8.	California	38,332,521	163,163	42.57
9.	Missouri	6,044,171	24,423	40.41
10.	Louisiana	4,625,470	18,528	40.06
11.	Colorado	5,268,367	21,094	40.04
12.	Rhode Island	1,051,511	4,173	39.69
13.	Maryland	5,928,814	23,068	38.91
14.	Pennsylvania	12,773,801	49,697	38.91
15.	Puerto Rico	3,667,084	14,193	38.70
16.	Vermont	626,630	2,300	36.70
17.	Florida	19,552,860	68,464	35.01
18.	Washington	6,971,406	24,032	34.47
19.	Michigan	9,895,622	33,995	34.35
20.	Ohio	11,570,808	38,541	33.31
21.	Alaska	735,132	2,442	33.22
22.	Oregon	3,930,065	12,276	31.24
23.	Texas	26,448,193	82,607	31.23
24.	Delaware	925,749	2,888	31.20
25.	Oklahoma	3,850,568	11,970	31.09
26.	Montana	1,015,165	3,046	30.00
27.	Kentucky	4,395,295	13,061	29.72
28.	Virginia	8,260,405	24,468	29.62
29.	Alabama	4,833,722	14,303	29.59
30.	Hawaii	1,404,054	4,132	29.43
31.	Maine	1,328,302	3,863	29.08
32.	Georgia	9,992,167	28,974	29.00
33.	Wyoming	582,658	1,681	28.85
34.	Kansas	2,893,957	8,199	28.33
35.	Wisconsin	5,742,713	15,538	27.06
36.	Utah	2,900,872	7,840	27.03
37.	Nebraska	1,868,516	5,028	26.91
38.	New Hampshire	1,323,459	3,507	26.50
39.	Tennessee	6,495,978	17,203	26.48
40.	West Virginia	1,854,304	4,901	26.43
41.	New Mexico	2,085,287	5,468	26.22
42.	Nevada	2,790,136	7,080	25.38
43.	Arizona	6,626,624	16,208	24.46
44.	Iowa	3,090,416	7,383	23.89
45.	Indiana	6,570,902	15,646	23.81
46.	Mississippi	2,991,207	6,955	23.25
47.	Idaho	1,612,136	3,725	23.11
48.	South Dakota	844,877	1,905	22.55
49.	North Carolina	9,848,060	21,855	22.19
50.	North Dakota	723,393	1,560	21.57
51.	Arkansas	2,959,373	5,953	20.12
52.	South Carolina	4,774,839	9,587	20.08
U.S.A. AVERAGE		316,128,839	1,252,713	39.63

(Oregon’s lawyer count is from 2012. Alabama’s lawyer count includes all attorneys irrespective of active or resident status.)

Here’s a geographic representation by state, and one by Bureau of Economic Analysis regions.

NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS BY BEA REGION
BEA REGION	POPULATION (2013)	NO. LAWYERS ACTIVE & RESIDENT (2013)	NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS (2013)
New England	14,618,806	78,001	53.36
Mideast	48,825,279	334,891	68.59
Great Lakes	46,662,180	166,216	35.62
Plains	20,885,710	72,589	34.76
Southeast	80,583,680	234,252	29.07
Southwest	39,010,672	116,253	29.80
Rocky Mountains	11,379,198	37,386	32.85
Far West	54,163,314	213,125	39.35

There’s probably a correlation between active and resident status and bar authorities requiring high fees, CLE requirements, and mandatory pro bono work that might be worth investigating in the future.

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 2012.

