What can comparisons of lawyers per capita by state tell us about whether there are too many law schools or law students graduating from them? Pretty much nothing, but understandably it’s an intuitive approach. At least, that’s what I thought in 2010 when I started this blog, but when I learned about better measures of attorney demand I focused on those instead, leaving the lawyers-per-capita analysis as a novelty.

But as novelties go, this one is popular, so I maintain it. Here’s an introduction to the datasets I use:

The best source for lawyer populations nationally and by state is the “ABA’s National Lawyer Population by State” count (NLPS), which measures the number of “active and resident” attorneys. 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 2018, between 1970 and 2018 ABA law schools conferred just over 1.8 million law degrees and state bars issued more than 2.3 million law licenses (by examination and diploma privilege, which includes many duplicates). According to the Current Population Survey, 1.2 million attorneys were working in the United States in 2018, but the Labor Department’s Employment Projections program places the figure at 823,900 (2018).

As for the denominator, national and state populations appear via FRED. Easy peasy. But before continuing, a quick warning:

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.

Moving forward…

Number of Active & Resident Lawyers Per Capita

Here is a table ranking active-and-resident lawyer concentrations by each state (I’m counting the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico as states to keep terminology simple and consistent). Some states include nonresident active attorneys or resident nonactive attorneys in their lawyer counts. 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 group the District of Columbia with more northern states, especially New York. I think this better illustrates the legal profession’s geography than including D.C. in the South would.

NO. LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY STATE (2018) RANK STATE POPULATION (MILLIONS) NO. ACTIVE AND RESIDENT LAWYERS NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS 1. District of Columbia 702,455,000 53,778 765.6 2. New York 19,542,209,000 179,600 91.9 3. Maryland 6,042,718,000 40,309 66.7 4. Massachusetts 6,902,149,000 42,926 62.2 5. Connecticut 3,572,665,000 21,341 59.7 6. Illinois 12,741,080,000 63,422 49.8 7. New Jersey 8,908,520,000 41,021 46.0 8. Minnesota 5,611,179,000 25,252 45.0 9. Puerto Rico 3,195,153,000 14,008 43.8 10. California 39,557,045,000 170,044 43.0 11. Louisiana 4,659,978,000 18,918 40.6 12. Missouri 6,126,452,000 24,754 40.4 13. Rhode Island 1,057,315,000 4,154 39.3 14. Pennsylvania 12,807,060,000 50,112 39.1 15. Colorado 5,695,564,000 21,099 37.0 16. Florida 21,299,325,000 78,244 36.7 17. Vermont 626,299,000 2,227 35.6 18. Michigan 9,995,915,000 35,362 35.4 19. Washington 7,535,591,000 26,057 34.6 20. Ohio 11,689,442,000 37,873 32.4 21. Texas 28,701,845,000 90,485 31.5 22. Alaska 737,438,000 2,311 31.3 23. Georgia 10,519,475,000 32,802 31.2 24. Delaware 967,171,000 2,978 30.8 25. Alabama 4,887,871,000 14,822 30.3 26. Kentucky 4,468,402,000 13,540 30.3 27. Hawaii 1,420,491,000 4,261 30.0 28. Montana 1,062,305,000 3,179 29.9 29. Maine 1,338,404,000 3,988 29.8 30. Wyoming 577,737,000 1,716 29.7 31. Oklahoma 3,943,079,000 11,695 29.7 32. Oregon 4,190,713,000 12,427 29.7 33. Nebraska 1,929,268,000 5,565 28.8 34. Virginia 8,517,685,000 24,208 28.4 35. Kansas 2,911,505,000 8,131 27.9 36. Tennessee 6,770,010,000 18,695 27.6 37. West Virginia 1,805,832,000 4,849 26.9 38. Wisconsin 5,813,568,000 15,539 26.7 39. Utah 3,161,105,000 8,285 26.2 40. New Hampshire 1,356,458,000 3,523 26.0 41. New Mexico 2,095,428,000 5,428 25.9 42. Nevada 3,034,392,000 7,333 24.2 43. Indiana 6,691,878,000 15,826 23.6 44. Iowa 3,156,145,000 7,454 23.6 45. Arkansas 3,013,825,000 7,080 23.5 46. Mississippi 2,986,530,000 7,007 23.5 47. North Carolina 10,383,620,000 24,087 23.2 48. South Dakota 882,235,000 1,995 22.6 49. North Dakota 760,077,000 1,694 22.3 50. Idaho 1,754,208,000 3,882 22.1 51. Arizona 7,171,646,000 15,601 21.8 52. South Carolina 5,084,127,000 10,445 20.5 U.S.A. AVERAGE (EXCL. P.R.) 327,167,434,000 1,327,324 40.6 NO. LAWYERS PER CAPITA BY BEA REGION (2018) BEA REGION POPULATION (MILLIONS) NO. ACTIVE AND RESIDENT LAWYERS NO. LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS New England 14,853,290,000 78,159 52.6 Mideast 48,970,133,000 367,798 75.1 Great Lakes 46,931,883,000 168,022 35.8 Plains 21,376,861,000 74,845 35.0 Southeast 84,396,680,000 254,697 30.2 Southwest 41,911,998,000 123,209 29.4 Rocky Mountains 12,250,919,000 38,161 31.1 Far West 56,475,670,000 222,433 39.4

