The field of law is as broad as it is diverse – as are the related earnings. As one might expect, lawyers working in state government earn significantly less than their counterparts in the private sector. According to PayScale.com’s data for 2014, the median annual salary of lawyers in the United States is $75,803. This article breaks down the numbers by specialty to give you a general idea of what lawyers who practice in a variety of settings can expect to bring in.