Associate salary

Average associate salary

$69,556

$33.44 hourly rate

Entry-level associate salary
$34,000 yearly salary
Updated January 8, 2025

How much does an associate make?

The average associate salary in the United States is $69,556. Associate salaries typically range between $34,000 and $140,000 yearly. The average hourly rate for associates is $33.44 per hour.

Associate salary is impacted by location, education, and experience. Associates earn the highest average salary in New York.

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Where can an Associate earn more?

Compare salary by location
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Vs
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118k
98k
78k
58k
38k
18k
District of Columbia$93,302
Chicago, IL$48,425
Compare salary by company
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289k
269k
249k
229k
209k
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett$267,834
Skadden$238,600

Associate salary estimates from across the web

Based on the latest salary information compiled by Zippia, Indeed, Ziprecruiter and Comparably, the average salary for an associate typically falls between $34,435 and $98,620.
zippia
$69,556yearly
indeed[1]
$34,435yearly
comparably[2]
$98,620yearly
ZipRecruiter[3]
$41,468yearly

Average associate salary by state

Highest paying states for associates

Rank
ascdesc
State
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1New York$89,570$43.06
2Connecticut$75,022$36.07
3New Jersey$69,901$33.61
4Massachusetts$73,855$35.51
5Pennsylvania$57,790$27.78
6Delaware$63,939$30.74
7California$79,213$38.08
8New Hampshire$56,483$27.16
9District of Columbia$92,361$44.40
10Rhode Island$65,297$31.39
11Maine$51,794$24.90
12Michigan$51,515$24.77
13Virginia$56,720$27.27
14Vermont$54,953$26.42
15Nevada$57,615$27.70
16Maryland$58,149$27.96
17Arizona$56,052$26.95
18North Carolina$49,152$23.63
19Ohio$48,561$23.35
20West Virginia$46,042$22.14
21Texas$49,002$23.56
22Illinois$47,860$23.01
23Oregon$54,157$26.04
24Florida$45,798$22.02
25Washington$53,104$25.53
26Indiana$42,793$20.57
27Utah$46,242$22.23
28Wisconsin$44,622$21.45
29New Mexico$48,884$23.50
30Louisiana$42,369$20.37
31Tennessee$40,034$19.25
32South Carolina$40,403$19.42
33Colorado$45,634$21.94
34Idaho$45,201$21.73
35Kentucky$40,041$19.25
36North Dakota$42,603$20.48
37Iowa$42,730$20.54
38Minnesota$44,031$21.17
39Hawaii$47,222$22.70
40Oklahoma$40,053$19.26
41Mississippi$38,306$18.42
42Missouri$39,956$19.21
43Arkansas$38,595$18.56
44South Dakota$39,954$19.21
45Georgia$38,259$18.39
46Alabama$38,154$18.34
47Alaska$41,024$19.72
48Wyoming$39,407$18.95
49Montana$39,521$19.00
50Kansas$39,292$18.89
51Nebraska$39,466$18.97

Highest paying cities for associates

The highest-paying cities for associates are Washington, DC, New York, NY, and Menlo Park, CA.

Rank
ascdesc
City
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Washington, DC$93,302$44.86
2New York, NY$90,902$43.70
3Menlo Park, CA$82,294$39.56
4Greenwich, CT$75,612$36.35
5Boston, MA$73,450$35.31
6Jersey City, NJ$69,759$33.54
7Wilmington, DE$63,988$30.76
8McLean, VA$59,042$28.39
9Philadelphia, PA$58,711$28.23
10Baltimore, MD$58,397$28.08
11Phoenix, AZ$56,108$26.98
12Seattle, WA$53,411$25.68
13Portland, ME$53,231$25.59
14Jacksonville, NC$52,847$25.41
15Portland, OR$52,695$25.33
16Cleveland, OH$52,512$25.25
17Detroit, MI$52,287$25.14
18Austin, TX$51,079$24.56
19Miami, FL$48,779$23.45
20Chicago, IL$48,425$23.28

Associates are the most in-demand in these five cities:

  1. Washington, DC
  2. New York, NY
  3. Menlo Park, CA
  4. Greenwich, CT
  5. Boston, MA

Associate salary details

An associate's salary ranges from $34,000 a year at the 10th percentile to $140,000 at the 90th percentile.

Average Associate Salary Graph
Average Associate Salary Graph, Trends, and Summary

What is an associate's salary?

Percentile
ascdesc
Annual Salary
ascdesc
Monthly Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
90th Percentile$140,000$11,667$67
75th Percentile$100,000$8,333$48
Average$69,556$5,796$33
25th Percentile$48,000$4,000$23
10th Percentile$34,000$2,833$16

Which companies pay associates the most?

Associate salaries at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Reed Smith are the highest-paying according to our most recent salary estimates. In addition, the average associate salary at companies like Latham & Watkins and Hughes Hubbard & Reed are highly competitive.

Rank
ascdesc
Company
ascdesc
Average Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
1Simpson Thacher & Bartlett$267,834$128.77
2Reed Smith$255,348$122.76
3Latham & Watkins$247,914$119.19
4Hughes Hubbard & Reed$246,455$118.49
5Sidley Austin$246,445$118.48
6Mayer Brown$246,388$118.46
7Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman$244,531$117.56
8Fried Frank$243,628$117.13
9Kramer Levin$243,449$117.04
10Nixon Peabody$242,958$116.81
11Ropes & Gray$242,592$116.63
12K&L Gates$242,368$116.52
13Paul Hastings$242,342$116.51
14Boies Schiller Flexner$241,241$115.98
15Munger, Tolles & Olson$240,546$115.65
16Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton$240,234$115.50
17Cooley$239,709$115.24
18Alston & Bird$239,654$115.22
19Kirkland & Ellis$239,030$114.92
20Skadden$238,600$114.71

Wage gap by gender, race and education

$77,000$75,200$73,400$71,600$69,800$68,000
MaleFemale

Associate salary trends

The average associate salary has risen by $15,591 over the last ten years. In 2014, the average associate earned $53,965 annually, but today, they earn $69,556 a year. That works out to a 19% change in pay for associates over the last decade.

Compare associate salaries for cities or states with the national average over time.

Average associate salary over time

Compare associate salaries for individual cities or states with the national average.

  • National Average

Associate salary by year

Year
ascdesc
Avg. Salary
ascdesc
Hourly Rate
ascdesc
% Change
ascdesc
2025$69,600$33.44+6.8%
2024$64,900$31.18+4.2%
2023$62,200$29.88+4.1%
2022$59,600$28.66+2.3%
2021$58,300$28.01+4.0%

Recently added associate salaries

Company
ascdesc
Job
ascdesc
Location
ascdesc
Date Added
ascdesc
Salary
ascdesc
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalMontgomery, AL12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalSan Juan, PR12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalBismarck, ND12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalDover, DE12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalWashington, DC12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalDenver, CO12/18/2024$52,500
HumanaAssociate Well-Being ProfessionalLittle Rock, AR12/18/2024$52,500
McDermott Will & EmeryAssociate-Energy Advisory (Project Finance)-New York or Washington, D.C.Ione, WA12/18/2024$225,000
Randstad UsLegal Document Review AssociateColumbia, MD12/18/2024$43,827
Ohio UniversityTransportation AssociateAthens, OH12/18/2024$32,015

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