So, you’ve been wondering what the Supreme Court Justice down the street is pulling in every month. Maybe you’re picturing them counting their cash on a giant, mahogany gavel-shaped desk while wearing a robe made of satin and sass. Well, grab a latte and settle in, because the truth is both more boring and more fascinating than you’d think.
Let’s start with the big number. A Supreme Court Justice’s annual salary for 2024 is $298,500—the Chief Justice gets a tiny bump to $312,200. That breaks down to roughly $24,875 a month for the Associate Justices, and about $26,016 for the Chief. That’s way more than you or I make, but less than the CEO of a medium-sized pickle company.
But here’s the kicker: these folks cannot negotiate their salary. Imagine walking into a job interview and being told, “Your pay is set by Congress, and it’s only going to go up if they feel generous during a budget fight.” Oh, and they can’t take outside speaking fees, book advances, or even a free steak dinner from a lobbyist. That’s right—no side hustles!
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They are the highest-paid, most-poorly-advised salary slaves in the country. Well, maybe not slaves—they have lifetime tenure, which is like a permanent no-fire-zone pillow fort. But still, picture Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson turning down a $500,000 book deal because of ethics rules. Ouch.
Now, is $24,875 a month enough? For a single person in a modest house in suburban Virginia, it’s a solidly upper-middle-class life. But for someone with a legal team, a security detail, and a wine cellar that can survive a nuclear winter? It’s a little tight. One Justice once joked that they drive a 10-year-old Honda Civic—which is hilarious, because their armored SUVs cost more than your entire apartment building.
United States Supreme Court Judges 2024
Here’s a wild fact: Supreme Court salaries haven’t kept up with inflation. In 1968, a Justice made $40,000 a year—which, adjusted for inflation, would be about $350,000 today. So they actually took a pay cut of nearly 15%! It’s the only job where not getting a raise is considered a sign of moral purity.
What do they actually do for that cash?
They hear about 60 to 70 cases a year, write opinions that make your grandma’s recipe for apple pie sound like a legal document, and spend a lot of time in meetings that look like a very slow chess game. But the real secret? They work summers off. July and August are basically pajama season at the marble palace. That’s three months of paid vacation—so their monthly salary is actually for 9 months of heavy lifting and 3 of binge-watching Netflix.
If you break it down to an hourly rate, assuming they work 40-hour weeks (ha!), they’re making roughly $143 an hour. That’s more than your plumber, but less than the guy who fixes your Porsche. And let’s be honest—your plumber has to deal with literal crap; they deal with metaphorical crap about “interstate commerce clauses.”
How Much Money Does A Supreme Court Justice Make? - CountyOffice.org
The perks nobody talks about
They don’t get a company car, but they do get free parking in Washington D.C., which is basically a gold mine. Plus, they have a lifetime pension equal to their current salary after retirement. That means they could retire tomorrow and still get $24,875 a month forever. You know how many avocados you can buy with that?
And get this: they’re required to buy their own health insurance, just like us plebs. No Cadillac plan from the government. So while they debate whether your right to health care is constitutional, they’re shopping on the same exchange as your cousin Brenda. The irony is so thick you could spread it on a bagel.
Clarence Thomas has received a ton of gifts while on the Supreme Court
One last shocker: Justice Clarence Thomas once reportedly made more money from teaching and book deals than from his salary—before ethics rules clamped down. So yeah, some of them have definitely had to downgrade from “private jet” to “first class on Amtrak.” The horror!
So, should we feel sorry for them?
Absolutely not. They have job security that makes a cockroach look fragile, they get to make decisions that change the country, and their healthcare is still way better than yours. But every time you grumble about your paycheck, just remember: a Supreme Court Justice can’t even accept a free Starbucks from a law clerk without filing a disclosure form. Their monthly salary might be 25 grand, but they pay for it in procrastinating on opinion drafts and endless arguments about the word “shall.”
In the end, the answer is: $24,875 a month, give or take a gavel. Enough to buy a small island, but not enough to avoid the public gawking at their grocery cart. Now go finish your coffee and stop dreaming about a lifetime appointment—your boss is calling.