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 by region 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, here are the numbers 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 2016.

NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS (2016) RANK STATE/REGION POPULATION NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS NO. EMPLOYED LAWYERS PER 10,000 RESIDENTS 1. District of Columbia 686,575 39,360 573.28 2. New York 19,641,589 84,230 42.88 3. Rhode Island 1,057,063 4,050 38.31 4. Delaware 949,216 3,270 34.45 5. Connecticut 3,578,674 12,260 34.26 6. Massachusetts 6,826,022 22,220 32.55 7. Vermont 623,644 1,950 31.27 8. New Jersey 8,874,516 26,610 29.98 9. Florida 20,629,982 60,180 29.17 10. Illinois 12,826,895 36,210 28.23 11. North Dakota 754,353 2,080 27.57 12. Colorado 5,540,921 14,630 26.40 13. Virginia 8,410,946 21,530 25.60 14. California 39,209,127 97,400 24.84 15. Pennsylvania 12,783,538 31,640 24.75 16. Maryland 6,004,692 14,520 24.18 17. Montana 1,040,863 2,490 23.92 18. Minnesota 5,523,409 12,640 22.88 19. Maine 1,331,370 3,000 22.53 20. Washington 7,294,680 15,510 21.26 21. Oklahoma 3,926,769 8,280 21.09 22. Nevada 2,919,772 6,070 20.79 23. Missouri 6,087,203 12,220 20.07 24. Oregon 4,091,404 8,180 19.99 25. Georgia 10,304,763 20,570 19.96 26. Nebraska 1,905,924 3,720 19.52 27. Texas 27,937,492 54,160 19.39 28. Michigan 9,951,890 18,770 18.86 29. Hawaii 1,428,105 2,690 18.84 30. Utah 3,042,613 5,550 18.24 31. Louisiana 4,678,215 8,390 17.93 32. West Virginia 1,830,929 3,230 17.64 33. Wyoming 584,290 1,020 17.46 34. Ohio 11,635,003 20,150 17.32 35. New Mexico 2,092,789 3,600 17.20 36. Arizona 6,945,452 11,830 17.03 37. South Carolina 4,958,235 8,160 16.46 38. Kansas 2,911,263 4,750 16.32 39. Wisconsin 5,772,958 9,370 16.23 40. Indiana 6,633,344 10,500 15.83 41. Kentucky 4,438,229 6,850 15.43 42. Tennessee 6,645,011 9,660 14.54 43. New Hampshire 1,342,373 1,950 14.53 44. North Carolina 10,156,679 14,430 14.21 45. Alabama 4,864,745 6,860 14.10 46. Alaska 741,504 1,030 13.89 47. Mississippi 2,988,298 4,150 13.89 48. Iowa 3,131,785 4,330 13.83 49. Arkansas 2,990,410 3,900 13.04 50. Puerto Rico 3,406,495 4,260 12.51 51. South Dakota 862,890 970 11.24 52. Idaho 1,682,930 1,460 8.68 U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.) 323,071,342 782,580 24.22 U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.) 323,071,342 792,500 24.53 New England 14,759,146 45,430 30.78 Mideast 48,940,126 199,630 40.79 Great Lakes 46,820,090 95,000 20.29 Plains 21,176,827 40,710 19.22 Southeast 82,896,442 167,910 20.26 Southwest 40,902,502 77,870 19.04 Rocky Mountains 11,891,617 25,150 21.15 Far West 55,684,592 130,880 23.50

‘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, 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.

Interestingly, two states have negative “Excess Attorney” counts. Delaware’s may be attributable to commuting lawyers, but North Dakota’s, small a state though it is, is more inexplicable.

