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Source: https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/
Title: AI Evaluator for Legal hourly rate in California | Deftridge
Summary: AI Evaluator for Legal pay in California: median wage $132 an hour, typical part-time contractor rate $165. The rate is on every task, before you apply.

CA · United States · **Updated November 4, 2026**

# AI Evaluator: Legal hourly rate in California

The market median wage for an AI Evaluator: Legal in California is **$132.50 an hour**. A senior part-time contractor typically receives **$165 an hour** on Deftridge, +50% against the United States rate.

**$165/hr** typical contractor rate, senior

**$132.50/hr** median wage

**$88-184** middle half of wages

**$3,580** a month at 5 hours a week

## AI Evaluator: Legal wage percentiles in California

Employee wages for the role. The yellow row is the median.

| Percentile | Per hour | 5 h a week, per month | Full time, per year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 10th | $67.71 | $1,470 | $140,800 |
| 25th | $87.79 | $1,900 | $182,600 |
| Median | $132.50 | $2,870 | $275,600 |
| 75th | $183.72 | $3,980 | $382,100 |
| 90th | $291.80 | $6,320 | $606,900 |

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2024; aged to October 2026; about 92,580 people employed in the role. [How rates are built](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/).

## California in numbers

What sets California apart for an AI Evaluator: Legal, from the same sources as the table above.

- **+53%** median wage against the United States median of $86.71

- **1st of 51** states by median wage for this role

- **92,580** people employed in the role in this place

- **$160.25** median wage in the San Jose metro area, the highest here

- **$35** country floor: no United States rate is published below it

## What contractors receive

The Deftridge rate for an AI Evaluator: Legal in California by level and by format. The company adds 15% on top; you keep all of the rate shown.

| Level | Per hour | Per month at 5 h/week |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Senior | $165 | $3,580 |
| Manager | $200 | $4,330 |
| Director | $240 | $5,200 |

- AI expert review **$165**

## AI Evaluator: Legal pay across United States

Typical contractor rate for a senior AI Evaluator: Legal, highest first; 4 of 51 places shown. By median wage California ranks **1 of 51**.

| Place | Median wage | Contractor rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| California | $132.50 | $165 |
| District of Columbia | $113.96 | $140 |
| New York | $105.98 | $130 |
| Delaware | $102.57 | $130 |

## Metro areas in California

Median employee wage for the role in the metro area (BLS OEWS).

- [San Jose $160.25/hr median wage · range $123-222](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [San Francisco $144.10/hr median wage · range $105-200](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Los Angeles $137.94/hr median wage · range $87-191](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Fresno $132.50/hr median wage · range $88-184](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Hanford $132.50/hr median wage · range $88-184](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Riverside $132.50/hr median wage · range $88-184](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [San Luis Obispo $132.50/hr median wage · range $88-184](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Vallejo $131.96/hr median wage · range $85-136](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Santa Cruz $129.16/hr median wage · range $89-147](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

- [Oxnard $116.17/hr median wage · range $87-146](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/california/)

## Questions about pay, fees and privacy

The same rules apply to every task, so they live on two pages: [Pricing](https://deftridge.com/pricing/) explains the 15% fee, prepayment and when you are paid; [How it works](https://deftridge.com/how-it-works/) covers matching, what a company sees and side work next to a job.

[AI Evaluator: Legal rates in every country](https://deftridge.com/rates/ai-evaluator-legal/) · [AI Evaluator: Legal jobs in California](https://deftridge.com/jobs/ai-evaluator-legal/california/) · [Methodology](https://deftridge.com/rates/methodology/)