Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates had median annual earnings of $93,070 in May 2004. The middle 50 percent earned between $54,140 and $124,400. The top 10 percent earned more than $141,750, while the bottom 10 percent earned less than $29,920. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates in May 2004 were $111,810 in State government and $65,800 in local government. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers earned a median of $68,930, and arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators earned a median of $54,760. In the Federal court system, the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court earned $208,100 in 2005, and the Associate Justices earned $199,200. Federal court of appeals judges earned $171,800 a year, while district court judges had salaries of $162,100, as did judges in the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of International Trade. Federal judges with limited jurisdiction, such as magistrates and bankruptcy court judges, had salaries of $149,132. According to a 2004 survey by the National Center for State Courts, salaries of chief justices of State high courts averaged $130,461 and ranged from $95,000 to $191,483. Annual salaries of associate justices of the State highest courts averaged $126,159 and ranged from $95,000 to $175,575. Salaries of State intermediate appellate court judges averaged $122,682 and ranged from $94,212 to $164,604. Salaries of State judges of general jurisdiction trial courts averaged $113,504 and ranged from $88,164 to $158,100.

Most salaried judges are provided health, life, and dental insurance; pension plans; judicial immunity protection; expense accounts; vacation, holiday, and sick leave; and contributions to retirement plans made on their behalf. In many States, judicial compensation committees, which make recommendations on the amount of salary increases, determine judicial salaries. States without commissions have statutes that regulate judicial salaries, link judicial salaries to the increases in pay for Federal judges, or adjust annual pay according to the change in the Consumer Price Index, calculated by the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.