Updated October 9, 2026. Salaries below are the federal rates effective January 1, 2026, from the United States Courts judicial compensation table.
How much does a Supreme Court justice make in 2026?
There are two pay levels on the U.S. Supreme Court. As of January 1, 2026:
- Chief Justice of the United States — $320,700 a year
- Associate justices — $306,600 a year
Those amounts are base salary. Justices can also earn limited outside income from teaching and writing, and they receive federal employee health benefits. A justice who retires under the Rule of 80 (age plus years of service at least 80, with at least 10 years of service) can receive a lifetime pension equal to their highest salary.
Justices have life tenure. They leave the Court by retirement, death, or impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate. The Court is in recess from the summer through the opening of the next term in October; that is not accrued vacation.
Pay compared with other federal judges
Supreme Court pay sits above the other Article III courts. Effective January 1, 2026:
- U.S. Court of Appeals (circuit) judges — $264,900 a year
- U.S. District Court judges — $249,900 a year
An associate justice’s 2026 salary is about 16 percent higher than a circuit judge’s salary. The Chief Justice’s salary is about 21 percent higher than a circuit judge’s.
Who is on the Court
Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. — nominated by President George W. Bush, 2005.
Associate justices:
- Clarence Thomas — nominated by President George H. W. Bush, 1991
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr. — nominated by President George W. Bush, 2006
- Sonia Sotomayor — nominated by President Barack Obama, 2009
- Elena Kagan — nominated by President Barack Obama, 2010
- Neil M. Gorsuch — nominated by President Donald Trump, 2017
- Brett M. Kavanaugh — nominated by President Donald Trump, 2018
- Amy Coney Barrett — nominated by President Donald Trump, 2020
- Ketanji Brown Jackson — nominated by President Joe Biden, 2022
Stephen G. Breyer retired in 2022. Justice Jackson took that seat.
Sources: United States Courts, Judicial Compensation and Federal Judicial Center.
A supreme Court Justice should be selected not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character and intelligence and the ability to be fair.
The obvious problem being: who is to determine the content of their character and their intelligence and fairness? Recent history has proven those to whom that authority is delegated sometimes are not blessed with those qualities themselves, and that those qualities are not necessarily the attributes that person wants to add to the SCOTUS! The very least we should require is that the composition of the Court be representative of all the judicial districts of the U.S.
That just what President Biden did!
Come On Guys! It’s 2022, USA’s 232nd Birth Year. This young woman has the finest credentials of any jurist I have ever seen or heard of. PLEASE GIVE HER A CHANCE AND SEE …SHE WILL MAKE US ALL PROUD.
Hopefully, they are truthful, intelligent and wise. Anita Lewis