TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Feb 19, 2020

General jurisdiction judges in Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois and South Carolina receive the highest annual salaries for their positions when adjusted for cost of living, according to a new survey from the National Center for State Courts. The center's updated Judicial Salary Tracker shows the average salaries for general jurisdiction court judges, appellate court judges and associate supreme court justices as of January 2020. The center found that the average salary for general jurisdiction judges is $161,750, ranging from a low of $89,600 in Puerto Rico to a high of $216,400 in Washington, D.C. The average salary for appellate court judges is $173,132, ranging from a low of $105,000 in Puerto Rico to a high of $244,700 in California. And the average salary for associate supreme court justices is $179,785, ranging from a low of $120,000 in Puerto Rico to a high of $261,013 in California.