Side-by-side distribution
Counsel
$214,525
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 54.3%
- Live roles
- 1,275
Privacy Officer
$229,625
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 44.9%
- Live roles
- 69
Highest-paying jobs
Senior Legal Counsel
Employment Counsel [6 Month Contract]
Director, Corporate Counsel
Director, Investments Counsel
General Counsel
Senior Counsel, Real Estate
Real Estate Associate / Special Counsel (Lender-Side Focus)
REIT Special Counsel / Senior Associate
Real Estate Senior Associate / Special Counsel ("Dirt" Focus)
Associate General Counsel, Commercial (Silicon)
Highest-paying jobs
Principal Counsel, Regulatory & Privacy
Senior Privacy & AI Counsel, San Francisco, CA (Hybrid) (963-SLS)
Associate General Counsel, Privacy & Compliance
Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy
Associate General Counsel, Product & Privacy
Sr. Counsel, Privacy Compliance
Assistant General Counsel, Product, Privacy, and IP
Associate General Counsel - Privacy
Senior Privacy Counsel
Vice President, US Privacy and Global Data Protection Officer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| TM Tyson & Mendes LLP | $175,000 | 32 |
Axiom Talent Platform
|
$190,500 | 18 |
Brex
|
$245,000 | 16 |
Alliance Defending Freedom
|
$212,500 | 13 |
Anthropic
|
$300,000 | 12 |
Crusoe
|
$245,500 | 11 |
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
|
$275,000 | 10 |
DigitalOcean
|
$216,450 | 10 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Brex
|
$245,000 | 4 |
| AX Axon | $161,250 | 3 |
Hilbert's AI
|
$151,121 | 2 |
|
Sierra
|
$290,000 | 1 |
|
Eight Sleep
|
$287,500 | 1 |
|
Higgsfield
|
$280,000 | 1 |
|
Ironclad
|
$278,000 | 1 |
|
Solutuslegal
|
$270,000 | 1 |
Counsel salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $245,000 | 150 |
| Seattle | $243,250 | 40 |
| Singapore | $234,000 | 8 |
| Dublin | $226,962 | 3 |
| New York | $222,000 | 185 |
| Los Angeles | $217,025 | 26 |
| Chicago | $215,775 | 22 |
| Austin | $215,000 | 14 |
| Boston | $202,500 | 17 |
| Denver | $198,750 | 18 |
Privacy Officer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $245,000 | 13 |
| Seattle | $245,000 | 5 |
| New York | $233,650 | 9 |
| Chicago | $233,650 | 3 |
Counsel vs Privacy Officer: which pays more?
The median for Counsel is $214,525 per year (typically $181,400–$251,819), versus $229,625 for Privacy Officer ($188,125–$261,050). That puts Privacy Officer about 7% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Counsel and Privacy Officer are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.