GCGovComp.app

Florida / Department of Commerce / General Counsel

Job-title file

General Counsel

Provide legal advice, draft and review documents, and represent the agency in legal matters.

1 employee holds this title in Department of Commerce. Median total compensation for the role is $145,310, above the department median of $54,271.

Employees
1
Total payroll
$145.3K
Role median
$145,310
Agency median
$54,271
Comparison
Above

Compared with the local labor market

General Counsel pay vs. Florida

Across all employers in Florida, the median wage for Lawyersabout 55,210 people is $133,180. Department of Commerce pays a median base salary of $145,310 for this role, 9% above that figureabout the 55th percentile of local pay for the occupation.

Where Department of Commerce sits in the local pay range

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$75,530
$99,720
$133,180
$196,100
$301,050
Department of Commerce median · $145,310

The bar is the range of annual wages for Lawyers across every employer in Florida, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Department of Commerce’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.

And across the country

Nationwide, the median wage for Lawyersabout 754,500 people is $159,670. Department of Commerce’s median base salary is 9% below that national figure, about the 44th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.

10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
$78,360
$102,990
$159,670
$221,370
$351,600
Department of Commerce median · $145,310

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 Florida range relative to the national one.

Median total compensation for this role at Department of Commerce is $145,310, 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 departments

This role across Florida

General Counsel is held in 6 Florida departments. In Department of Commerce, the median of $145,310 ranks #3 of 6.

Highest-paying departments for this role

Median total compensation for the General Counsel role in other Floridadepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.

Compare jurisdictions

General Counsel beyond Florida

This role is reported in 14 jurisdictions. In Florida, the median of $119,779 ranks #11 of 14. See General Counsel across all of Florida

Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role

New York City
$219,998 · 5
California
$217,477 · 10
Tennessee
$205,192 · 25
District of Columbia
$190,389 · 41
Georgia
$168,000 · 7
City of Boston
$164,844 · 7
Texas
$162,498 · 343

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.

Same department

Other job titles in Department of Commerce

Record list

Employees with this title

Page 1

Karen Gates

General Counsel/Department of Commerce

2026 total comp
$145,310
Sub-department
Executive Leadership
Base pay
$145,310
Overtime
$0
Other pay
$0
Benefits
$0
Total compensation
$145,310
Hire date
2017-01-20
Employment type
Salaried
Middle name
Yeckley

Source-specific fields

Class Code
2463
Position Number
010100

At Department of Commerce, Karen Gates serves as a General Counsel within Executive Leadership. Their tenure dates to 2017, about 9 years, working salaried. Their 2026 pay totaled $145,310.