How Many Lawyers Are in the U.S.? The Official Count - and What Is Behind It
The authoritative answer comes from the American Bar Association's National Lawyer Population Survey, which aggregates every state's count of active licensed attorneys: 1,374,720 lawyers as of the 2025 survey. Here is the trend, the state map, the demographics and the paycheck behind that number.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
The Official Count: 1,374,720 Active Lawyers
The 2025 ABA National Lawyer Population Survey (published December 2025) counted 1,374,720 active lawyers - up from 1,355,963 in 2024, and the first meaningful increase since 2020. Over the decade from 2015 the profession grew about 5.6%, a plateau by historical standards: from roughly 800,000 lawyers in 1990 the count had nearly doubled by the mid-2010s before flattening out.
Case Details
Methodology note: the ABA aggregates counts of active, licensed attorneys reported by each state's bar or licensing authority. The figure includes transactional, in-house, government and non-practicing bar members - it is a count of licenses, not of courtroom lawyers.
Where the Lawyers Are
Who They Are - and Who Is Coming
• Women: 41% of U.S. lawyers in 2025, up from 35% in 2015 (ABA Profile of the Legal Profession)
• Asian lawyers: 6% in 2025, up from 2.5% in 2015; Black and Hispanic shares posted smaller increases over the decade
• Pipeline: 42,817 first-year law students enrolled in Fall 2025 (+7.9% over 2024), with total JD enrollment of 120,039 across 196 ABA-approved schools - the profession's future growth is already enrolled
What Lawyers Earn
The U.S. Lawyer Count Over Time
- 1
1990 - Roughly 800,000
The profession's modern growth phase begins from about 800,000 licensed lawyers.
- 2
2015 - About 1.30 Million
Growth slows after the post-recession law-school contraction.
- 3
2017-2024 - The Plateau
The count hovers near 1.34-1.36 million with no significant growth after 2020.
- 4
2025 - 1,374,720
First meaningful increase since 2020 (+1.4% over 2024), per the ABA survey published December 2025.
- 5
2034 Outlook
BLS projects 4% employment growth for 2024-2034 with about 31,500 annual openings.
Common Misreadings of the Number
Three ways the lawyer count gets misused:
Counting licenses as litigators
The 1.37M figure includes transactional, in-house, government and non-practicing members - only a subset ever appears in court.
Assuming steady growth
The count was essentially flat from 2017 through 2024; 2025 was the first real uptick since 2020. Long-run projections built on 1990s growth rates are wrong.
Reading state rank as availability
Big-state headcounts track population and commerce, not access to counsel - rural counties in the same states can be legal deserts.
How Many Lawyers in the US - FAQ
How many lawyers are there in the United States?
1,374,720 active lawyers per the 2025 ABA National Lawyer Population Survey (published December 2025) - the most recent official count as of August 2026.
Is the number of lawyers growing?
Slowly. 2025's count rose about 1.4% over 2024 - the first significant increase since 2020 - and the decade 2015-2025 added only about 5.6% in total.
Which state has the most lawyers?
New York (190,015), followed by California (181,048) and Texas (99,867), per the 2025 ABA survey.
What do lawyers earn?
Median $151,160 per year (BLS, May 2024); the bottom 10% earned under $72,780 and the top 10% over $239,200.
What share of U.S. lawyers are women?
41% in 2025, per the ABA's Profile of the Legal Profession - up from 40.5% in 2024 and 35% in 2015.
How many people start law school each year?
42,817 first-year students enrolled in Fall 2025 (+7.9% year-over-year), with total JD enrollment of 120,039 across 196 ABA-approved schools (ABA 509 disclosures).
Is the legal job market expected to grow?
BLS projects 4% growth in lawyer employment from 2024 to 2034 - about average - with roughly 31,500 openings per year, mostly from retirements and career changes.
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