Associate General Counsel salary: $238,000 median total compensation
Associate General Counsel is the senior workhorse title inside a legal department — deep subject-matter ownership, frequently a small team, but not the whole function. It is the most common landing spot for law-firm senior associates and junior partners moving in-house.
National median
$238,000
base + bonus + equity
Highest-paying metro
San Francisco
$296,000 median
Best after cost of living
Austin
$215,000 adjusted
Associate General Counsel salary by city
Total compensation medians as of August 2026. Adjusted column normalizes each metro to a national cost-of-living index of 100.
| Metro | Median total | Typical range | COL adjusted | YoY | Open roles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | $296,000 | $231K – $403K | $163,000 | +7.0% | 848 |
| New York, NY | $278,000 | $217K – $378K | $165,000 | +6.7% | 797 |
| Seattle, WA | $270,000 | $211K – $367K | $178,000 | +6.3% | 772 |
| Boston, MA | $254,000 | $198K – $345K | $172,000 | +6.2% | 728 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $247,000 | $193K – $336K | $169,000 | +6.1% | 709 |
| Washington, DC | $245,000 | $191K – $333K | $171,000 | +6.0% | 702 |
| Austin, TX | $232,000 | $181K – $316K | $215,000 | +5.2% | 664 |
| Denver, CO | $228,000 | $178K – $310K | $197,000 | +5.4% | 652 |
| Chicago, IL | $225,000 | $176K – $306K | $201,000 | +5.3% | 645 |
| Dallas, TX | $219,000 | $171K – $298K | $215,000 | +5.0% | 626 |
| Atlanta, GA | $217,000 | $169K – $295K | $211,000 | +5.0% | 620 |
| Raleigh, NC | $210,000 | $164K – $286K | $212,000 | +4.9% | 601 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $208,000 | $162K – $283K | $200,000 | +5.1% | 595 |
| Tampa, FL | $203,000 | $158K – $276K | $201,000 | +5.0% | 582 |
What moves Associate General Counsel pay
- Years post-JD and whether the move came from an AmLaw 50 firm
- Practice area — securities, privacy, antitrust and life-sciences regulatory pay above generalist AGC roles
- Whether the role carries direct reports
- Public versus private company, and equity refresh policy
How this title compares
Median total compensation across the in-house legal ladder, national figures.
Associate General Counsel salary: common questions
- What is the average Associate General Counsel salary in the US?
- The national median total compensation for associate general counsel is $238,000 as of August 2026, spanning $203,000 in lower-cost metros to $296,000 in San Francisco.
- What does an associate general counsel actually do?
- Senior individual contributor or small-team lead within the legal department. Associate General Counsel is the senior workhorse title inside a legal department — deep subject-matter ownership, frequently a small team, but not the whole function. It is the most common landing spot for law-firm senior associates and junior partners moving in-house.
- Which cities pay associate general counsel best?
- San Francisco ($296,000), New York ($278,000), Seattle ($270,000), Boston ($254,000), Los Angeles ($247,000). On a cost-of-living adjusted basis, lower-cost metros often net more.
- How is this Associate General Counsel salary data calculated?
- Figures are total compensation medians (base plus bonus plus equity) derived from MaxMyPay's legal and compliance benchmark set across 14 US metros, scaled by role seniority and adjusted for metro cost of living. They are directional market estimates as of August 2026, not offers.
Is your Associate General Counsel package at market?
A median is not your number. MaxMyPay builds a personalized valuation range from your own resume and experience, then shows what that exact profile earns in every metro we track.