SURVEY OF

Judicial Salaries

Published January 2018, Vol. 43 No. 1
Data and Rankings as of January 1, 2018

Rankings as of January 1, 2018
This graphic depicts the rankings of judicial salaries, with the highest salary for each of the three positions
having a rank of “1.” General jurisdiction judge salaries, adjusted for cost of living, are also included in this
graphic. Empty squares represent states without intermediate appellate courts.

Judicial Salaries at a Glance
Mean

Median

Range

Chief, Highest Court

$178,049

$175,600

$133,174

to

$256,059

Associate Justice, COLR

$172,026

$170,000

$131,174

to

$244,179

Judge, Intermediate Appellate Court

$166,263

$164,865

$124,616

to

$228,918

Judge, General Jurisdiction Trial Courts

$155,113

$151,943

$118,384

to

$208,000

State Court Administrators

$155,163

$146,494

$107,000

to

$288,888

© Copyright 2018 National Center for State Courts.
Contents of this publication may be copied and reprinted without permission from the National Center for State Courts.
Proper attribution is requested.

www.ncsc.org/salarytracker
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PAGE 1

 Salaries and Rankings for Appellate and General-Jurisdiction Judges - Listed Alphabetically by State Name
The table below lists the salaries and rankings for associate justices of the courts of last resort, associate judges of intermediate
appellate courts, and judges of general jurisdiction trial courts (actual salaries and cost-of-living-adjusted salaries as of January 1, 2018).
Salaries are ranked from highest to lowest, with the highest salary for each position having a rank of “1.” The lowest salary has a rank
of “51” except for intermediate appellate courts, which exists in only 40 states.

Highest Court
Salary Rank
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Mean
Median
Range

$ 131,174 to

$167,685
$205,176
$159,685
$169,830
$244,179
$177,350
$185,610
$195,245
$220,600
$178,420
$175,600
$223,200
$146,700
$229,345
$173,599
$174,808
$139,303
$135,504
$169,125
$134,056
$176,433
$194,734
$164,610
$173,363
$152,250
$173,742
$144,061
$173,694
$170,000
$162,240
$185,482
$131,174
$215,700
$146,191
$157,009
$164,000
$145,914
$147,560
$207,203
$175,870
$148,794
$135,270
$185,064
$168,000
$178,500
$158,558
$197,827
$186,681
$136,000
$147,403
$165,000
$ 172,026
$ 170,000
$ 244,179

Intermediate Appellate Court
Salary Rank

30
7
35
27
1
17
12
9
4
16
20
3
42
2
24
21
46
48
28
50
18
10
32
25
38
22
45
23
26
34
13
51
5
43
37
33
44
40
6
19
39
49
14
29
15
36
8
11
47
41
31

$ 124,616 to

$178,878
$193,836
$154,534
$164,730
$228,918
$170,324
$174,323

10
6
29
21
1
16
14

$169,554
$174,500
$206,652
$137,700
$215,856
$168,752
$158,420
$134,806
$130,044
$158,147

17
13
3
37
2
18
26
38
39
27

$163,633
$183,837
$157,544
$163,354
$144,827
$158,848

22
7
28
23
32
24

$165,009
$165,000

19
20

$175,534
$124,616
$205,400
$140,144

12
40
4
34

$152,850
$138,235
$144,536
$195,978

30
36
33
5

$145,074

31

$178,908
$158,500
$170,350

9
25
15

$181,610
$177,708

8
11

$139,059

35

$ 166,263
$ 164,865
$ 228,918

General-Jurisdiction Court
Salary Rank
$134,943
$189,720
$149,383
$163,200
$200,042
$163,303
$167,634
$183,444
$208,000
$160,688
$169,265
$201,060
$131,700
$198,075
$144,137
$147,494
$123,038
$124,620
$151,943
$125,632
$154,433
$178,444
$145,578
$153,345
$136,000
$149,723
$132,558
$160,667
$160,000
$152,159
$165,000
$118,384
$194,000
$132,584
$143,869
$140,550
$131,835
$135,776
$180,299
$158,340
$141,354
$126,346
$172,740
$149,000
$162,250
$150,738
$171,120
$169,187
$126,000
$131,187
$150,000

$ 118,384 to

40
6
30
17
3
16
14
7
1
19
12
2
44
4
34
32
50
49
26
48
23
9
33
24
38
29
42
20
21
25
15
51
5
41
35
37
43
39
8
22
36
46
10
31
18
27
11
13
47
45
28

General-Jurisdiction Court
Adjusted for Cost-of-Living Index
Factor
Salary
Rank
96.77
136.16
110.07
95.10
142.78
110.31
138.09
110.43
150.73
106.44
100.10
149.08
96.08
111.77
96.39
99.00
100.47
93.92
100.24
123.04
127.83
137.11
96.54
106.03
91.14
97.98
103.40
99.47
111.18
128.20
126.67
105.57
145.65
100.35
105.90
98.74
96.23
116.26
111.82
127.75
103.42
105.99
96.34
101.67
103.26
125.39
109.17
117.95
99.85
103.94
106.79

$139,454
$139,334
$135,721
$171,611
$140,108
$148,037
$121,397
$166,119
$137,991
$150,964
$169,091
$134,863
$137,069
$177,217
$149,534
$148,984
$122,460
$132,689
$151,579
$102,106
$120,810
$130,146
$150,790
$144,620
$149,214
$152,809
$128,195
$161,527
$143,909
$118,687
$130,264
$112,135
$133,200
$132,122
$135,853
$142,340
$136,998
$116,787
$161,236
$123,943
$136,686
$119,208
$179,298
$146,556
$157,121
$120,215
$156,748
$143,437
$126,184
$126,219
$140,464

25
26
32
3
24
17
44
5
27
12
4
33
28
2
14
16
43
35
11
51
45
38
13
19
15
10
39
6
20
48
37
50
34
36
31
22
29
49
7
42
30
47
1
18
8
46
9
21
41
40
23

$ 155,113
$ 151,943
$ 208,000

The figures presented use the C2ER Cost-of-Living Index. The Council for Community and Economic Research-C2ER is the most
widely accepted U.S. source for cost-of-living indices, with nearly 400 reporting jurisdictions across America. Due to the rounding of
C2ER factors to the nearest hundredth for publication purposes, user calculations of our adjusted salary figures may not equate to
the published totals. More detailed information can be found at www.c2er.org.
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