Legal

Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

Conduct hearings to recommend or make decisions on claims concerning government programs or other government-related matters. Determine liability, sanctions, or penalties, or recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or settlements.

MAY 2025 · OCCUPATIONAL WAGES

A wage reference for United States.

Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.

Source wage group: Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers

This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.

May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.

Median annual wage$117,860USD per year · Published 50th percentile
Median hourly wage$56.67USD per hour · Published 50th percentile

Annual wage thresholds

USD per year

Hourly wage thresholds

USD per hour

Published occupational wage percentiles · United States · May 2025
PercentileAnnual wage (USD/year)Hourly wage (USD/hour)
10th$61,110$29.38
25th$81,140$39.01
50th · Median$117,860$56.67
75th$159,680$76.77
90th$207,480$99.75

“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.

PUT A WAGE IN CONTEXT

Where does your number sit?

Compare an entered wage with the published thresholds for United States. Your entry stays on this page.

This compares wage amounts to published percentile thresholds. It does not estimate your personal percentile, adjust for your experience, or compare total compensation. Match the wage definition and occupation group before using the result.

THE WORK BEHIND THE TITLE

What this career involves.

Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.

Selected title examples

Adjudications SpecialistAdjudicatorAdministrative Hearing OfficerAdministrative Hearings OfficerAdministrative JudgeAdministrative Law JudgeAppeals ExaminerAppeals OfficerAppeals RefereeAppellate ConfereeChild Support Hearing OfficerClaims Adjudicator
Expand more title examples (12)
Disability Hearing OfficerDisciplinary Hearing OfficerField Hearing OfficerHearing ExaminerHearing OfficerHearings ExaminerHearings OfficerLegal Activity AdjudicatorMedicaid Disability Claims AdjudicatorParole Hearing OfficerVeteran Appeals ReviewerWorkers' Compensation Hearings Officer

Typical tasks

  • Monitor and direct the activities of trials and hearings to ensure that they are conducted fairly and that courts administer justice while safeguarding the legal rights of all involved parties.
  • Prepare written opinions and decisions.
  • Conduct hearings to review and decide claims regarding issues, such as social program eligibility, environmental protection, or enforcement of health and safety regulations.
  • Rule on exceptions, motions, and admissibility of evidence.
  • Research and analyze laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions to prepare for hearings and to determine conclusions.
  • Determine existence and amount of liability according to current laws, administrative and judicial precedents, and available evidence.
Expand more tasks (8)
  • Issue subpoenas and administer oaths in preparation for formal hearings.
  • Explain to claimants how they can appeal rulings that go against them.
  • Schedule hearings.
  • Review and evaluate data on documents, such as claim applications, birth or death certificates, or physician or employer records.
  • Authorize payment of valid claims and determine method of payment.
  • Confer with individuals or organizations involved in cases to obtain relevant information.
  • Recommend the acceptance or rejection of claims or compromise settlements according to laws, regulations, policies, and precedent decisions.
  • Conduct studies of appeals procedures in field agencies to ensure adherence to legal requirements and to facilitate determination of cases.

Skills used in this work

Active Listening
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Judgment and Decision Making
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Writing
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking
Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Expand more skills (29)
Active Learning
Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Social Perceptiveness
Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Complex Problem Solving
Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Monitoring
Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Time Management
Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Negotiation
Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Coordination
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Learning Strategies
Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Persuasion
Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Instructing
Teaching others how to do something.
Service Orientation
Actively looking for ways to help people.
Systems Analysis
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation
Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Management of Personnel Resources
Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics
Using mathematics to solve problems.
Management of Financial Resources
Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
Operations Analysis
Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Science
Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
Technology Design
Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
Management of Material Resources
Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Programming
Writing computer programs for various purposes.
Operations Monitoring
Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Equipment Maintenance
Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
Equipment Selection
Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
Installation
Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
Operation and Control
Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
Quality Control Analysis
Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Repairing
Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
Troubleshooting
Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
FIND YOUR MARKET

Explore wages by location.

0 retained state and local wage references are available. Start with these selected locations, or search the full market directory for this career.

United States wage reference

Local wage references are not retained for this occupation. The national view and employer evidence may still help.

Browse all wage markets

Available links reflect retained source coverage for this career.

TURN CONTEXT INTO A NEXT STEP

Find the next step that fits.

Look at current disclosed job ranges, explore supported employer salary evidence, or build a proposed hiring range with your own assumptions.

Sources and citation.

Cite this page: Wages.fyi, “Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers career and wage guide.” Link to this Wages.fyi page

This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wages.fyi has selected and organized this information and added wage navigation and explanations. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Database license and attribution requirements.

Official occupation profile · Official wage reference . Wage reference: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service. Source data and publication dates can differ from the date this page is accessed.