Corporate Counsel.
Dallas.
$183,000
median salary, 1% below the national average
$143,000 to $239,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
Dallas is 1% more expensive than the national average. For Corporate Counsels, that shakes out to a median of $183,000, with the full range spanning $143,000 to $239,000. Corporate Counsel compensation is driven by firm tier, practice area (M&A and private equity command the top of the market), and year of bar admission. Know the range before you walk in. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Corporate Counsel in Dallas, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $168,510 for Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metropolitan area, based on 17,110 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$81,360
25th percentile
$104,990
Median
$168,510
75th percentile
$227,070
90th percentile
$347,260
Workers surveyed
17,110
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Lawyers (SOC 23-1011) rather than Corporate Counsel specifically. The Dallasrange at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 23-1011Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $165,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$119,000
to $146,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$156,000
to $192,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$201,000
to $238,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$229,000
to $284,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $46,000 to the total package.
Base
$183,000
Equity
$26,000
Bonus
$16,000
Signing
$4,000
Estimated total: $229,000
How Dallas compares.
Dallas, TX
$183,000
Cost of living: 1% above average
National Average
$185,000
Dallas is $2,000 below
Corporate Counsel salary by city.
Salary by role in Dallas.
What you should know.
The Corporate Counsel landscape in Dallas is not what most salary sites will tell you. Dallas is a major corporate hub with dozens of Fortune 500 headquarters spanning telecom, finance, defense, and retail. The metro's low cost of living and no state income tax make it a magnet for corporate relocations. Tech salaries in Dallas have risen quickly, particularly in fintech, cybersecurity, and enterprise software. Corporate Counsel compensation is driven by firm tier, practice area (M&A and private equity command the top of the market), and year of bar admission. Base salary carries most of the total compensation, with bonuses adding roughly 15% in a typical year. Within law, firm tier and practice area specialization drive the steepest variance, with Big Law and top boutique firms setting the ceiling.
Corporate Counsels progress Associate → Senior Associate → Counsel → Partner over 8 to 10 years at firms; in-house tracks progress Associate → Senior Counsel → Managing Counsel → General Counsel. Partner-track decisions happen around year 7 to 8. In Dallas, cost of living sits near the national average, so the numbers you see are roughly what you keep.
Base salary is not the full picture. Total compensation for Corporate Counsels runs roughly $213K at median when factoring base + typical bonus (~15% of base). Base salary carries most of the compensation; benefits (healthcare, 401(k) match, PTO) add an estimated 15–25% in imputed value on top. In law, firm tier dictates total compensation structure — Big Law associates earn predictable lockstep salaries; in-house counsel typically trades lower base for equity. And on the tax side: texas levies no state income tax, giving Dallas workers a meaningful take home pay advantage. Local property taxes are above the national average, typically around 2% of assessed value. When someone quotes you $183,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Highlight the corporate headquarters density in DFW. Employers here compete fiercely for talent and often match or exceed offers from companies across the metroplex. The range for Corporate Counsels in Dallas runs from $143,000 to $239,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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