Side-by-side distribution
General Counsel
$225,362
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 56.6%
- Live roles
- 419
Privacy Officer
$208,700
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 46.6%
- Live roles
- 148
Highest-paying jobs
Chief Legal Officer
Deputy General Counsel and Vice President, Intellectual Property
Divisional Chief Legal Officer West Florida Division
General Counsel, San Francisco Bay Area (1003-SLS)
Associate General Counsel, Commercial – Infrastructure
Assistant General Counsel, Healthcare Compliance and Investigations
Senior Director, Assistant General Counsel – Market Access Legal
Associate General Counsel, Content, Music, & Marketing
General Counsel
VP of Legal or General Counsel - The Brydon Group
Highest-paying jobs
Data Protection, Privacy and Security Of Counsel (Palo Alto)
Sr. Lead Counsel, Privacy
Privacy Counsel
Managing Senior Counsel, Privacy - Caremark
Senior Counsel, Privacy - Blockchain & Digital Assets
Senior Counsel - Privacy, Regulatory & Technology
Senior Privacy & AI Counsel, San Francisco, CA (Hybrid) (963-SLS)
Senior Legal Counsel- Privacy
Associate General Counsel, Privacy & Compliance
Director and Assistant General Counsel, Global Privacy, AI and Cybersecurity
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| TT The Trade Desk | $214,050 | 5 |
OKX
|
$250,444 | 4 |
| AD AdventHealth | $227,313 | 4 |
|
Solutuslegal
|
$325,000 | 3 |
| CG Cboe Global Markets | $288,750 | 3 |
Roku
|
$270,000 | 3 |
Neuberger Berman
|
$250,000 | 3 |
Booz Allen Hamilton
|
$232,900 | 3 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
|
Mastercard
|
$264,500 | 3 |
Centene
|
$153,500 | 3 |
|
Solutuslegal
|
$243,750 | 2 |
Coinbase
|
$223,482 | 2 |
OpenTable
|
$215,000 | 2 |
|
Pinterest
|
$213,178 | 2 |
Premier Inc.
|
$187,500 | 2 |
T-Mobile
|
$172,700 | 2 |
General Counsel salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $270,875 | 4 |
| San Francisco | $270,603 | 28 |
| Atlanta | $266,348 | 8 |
| Austin | $265,000 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | $259,000 | 17 |
| Boston | $242,500 | 13 |
| New York | $240,000 | 56 |
| Denver | $225,000 | 5 |
| Chicago | $223,845 | 16 |
| Toronto | $173,998 | 4 |
Privacy Officer salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $234,725 | 16 |
| Chicago | $233,650 | 5 |
| San Francisco | $233,200 | 12 |
General Counsel vs Privacy Officer: which pays more?
The median for General Counsel is $225,362 per year (typically $191,000–$275,000), versus $208,700 for Privacy Officer ($172,475–$236,650). That puts General Counsel about 8% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so General 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.