Debt-to-Income by Law School for Recent Graduates

Law school graduates borrow more for law school than their incomes support, according to U.S. Department of Education data. This impacts quality of life, as well as creditworthiness.

ProTip!

Change the data scope on the top right to view student loan burden from different years.

A few important notes for the following table:

The data on this page come from the U.S. Department of Education. The Education Department obtained the earnings data from the Department of Treasury and released the dataset in December 2020.
The borrowing data reflect 2016 and 2017 graduates; it does not include any prior borrowing from undergraduate or other completed studies.
The earnings data reflect only earnings by those who borrowed at least $1 of federal student loans to attend law school. In 2016 and 2017, roughly three-quarters of graduates borrowed for law school.
The earnings data measure actual earnings in the first full calendar year after graduation, e.g. the earnings were from 2017 for 2016 graduates. The Education Department earnings statistic includes any graduate who paid taxes during the measurement year, regardless of how many jobs they had or what type(s) of the job(s).
- This measures something different than NALP, which measures the annual salary of a graduate 10 months after graduation (on March 15) and reports only on long-term, full-time jobs. A graduate who started their job on March 1, 2017 would report their starting salary (for example, $60,000) to NALP. If they held the job for the remainder of the calendar year, they would have earned $50,000 from that job in 2017. But if they made $4,000 from part-time work in January and February, they would report $54,000 of income to the IRS.
The "amount borrowed" does not include interest that accumulates during law school, thus is different than the "amount owed" or "debt." The payment column assumes a weighted interest rate of 6.3%. Federal graduate student loans have two different interest rates. The first $20,500 each year would be one point lower than the rate for each additional dollar in that year. The actual weighted interest rate will vary depending on when and how much a student borrowed. We calculated a universal weighted average interest rate based on historical interst rates based on when 2016 and 2017 graduates borrowed. Nonetheless, the monthly payment is underestimated because the Education Department student debt data reflect the amount borrowed instead of the amount owed when the first payment was due six months after graduation. In other words, the monthly payment ignores the $1000's of interest that accumulated during law school and after graduation. This increases both the principal and interest portion of the monthly payment.
The debt-to-income ratio on this page divides the median earnings into the median amount borrowed. This provides an imperfect benchmark for excessive borrowing. For incomes on the lower end (factoring in cost of living), a 1.00 ratio may provide a reasonable balance—at 1.00, debt matches earnings. But on the very high end of incomes, a higher ratio may feel manageable. While a little more challenging to calculate, a debt-to-income ratio using monthly payments provides a more relatable guide. Read more on this method here.

