Judges and Magistrates Earnings

Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates had median annual earnings of $101,690 in May 2006. The middle 50 percent earned between $53,920 and $135,010. The top 10 percent earned more than $145,600, while the bottom 10 percent earned less than $29,540. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates in May 2006 were $117,760 in State government and $74,630 in local government. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers earned a median of $72,600, and arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators earned a median of $49,490.

In the Federal court system, the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court earned $212,100 in 2006, and the Associate Justices earned $203,000. Federal court of appeals judges earned $175,100 a year, while district court judges had salaries of $165,200, as did judges in the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of International Trade. Federal judges with limited jurisdiction, such as magistrates and bankruptcy judges, had salaries of $151,984.

According to a 2006 survey by the National Center for State Courts, salaries of chief justices of State high courts averaged $142,264 and ranged from $102,466 to $200,613. Annual salaries of associate justices of the State highest courts averaged $136,810 and ranged from $100,884 to $184,300. Salaries of State intermediate appellate court judges averaged $132,102 and ranged from $101,612 to $172,452. Salaries of State judges of general jurisdiction trial courts averaged $122,559 and ranged from $94,093 to $168,100.

Most salaried judges are provided health, life, and dental insurance; pension plans; judicial immunity protection; expense accounts; vacation, holiday, and sick leave; and contributions to retirement plans made on their behalf. In many States, judicial compensation committees, which make recommendations on the amount of salary increases, determine judicial salaries. States without commissions have statutes that regulate judicial salaries, link judicial salaries to the increases in pay for Federal judges, or adjust annual pay according to the change in the Consumer Price Index, calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.