By Hillary Mantis
New York is often named as the city that pays the top salary for associates starting out. Right now, it’s typically around $160,000 at the large corporate firms. But what that salary actually buys is lacking compared to lawyers in other cities, according to a new survey from the National Association for Legal Career Professionals (NALP).
NALP has developed a “buying power” index, which lists the cities where associates have the most buying power. The index is based on median salaries for the class of 2010 in private practice, and the cost of living in various cities.
The winners include:
•Boston, which has a median salary of $160,000- but associates would need to earn only 97,890 to have the same buying power as New York associates earning 160,000.
•Chicago, which has a median salary of $145,000- but associates, would need to earn only 86,350 to have the same buying power as the NYC associates.
•Atlanta, which has a median salary of 135,000-but associates would need to earn only 70,610 to have the same buying power as the NYC associates.
•Houston, which has a median salary of 135,000-but associates would need to earn only 68,100 to have the same buying power as the NYC associates.
And the grand prize goes to:
•Dallas, which has a median salary of 150,000-but associates would need to earn just 67,870 to have the same buying power of the NYC associates.
Of course, there may be other reasons for picking a city to live and work in other than its buying power — but for buying power these cities come out on top. The study is similar to the Standard of Living study by The National Jurist, which factored in debt and taxes in addition to cost of living. The University of Texas ranked first in that study.
You can write to Hillary at: altcareer@aol.com
