Salary of the judges of the USA

Judicial Compensation in USA

Article III of the Constitution governs the appointment, tenure, and payment of Supreme Court justices, and federal circuit and district judges. These judges, often referred to as “Article III judges,” are nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Yearly Compensation

Explanatory Notes

Unless otherwise indicated, all increases were the result of annual salary adjustments, in accordance with 28 U.S.C. §§ 5, 44(d), 135, and/or 461.

¹ These salary levels reflect two separate adjustments.  Beer v. United States, 696 F.3d 1174 (Fed. Cir. 2012), cert. denied, 133 S.Ct. 1997, held that the denial of certain cost-of-living adjustments for judges was an unconstitutional deprivation of judicial compensation in violation of the Compensation Clause and that a 2001 amendment that barred judges from receiving additional compensation except as Congress specifically authorized did not override the provisions of the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, Pub. L. No. 101-194.  In an order filed on December 10, 2013, in Barker v. United States, No. 12-826 (Fed. Cl. filed Nov. 30, 2012), this holding was applied to other Article III judges, effective that date.  As directed by these decisions, the salaries were reset to include the missed adjustments, resulting in the salaries of circuit judges set at $209,100, district judges at $197,100, the Chief Justice at $253,000 and the Associate Justices at $242,000.  These salary levels were then further adjusted by the one percent cost-of-living adjustment provided to nearly all federal government employees and officials, in accordance with Executive Order No. 13655 (Dec. 23, 2013), effective January 1, 2014.

² These salary levels reflect two separate adjustments that both became effective on January 1, 1991: a 25 percent increase provided to judges and other senior government officials by the Ethics Reform Act of 1989, Pub. L. No. 101-194, § 703, 103 Stat. 1716, 1768; and a 3.6 percent cost-of-living adjustment for the 1991 fiscal year.

³ These salary levels reflect two separate adjustments. First, Public Law Number 99-500, § 406, provided a three percent cost-of-living adjustment for the Judiciary as of January 1, 1987, bringing the salaries of circuit judges to $85,700, district judges (and other top government officials) to $81,100, the Chief Justice to $111,700, and the salaries of the Associate Justices to $107,200. Then on January 5, 1987, President Reagan recommended to Congress further adjustment for justices, judges, and other executive level officers under the Federal Salary Act of 1967, as amended, 2 U.S.C. § 358, to the rates shown. These rates became effective March 1, 1987, following Congressional failure to effectively disapprove them.

⁴ United States v. Will, 449 U.S. 200 (1980), held that 1979 legislation violated the Compensation Clause of Article III in denying judges joint implementation of annual cost-of-living adjustments in 1978 and 1979.

⁵ These salary levels reflect varying percentage increases proposed and implemented under the Quadrennial Commission process, effective March 1, 1977.

⁶ Implementation of the 1976 annual cost-of-living adjustment, pursuant to United States v. Will, supra, holding that retroactive cancellation of the 1976 adjustment violated the Compensation Clause of Article III.

⁷ These salary levels reflect varying percentage increases proposed and implemented under the Quadrennial Commission process, effective March 1, 1969.