Patent Lawyer Salary

The chart above, showing the median patent lawyer salary by years of experience, reveals that a patent lawyer salary can increase dramatically over the course of a career. Considering the high salary potential for patent law, the patent lawyer salary for attorneys with less than one year of experience might seem low. But, for the average patent lawyer, salary will increase significantly after just a few years of experience. And after at least 20 years of experience, the median patent lawyer salary reaches $180,000 - that's a lot higher than the Median Attorney Salary for lawyers working in other practice areas, which tops off at about $115,000. Of course, salaries are influenced by a number of factors, and many lawyers will earn more or less than these figures depending on location, employment setting, qualifications and more. Looking at the Patent Lawyer Salary by City chart, we can see that San Francisco is way ahead of the pack with a median patent lawyer salary of over $200,000. That's significantly higher than the city with the second highest patent lawyer salary, Washington, D.C. If you just finished law school, heading to the West Coast might sound like a great idea. Before jumping on a plane, though, you might want to do a little research into the cost of living in different areas. This can be especially helpful for those who are just starting a career; researching cost of living can help you determine what your standard of living will be like in a given area. Using PayScale's Cost of Living Calculator, you can find both Cost of Living and Patent Lawyer Salary Data for San Francisco and other U.S. cities.