#	STATE/REGION	2012 POPULATION	NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS (2012)	NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS (2012)
1	District of Columbia	632,323	33,460	529.16
2	New York	19,570,261	82,220	42.01
3	Delaware	917,092	3,400	37.07
4	Massachusetts	6,646,144	22,640	34.06
5	Vermont	626,011	2,030	32.43
6	Colorado	5,187,582	15,800	30.46
7	New Jersey	8,864,590	24,150	27.24
8	Illinois	12,875,255	34,810	27.04
9	Florida	19,317,568	51,860	26.85
10	Connecticut	3,590,347	9,390	26.15
11	Maryland	5,884,563	14,800	25.15
12	Virginia	8,185,867	20,430	24.96
13	Pennsylvania	12,763,536	31,260	24.49
14	Oklahoma	3,814,820	9,260	24.27
15	Washington	6,897,012	16,290	23.62
16	Minnesota	5,379,139	12,550	23.33
17	California	38,041,430	87,400	22.97
18	Montana	1,005,141	2,270	22.58
19	Maine	1,329,192	2,930	22.04
20	North Dakota	699,628	1,540	22.01
21	Nebraska	1,855,525	4,060	21.88
22	Missouri	6,021,988	12,620	20.96
23	Utah	2,855,287	5,890	20.63
24	Nevada	2,758,931	5,640	20.44
25	Louisiana	4,601,893	9,310	20.23
26	Georgia	9,919,945	19,520	19.68
27	Texas	26,059,203	49,350	18.94
28	New Mexico	2,085,538	3,830	18.36
29	Ohio	11,544,225	21,160	18.33
30	Wyoming	576,412	1,050	18.22
31	Arizona	6,553,255	11,740	17.91
32	Hawaii	1,392,313	2,460	17.67
33	New Hampshire	1,320,718	2,280	17.26
34	Kansas	2,885,905	4,950	17.15
35	Idaho	1,595,728	2,700	16.92
36	South Dakota	833,354	1,400	16.80
37	Wisconsin	5,726,398	9,330	16.29
38	North Carolina	9,752,073	14,810	15.19
39	South Carolina	4,723,723	7,140	15.12
40	Arkansas	2,949,131	4,420	14.99
41	Alabama	4,822,023	7,040	14.60
42	Iowa	3,074,186	4,450	14.48
43	Alaska	731,449	1,020	13.94
44	Oregon	3,899,353	5,070	13.00
45	Kentucky	4,380,415	5,600	12.78
46	Tennessee	6,456,243	8,010	12.41
47	Puerto Rico	3,667,084	4,440	12.11
48	Indiana	6,537,334	7,680	11.75
49	Mississippi	2,984,926	3,220	10.79
N/A	Michigan	9,883,360	N/A	N/A
N/A	Rhode Island	1,050,292	N/A	N/A
N/A	West Virginia	1,855,413	N/A	N/A
U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.)		301,124,975	714,240	23.72
U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.)		313,914,040	759,800	24.20
New England		13,512,412	39,270	29.06
Mideast		48,632,365	189,290	38.92
Great Lakes		36,683,212	72,980	19.89
Plains		20,749,725	41,570	20.03
Southeast		78,093,807	151,360	19.38
Southwest		38,512,816	74,180	19.26
Rocky Mountains		11,220,150	27,710	24.70
Far West		53,720,488	117,880	21.94

‘Idle’ Attorneys

Finally, to add some value that the Lawyer Statistical Report never would have considered, the difference between lawyers on the rolls and the number of employed lawyers, which varies significantly among states and regions. This creates a statistic I call “Idle Attorneys”: licensed attorneys who are not directly employed in the profession. They may be judges, legislators, or 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, or are unemployed yet still maintaining active licenses.

The correlation coefficient between the number of law schools per capita (omitted) and idle attorneys per capita for the BEA regions is 0.60. Using data from the Law Graduate Oversupply page, the correlation between surplus graduates per capita (2013, omitted) and idle attorneys per capita is 0.86 by BEA region. I wouldn’t use this information as decisive evidence that excess law school enrollments lead to idle attorneys—there are better arguments out there—but it is an interesting relationship. Readers should note that the distribution is highly skewed, with nearly a third of idle attorneys living in New York and California.

