2027 Salary Guide · Legal & Compliance
BLS puts the median court reporter salary at $72,420 for May 2025, or about $77,000 for 2027 planning. One caution shapes every number on this page: about a third of court reporters are self-employed, and the BLS wage survey does not count the self-employed, so freelance deposition income is not in these figures.
Who employs them
Shares of employment are from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Only the employee rows are covered by the wage figures on this page.
| Setting | Share of jobs | How pay usually works |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed (freelance) | 33% | Hourly rate for the proceeding plus sales of transcript copies at a set price per page. Not included in BLS wage data. |
| Local government | 24% | Official reporter positions in county and municipal courts, paid on the government's salary schedule. |
| State government | 20% | Official reporters in state courts and legislatures, paid on the state's salary schedule. |
| Business support services | 19% | Employees of court reporting and captioning firms. The firm bills the client and sets the reporter's pay. |
Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners. Shares do not sum to 100% because smaller employer groups are not shown.
Reporting method
BLS does not publish pay by reporting method, so there is no reliable stenomask or voice writer salary on its own. What the method changes is which jobs you can take.
Stenotype machines work like keyboards but create words through key combinations. Realtime stenographers can feed live text to attorneys and also qualify for captioning work, which BLS counts in the same occupation.
The reporter repeats everything into a covered microphone that others cannot hear, and software turns it into a draft transcript. Voice writers do the same court and deposition work, where the state's licensing rules accept the method.
A recorder captures audio or video rather than a written transcript, and the transcript is produced later. O*NET lists court recorder and digital court reporter among the titles in this occupation.
Licensing requirements vary by state and by reporting method. Certification usually means a written test and a skills test at a minimum words-per-minute speed and accuracy, according to BLS.
Pay distribution
BLS groups court reporters with simultaneous captioners. The figures cover salaried and hourly employees of courts, legislatures, reporting firms and other employers. The bottom tenth earned under $42,130 and the top tenth more than $130,560.
Typical for the Court Reporter title: $53,760 to $100,780 (25th to 75th percentile of Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners)
| Percentile | BLS, May 2025 | 2027 planning estimate |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,130 | $45,000 |
| 25th percentile | $53,760 | $57,000 |
| Median | $72,420 | $77,000 |
| 75th percentile | $100,780 | $107,000 |
| 90th percentile | $130,560 | $139,000 |
Local pay
Austin ($130,730), Houston ($129,380) and Dallas-Fort Worth ($125,970) are three of the top four metros, with the San Francisco Bay Area in between. At the other end, Miami ($48,430) and Washington, DC ($51,880) sit well below the national median. New York City is the largest market here, with about 1,060 employed reporters. Six of the 29 metros have too few reporters for BLS to publish an estimate.
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | $130,730 +81% | $66,420 – $143,430 | 130 |
| Houston | $129,380 +79% | $57,390 – $137,410 | 260 |
| San Francisco Bay Area | $129,270 +79% | $62,860 – $141,960 | 260 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | $125,970 +74% | $59,260 – $153,660 | 220 |
| San Diego | $123,230 +70% | $55,380 – $123,450 | 110 |
| Seattle | $113,200 +56% | $107,670 – $113,200 | 40 |
| Buffalo | $99,620 +38% | $51,960 – $132,430 | 60 |
| Providence | $92,250 +27% | $61,670 – $108,370 | 70 |
| New York City | $90,230 +25% | $53,760 – $143,790 | 1,060 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | $86,900 +20% | $64,150 – $99,630 | 160 |
| Metro area | Median | 10th – 90th | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $86,510 +19% | $41,430 – $123,160 | 290 |
| Denver | $83,000 +15% | $65,970 – $110,700 | 190 |
| Atlanta | $80,000 +10% | $40,760 – $121,670 | 260 |
| Chicago | $76,790 +6% | $31,200 – $129,320 | 510 |
| Philadelphia | $74,760 +3% | $43,390 – $106,630 | 240 |
| Detroit | $69,100 -5% | $25,960 – $82,640 | 100 |
| Boston | $65,850 -9% | $46,080 – $91,350 | 40 |
| Charlotte | $63,840 -12% | $35,230 – $93,080 | 30 |
| Pittsburgh | $63,480 -12% | $40,690 – $80,120 | 120 |
| Tampa | $61,470 -15% | $45,320 – $89,370 | 140 |
| Baltimore | $60,640 -16% | $41,620 – $90,900 | 150 |
| Washington, DC | $51,880 -28% | $43,850 – $85,290 | 180 |
| Miami | $48,430 -33% | $35,320 – $80,050 | 440 |
BLS metro estimates, May 2025. Percent compares the metro median with the national median. "Jobs" is BLS estimated employment in the metro; blank where BLS does not publish it.
Freelance vs. official
Freelance pay is not in the BLS numbers, so compare offers on their parts rather than against the median.
BLS says freelancers typically charge an hourly rate. Ask whether waiting time, travel and cancellations are billed.
Freelancers also sell transcript copies at a set price per page. Ask who sets the rate, and how expedited orders and copy sales are split if you work through a firm.
Find out whether you supply your own stenotype or voice-writing setup and transcription software, or whether the firm or court provides it.
An official reporter on a state or county payroll gets public-sector benefits. A freelancer pays for their own, so price that gap before comparing a freelance rate with a salary.
Outlook
About 19,900 court reporters and captioners work as employees nationally. BLS expects little or no change in employment through 2035 but about 1,800 openings a year, which with flat headcount means openings come from reporters who retire or leave.
BLS Employment Projections via O*NET OnLine. Projections cover Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners as a whole.
Compare
At the median, court reporters earn more than paralegals ($62,890) and legal secretaries ($55,570), and about the same as the catch-all occupation that includes litigation support specialists ($72,110).
| Role | BLS median | 2027 estimate | Outlook |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Reporter | $72,420 | $77,000 | Little or no change |
| Legal Secretary | $55,570 | $59,000 | Decline |
| Paralegal | $62,890 | $67,000 | Little or no change |
| Litigation Support Specialist | $72,110 | $76,500 | Little or no change |
FAQ
BLS reports a median of $72,420 a year, or $34.82 an hour, for court reporters and simultaneous captioners in May 2025. The middle half earned between $53,760 and $100,780. With two years of wage growth at 3.1% a year, the 2027 planning median is about $77,000. These figures cover employees only; self-employed freelancers are excluded.
BLS does not split pay by reporting method, so there is no official stenomask or voice writer salary. Voice writers are counted in the same occupation as stenographers, with a median of $72,420 in May 2025. The published data does show large differences by metro, from $48,430 in Miami to $130,730 in Austin.
Freelance income is outside the BLS numbers entirely. The OEWS wage survey excludes the self-employed, and BLS says 33% of court reporters and captioners are self-employed. Freelancers typically bill an hourly rate for the proceeding and sell transcript copies by the page, so income depends on how many jobs they cover and how many transcripts are ordered.
The 10th percentile, a reasonable proxy for a new reporter on payroll, was $42,130 in May 2025, and the 25th percentile was $53,760. Most new reporters first complete a certificate or associate's program, which BLS says typically takes 2 or 3 years, and then pass the skills test their state requires.
It pays more than many legal support jobs, with a median of $72,420, but the employee workforce is small at about 19,900, and BLS expects little or no change in employment through 2035. About 1,800 openings a year come from replacement. Freelance work adds demand that these numbers do not show.
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