NO. ‘EXCESS ATTORNEYS’ PER CAPITA (2016) 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 13,673 4,260 9,413 27.63 68.8% 2. Idaho 3,714 1,460 2,254 13.39 60.7% 3. Alaska 2,439 1,030 1,409 19.00 57.8% 4. Louisiana 19,099 8,390 10,709 22.89 56.1% 5. Alabama 14,666 6,860 7,806 16.05 53.2% 6. New York 175,195 84,230 90,965 46.31 51.9% 7. Missouri 24,922 12,220 12,702 20.87 51.0% 8. South Dakota 1,960 970 990 11.47 50.5% 9. Minnesota 24,952 12,640 12,312 22.29 49.3% 10. Kentucky 13,451 6,850 6,601 14.87 49.1% 11. Massachusetts 43,221 22,220 21,001 30.77 48.6% 12. Ohio 38,237 20,150 18,087 15.55 47.3% 13. Tennessee 18,288 9,660 8,628 12.98 47.2% 14. Arkansas 7,320 3,900 3,420 11.44 46.7% 15. Michigan 35,087 18,770 16,317 16.40 46.5% 16. New Hampshire 3,506 1,950 1,556 11.59 44.4% 17. Indiana 18,546 10,500 8,046 12.13 43.4% 18. Connecticut 21,517 12,260 9,257 25.87 43.0% 19. Iowa 7,560 4,330 3,230 10.31 42.7% 20. Illinois 63,060 36,210 26,850 20.93 42.6% 21. Kansas 8,234 4,750 3,484 11.97 42.3% 22. California 167,690 97,400 70,290 17.93 41.9% 23. Mississippi 7,094 4,150 2,944 9.85 41.5% 24. Wyoming 1,715 1,020 695 11.89 40.5% 25. Maryland 24,142 14,520 9,622 16.02 39.9% 26. Washington 25,577 15,510 10,067 13.80 39.4% 27. Texas 87,957 54,160 33,797 12.10 38.4% 28. Oklahoma 13,431 8,280 5,151 13.12 38.4% 29. North Carolina 23,325 14,430 8,895 8.76 38.1% 30. Wisconsin 15,072 9,370 5,702 9.88 37.8% 31. Hawaii 4,224 2,690 1,534 10.74 36.3% 32. Pennsylvania 49,644 31,640 18,004 14.08 36.3% 33. New Jersey 41,569 26,610 14,959 16.86 36.0% 34. New Mexico 5,581 3,600 1,981 9.47 35.5% 35. Georgia 31,499 20,570 10,929 10.61 34.7% 36. Utah 8,468 5,550 2,918 9.59 34.5% 37. Oregon 12,475 8,180 4,295 10.50 34.4% 38. West Virginia 4,922 3,230 1,692 9.24 34.4% 39. Colorado 21,781 14,630 7,151 12.91 32.8% 40. Nebraska 5,506 3,720 1,786 9.37 32.4% 41. Arizona 15,926 11,830 4,096 5.90 25.7% 42. District of Columbia 52,711 39,360 13,351 194.46 25.3% 43. Maine 3,931 3,000 931 6.99 23.7% 44. Montana 3,140 2,490 650 6.24 20.7% 45. Florida 75,697 60,180 15,517 7.52 20.5% 46. South Carolina 10,208 8,160 2,048 4.13 20.1% 47. Vermont 2,326 1,950 376 6.03 16.2% 48. Nevada 7,219 6,070 1,149 3.94 15.9% 49. Virginia 24,193 21,530 2,663 3.17 11.0% 50. Rhode Island 4,219 4,050 169 1.60 4.0% 51. Delaware 2,952 3,270 -318 -3.35 -10.8% 52. North Dakota 1,669 2,080 -411 -5.45 -24.6% U.S.A. (STATES, EXCL. P.R.) 1,300,837 782,580 518,257 16.04 39.8% U.S.A. (BLS, EXCL. P.R.) 1,300,837 792,500 508,337 15.99 39.1% New England 78,720 45,430 33,290 22.56 42.3% Mideast 346,213 199,630 146,583 29.95 42.3% Great Lakes 170,002 95,000 75,002 16.02 44.1% Plains 74,803 40,710 34,093 16.10 45.6% Southeast 249,762 167,910 81,852 9.87 32.8% Southwest 122,895 77,870 45,025 11.01 36.6% Rocky Mountains 38,818 25,150 13,668 11.49 35.2% Far West 219,624 130,880 88,744 15.94 40.4%

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.