Compared with the local labor market
General Counsel pay vs. the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area
Across all employers in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area, the median wage for Lawyers — about 94,610 people — is $208,880. President Borough of Manhattan pays a median base salary of $138,653 for this role, 34% below that figure — about the 27th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where President Borough of Manhattan sits in the local pay range
$94,070
$131,240
$208,880
$324,310
$391,620
President Borough of Manhattan median · $138,653
The bar is the range of annual wages for Lawyers across every employer in the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows President Borough of Manhattan’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Lawyers — about 754,500 people — is $159,670. President Borough of Manhattan’s median base salary is 13% below that national figure, about the 41st percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$78,360
$102,990
$159,670
$221,370
$351,600
President Borough of Manhattan median · $138,653
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at President Borough of Manhattan is $140,653, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
General Counsel beyond New York City
This role is reported in 14 jurisdictions. In New York City, the median of $219,998 ranks #1 of 14. See General Counsel across all of New York City →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable General Counsel roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.