National salary comparison — BLS OES 2024-2025 data
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Lawyers earn a national median of $145,760/year vs Cloud Engineers at $138,000/year. Lawyers earn 5% more nationally. The gap is $7,760 per year — or $647 per month.
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Lawyer
$145,760
national median/year
$12,147/mo • $70/hr
VS
Cloud Engineer
$138,000
national median/year
$11,500/mo • $66/hr
Annual salary gap
$7,760
Lawyers earn 5% more per year nationally. Over 30 years at 7% investment return that gap compounds to approximately $87,962.
Best states for Cloud Engineers
vs Lawyers
Washington+$23,680
Oregon+$19,680
Utah+$19,680
North Carolina+$11,680
Colorado+$9,680
Best states for Lawyers
vs Cloud Engineers
New York+$26,320
Illinois+$12,320
Texas+$12,320
Delaware+$8,320
Massachusetts+$8,320
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Lawyers earn more nationally. The median annual salary for Lawyers is $145,760 versus $138,000 for Cloud Engineers — a difference of $7,760 per year or $647 per month.
The national median salary gap between Lawyers and Cloud Engineers is $7,760 per year. Lawyers earn 5% more. Over a 30-year career this difference, if invested at 7% annual return, compounds to approximately $87,962.
Based on BLS OES 2024-2025 data, New York pays Lawyers the highest median salary at $188,320 per year.
Based on BLS OES 2024-2025 data, California pays Cloud Engineers the highest median salary at $178,000 per year.
Salary is one factor — Lawyers earn more nationally. But career choice involves job satisfaction, work-life balance, education requirements, and job growth. Lawyers and Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts both have different educational paths, licensing requirements, and long-term growth projections. Use salary as a starting point, not the only factor.
Based on a standard 2,080-hour work year, Lawyers earn approximately $70 per hour nationally and Cloud Engineers earn approximately $66 per hour. Actual hourly rates vary based on overtime, part-time work, and whether the role is salaried or hourly.
Methodology: Salary data from Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 2024-2025. Figures represent median annual wages for wage and salary workers. Self-employed excluded. Hourly rates calculated at 2,080 hours per year. State salary figures from same BLS OES dataset. Updated annually.