#	STATE/REGION	NO. LAWYERS ACTIVE AND RESIDENT (2012)	NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS (2012)	NO. IDLE LAWYERS	NO. IDLE LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS	PERCENT IDLE
1	Puerto Rico	13,282	4,440	8,842	24.11	66.6%
2	Oregon	12,276	5,070	7,206	18.48	58.7%
3	Alaska	2,418	1,020	1,398	19.11	57.8%
4	Kentucky	12,891	5,600	7,291	16.64	56.6%
5	Connecticut	20,842	9,390	11,452	31.90	54.9%
6	Mississippi	6,955	3,220	3,735	12.51	53.7%
7	Tennessee	16,947	8,010	8,937	13.84	52.7%
8	Indiana	15,512	7,680	7,832	11.98	50.5%
9	Alabama	14,135	7,040	7,095	14.71	50.2%
10	New York	163,798	82,220	81,578	41.68	49.8%
11	Louisiana	18,327	9,310	9,017	19.59	49.2%
12	Missouri	24,276	12,620	11,656	19.36	48.0%
13	Minnesota	23,774	12,550	11,224	20.87	47.2%
14	Massachusetts	42,483	22,640	19,843	29.86	46.7%
15	California	159,824	87,400	72,424	19.04	45.3%
16	Ohio	37,745	21,160	16,585	14.37	43.9%
17	Illinois	60,069	34,810	25,259	19.62	42.0%
18	New Jersey	40,997	24,150	16,847	19.00	41.1%
19	Hawaii	4,107	2,460	1,647	11.83	40.1%
20	Kansas	8,156	4,950	3,206	11.11	39.3%
21	Wisconsin	15,364	9,330	6,034	10.54	39.3%
22	Iowa	7,308	4,450	2,858	9.30	39.1%
23	Texas	80,657	49,350	31,307	12.01	38.8%
24	Wyoming	1,668	1,050	618	10.72	37.1%
25	Pennsylvania	48,947	31,260	17,687	13.86	36.1%
26	District of Columbia	51,271	33,460	17,811	281.68	34.7%
27	Maryland	22,477	14,800	7,677	13.05	34.2%
28	New Hampshire	3,449	2,280	1,169	8.85	33.9%
29	Georgia	28,520	19,520	9,000	9.07	31.6%
30	Washington	23,741	16,290	7,451	10.80	31.4%
31	New Mexico	5,513	3,830	1,683	8.07	30.5%
32	North Carolina	21,280	14,810	6,470	6.63	30.4%
33	Oklahoma	12,978	9,260	3,718	9.75	28.6%
34	Idaho	3,627	2,700	927	5.81	25.6%
35	Arkansas	5,928	4,420	1,508	5.11	25.4%
36	South Carolina	9,537	7,140	2,397	5.07	25.1%
37	South Dakota	1,865	1,400	465	5.58	24.9%
38	Montana	3,008	2,270	738	7.34	24.5%
39	Maine	3,865	2,930	935	7.03	24.2%
40	Colorado	20,768	15,800	4,968	9.58	23.9%
41	Florida	66,556	51,860	14,696	7.61	22.1%
42	Utah	7,309	5,890	1,419	4.97	19.4%
43	Arizona	14,471	11,740	2,731	4.17	18.9%
44	Nebraska	4,983	4,060	923	4.97	18.5%
45	Nevada	6,850	5,640	1,210	4.39	17.7%
46	Virginia	24,091	20,430	3,661	4.47	15.2%
47	Vermont	2,270	2,030	240	3.83	10.6%
48	North Dakota	1,546	1,540	6	0.09	0.4%
49	Delaware	2,853	3,400	-547	-5.96	-19.2%
N/A	Michigan	33,692	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	Rhode Island	4,060	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
N/A	West Virginia	4,854	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.)		1,188,232	714,240	473,992	15.74	39.9%
U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.)		1,230,838	759,800	471,038	15.01	38.3%
New England		72,909	39,270	33,639	24.89	46.1%
Mideast		330,343	189,290	141,053	29.00	42.7%
Great Lakes		128,690	72,980	55,710	15.19	43.3%
Plains		71,908	41,570	30,338	14.62	42.2%
Southeast		225,167	151,360	73,807	9.45	32.8%
Southwest		113,619	74,180	39,439	10.24	34.7%
Rocky Mountains		36,380	27,710	8,670	7.73	23.8%
Far West		209,216	117,880	91,336	17.00	43.7%

Here’s a chart sorted by the number of idle attorneys per capita.

And here’s a map of idle attorneys per capita by BEA region. The concentration in the northeast is quite apparent.

Fin.