Average Salary

• For its survey of national employment trends carried out in May 2010, the bureau categorized magistrates alongside all other kinds of judges. It concluded that the average annual pay across the professional field was $105,390. Calculated from wage data supplied by over 25,000 individual practitioners working across the country, this translates into a monthly income of $8,783 and an hourly rate of $50.67.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• Magistrates, like all other judges, work for the government. The bureau's survey showed that they are employed by local government bodies and their state equivalents. It listed the average yearly wage for a magistrate working at local level as $87,170. Those employed by state government judicial systems earned an average of $124,240.
  
  

Salary by Geography

• At the state level, the bureau reported that the location in which a magistrate or judge was likely to earn the highest wage was California, which averaged $175,100. Illinois and Connecticut completed the top three with averages of $162,810 and $150,060, respectively. In contrast, West Virginia was listed at $61,840. At the level of metropolitan districts, the Sacramento, Arden, Arcade, Roseville area of California topped the table with an average salary of $172,230. Wichita Falls in Texas was among the lowest-paying locations at just $60,360.
  
  

Outlook

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects employment opportunities for magistrates and judges of all kinds to grow by around 4 percent over the period from 2008 to 2018. This is considerably slower growth than that predicted for all occupations, estimated at between 7 and 13 percent. While demand for judicial personnel will rise due to an increased willingness to settle disputes in court, budgetary pressures will act as brakes on recruitment. As such, salary levels for judges are unlikely to rise significantly in the immediate future.