How much does the highest paid court reporter make? A Plus Court Reporting Explains it right here.
What is the average salary of a court reporter? Well, according to a 2023 report by ziprecruiter.com, “$47,000 is the 25th percentile. Salaries below this are outliers. $82,000 is the 75th percentile.”
It’s easy to get swept up in the fervor of demand outstripping supply as news breaks of fewer court reporters entering the workforce and an increase in court reporter/closed captioning jobs every year. It’s understandable how one might be lured into the excitement of a lucrative career as a court reporter or closed-captionist when news agencies report stories such as “This job makes six figures, without a college degree”. It’s easy to start taking hyperbolic statements as facts as more stories are pushed and recycled using data that date back over three years. Our analysis will focus on court reporters in the 90th percentile who earn six-figure salaries, based on 2023 information.
How can a court reporter earn more money?
Several factors affect a court reporter’s annual salary, including geography and industry. The Bureau of Labor Statistics listed the top paying industries for court reporters. The data shows an earning of $45K – $60K annual wage, but there are a lot of factors that come into play when determining these wages, even location. There is some encouraging news, but these numbers do not support the claims that court reporters are making six-figure salaries. Where do the outliers lie? Geographically, that is. The saying goes, “It’s location, location, location.” This is especially true in the field of court reporting. The location in which a court reporter works can have a major impact on their salary. You can literally double your income if you work in a high-paying city such as: Redwood City, California, New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ, Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA, Rochester, NY and even some Court Reporting Hartford, CT firms will report.
Other factors effecting court reporting nationwide
Court reporters are experiencing a nationwide shortage, but it’s important to note that much attention is being paid to the top ten percent of earners. There is no requirement for a degree from a traditional four-year university for this career, and in addition to making $50,000 per year in compensation, those working in the best paying metropolitan areas can expect a boost in salary. It is still possible to earn a very good income in this field.
