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Local market data · Law firms · New York

AI for law firms in New York

The New York metro area had 12,971 law firms in 2022, the most of all 387 US metros and 8% of all in the country. They employed 120,116 people at an average of $162,299 a year. 86% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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Law firms in New York vs the US

New York metroUnited States
Businesses12,971166,972
People employed120,1161,078,148
Average staff per business9.36.5
Average yearly pay per employee$162,299$121,210
Share with fewer than 10 staff86%87%

Pay here is 34% higher than the national average for law firms, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average law firm here has 9.3 people on payroll, 43% higher than the US figure of 6.5.

How big law firms in New York are

Fewer than 5 staff9,290 (72%) US 72%
5 to 91,853 (14%) US 15%
10 to 19918 (7%) US 7%
20 to 49546 (4%) US 4%
50 or more364 (3%) US 2%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Law firms by county in the New York area

New York County has the most, with 3,550 of the metro's 12,971 (27%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, New York ranks 2nd for average pay and 8th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
New York County3,55066,116$211,684
Nassau County1,6779,632$98,362
Suffolk County1,0605,419$82,492
Westchester County8484,472$110,364
Queens County7443,278$75,502
Bergen County7083,699$106,491
Kings County7033,549$85,848
Essex County5515,547$151,345
Monmouth County4413,105$100,461
Morris County4213,696$120,686
Middlesex County3882,551$114,717
Union County3031,830$98,815

10 smaller counties not shown. Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a law firm first

A law firm gets the most from AI on the work around the legal work: intake calls, conflict check prep, client status updates, deadline tracking and first drafts of routine documents. A lawyer reviews everything that reaches a client or a court. Confidentiality and bar rules shape every setup.

What your team's admin hours cost in New York

Change any number. The starting values are the New York averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$280,800 a year

The share you would hand off$84,240 a year

Hours your team gets back1,080 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for law firms, one job each

Law firms in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles11,219$135,8152nd
Chicago5,981$149,6394th
Miami8,508$120,8663rd
Dallas3,926$139,7086th
Houston3,828$134,7167th
Atlanta4,070$116,0645th
Washington3,515$193,2398th
Philadelphia3,315$134,4379th
Boston3,048$159,17811th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 541110 (Offices of lawyers), for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (22 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

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