School	Type	State	Median Borrowed	Median Payment10-Year Plan	Mean Borrowed	Median Earnings	Debt-to-IncomeUsing Medians
Albany Law School	private	NY	$105,731	$555	$98,765	$62,880	1.68
American University	private	DC	$177,999	$934	$169,619	$65,833	2.70
Appalachian School of Law	private	VA	$101,278	$532	$93,687	$47,260	2.14
Arizona State University	public	AZ	$92,309	$485	$96,195	$64,706	1.43
Arizona Summit Law School	for_profit	AZ	$198,258	$1,041	$180,655	$46,432	4.27
Ave Maria School of Law	private	FL	$158,206	$831	$143,883	$44,666	3.54
Barry University	private	FL	$167,186	$878	$156,964	$43,345	3.86
Baylor University	private	TX	$86,862	$456	$116,912	$74,786	1.16
Belmont University	private	TN	$135,522	$711	$127,954	$54,275	2.50
Boston College	private	MA	$109,256	$574	$108,374	$91,744	1.19
Boston University	private	MA	$119,295	$626	$110,731	$109,286	1.09
Brigham Young University	private	UT	$49,710	$261	$45,676	$65,457	0.76
Brooklyn Law School	private	NY	$120,042	$630	$117,532	$68,880	1.74
California Western School of Law	private	CA	$141,521	$743	$142,473	$60,643	2.33
Campbell University	private	NC	$140,880	$740	$130,344	$49,498	2.85
Capital University	private	OH	$111,600	$586	$111,433	$47,553	2.35
Cardozo-Yeshiva University	private	NY	$110,033	$578	$113,862	$71,725	1.53
Case Western Reserve University	private	OH	$83,500	$438	$88,807	$59,288	1.41
Catholic University of America	private	DC	$145,649	$765	$148,449	$70,386	2.07
Chapman University	private	CA	$155,229	$815	$144,875	$70,680	2.20
Charleston School of Law	for_profit	SC	$144,682	$760	$138,105	$45,500	3.18
Charlotte School of Law	for_profit	NC	$196,998	$1,034	$181,248	$45,213	4.36
Chicago-Kent College of Law	private	IL	$102,823	$540	$103,874	$64,051	1.61
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law	public	OH	$85,892	$451	$89,701	$51,273	1.68
Columbia University	private	NY	$177,000	$929	$158,638	$185,760	0.95
Concordia University School of Law	private	ID	$93,836	$493	$92,352	$56,234	1.67
Cornell University	private	NY	$139,926	$735	$135,014	$179,153	0.78
Creighton University	private	NE	$130,998	$688	$122,656	$57,168	2.29
CUNY	public	NY	$70,450	$370	$70,125	$59,438	1.19
DePaul University	private	IL	$125,162	$657	$119,956	$58,704	2.13
Drake University	private	IA	$116,582	$612	$111,787	$63,749	1.83
Drexel University	private	PA	$73,894	$388	$86,530	$58,823	1.26
Duke University	private	NC	$139,961	$735	$130,103	$168,296	0.83
Duquesne University	private	PA	$82,620	$434	$96,124	$57,318	1.44
Elon Law School	private	NC	No Data	No Data	No Data	$51,273	No Data
Emory University	private	GA	$136,500	$717	$122,391	$77,643	1.76
Faulkner University	private	AL	No Data	No Data	No Data	No Data	No Data
Florida A&M University	public	FL	$103,971	$546	$98,953	$45,826	2.27
Florida Coastal School of Law	for_profit	FL	$204,226	$1,072	$187,030	$41,280	4.95
Florida International University	public	FL	$103,947	$546	$101,805	$54,996	1.89
Florida State University	public	FL	$72,302	$380	$76,502	$54,005	1.34
Fordham University	private	NY	$150,000	$788	$146,027	$118,210	1.27
George Mason University	public	VA	$99,248	$521	$102,160	$73,870	1.34
George Washington University	private	DC	$172,333	$905	$160,563	$87,242	1.98
Georgetown University	private	DC	$164,954	$866	$162,611	$145,898	1.13
Georgia State University	public	GA	$65,768	$345	$69,357	$67,225	0.98
Golden Gate University	private	CA	$158,774	$834	$147,076	$55,813	2.84
Gonzaga University	private	WA	$111,584	$586	$105,115	$53,739	2.08
Hamline University	private	MN	No Data	No Data	No Data	$52,107	No Data
Harvard University	private	MA	$141,190	$741	$142,774	$172,423	0.82
Hofstra University	private	NY	$146,890	$771	$139,035	$63,749	2.30
Howard University	private	DC	$153,893	$808	$153,692	$68,033	2.26
Indiana Tech	private	IN	No Data	No Data	$59,726	$40,281	No Data
Indiana University - Bloomington	public	IN	$81,500	$428	$91,237	$65,238	1.25
Indiana University - Indianapolis	public	IN	$89,961	$472	$91,540	$60,714	1.48
Inter American University	private	PR	$100,520	$528	$98,339	$27,532	3.65
John Marshall Law School - Atlanta	for_profit	GA	$180,883	$950	$168,948	$41,937	4.31
Lewis and Clark College	private	OR	$130,058	$683	$129,958	$58,142	2.24
Lincoln Memorial University	private	TN	$85,713	$450	$85,912	$43,240	1.98
Louisiana State University	public	LA	$75,768	$398	$82,236	$53,080	1.43
Loyola Marymount University	private	CA	$143,433	$753	$146,479	$72,564	1.98
Loyola University Chicago	private	IL	$138,223	$726	$126,975	$70,136	1.97
Loyola University New Orleans	private	LA	$112,662	$591	$120,813	$52,420	2.15
Marquette University	private	WI	$156,615	$822	$143,416	$54,622	2.87
Mercer University	private	GA	$129,917	$682	$125,820	$55,356	2.35
Michigan State University	public	MI	$90,168	$473	$91,374	$58,402	1.54
Mississippi College	private	MS	$140,178	$736	$131,292	$47,595	2.95
Mitchell Hamline School of Law	private	MN	$78,744	$413	$83,171	$57,948	1.36
New England School of Law	private	MA	$146,068	$767	$138,602	$52,542	2.78
New York Law School	private	NY	$150,358	$789	$146,190	$70,596	2.13
New York University	private	NY	$184,952	$971	$173,799	$177,207	1.04
North Carolina Central University	public	NC	$98,248	$516	$104,173	$45,986	2.14
Northeastern University	private	MA	$93,751	$492	$102,408	$59,485	1.58
Northern Illinois University	public	IL	$74,611	$392	$87,634	$51,551	1.45
Northern Kentucky University	public	KY	$88,500	$465	$90,809	$44,418	1.99
Northwestern University	private	IL	$138,065	$725	$134,902	$176,087	0.78
Nova Southeastern University	private	FL	$162,536	$853	$148,106	$51,829	3.14
Ohio Northern University	private	OH	$100,224	$526	$96,410	$49,064	2.04
Ohio State University	public	OH	$100,481	$528	$95,859	$66,512	1.51
Oklahoma City University	private	OK	$127,936	$672	$120,837	No Data	No Data
Pace University	private	NY	$94,806	$498	$100,642	$63,699	1.49
Pennsylvania State University - Dickinson Law	public	PA	$70,763	$372	$82,325	$54,867	1.29
Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Law	public	PA	$70,763	$372	$82,325	$54,867	1.29
Pepperdine University	private	CA	$162,500	$853	$154,147	$70,651	2.30
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico	private	PR	$106,290	$558	$105,700	$21,508	4.94
Quinnipiac University	private	CT	$93,151	$489	$94,818	$61,516	1.51
Regent University	private	VA	$116,588	$612	$116,925	$51,750	2.25
Roger Williams University	private	RI	$123,384	$648	$116,987	$49,547	2.49
Rutgers University	public	NJ	$76,500	$402	$84,135	$61,855	1.24
Samford University	private	AL	$127,411	$669	$124,344	$50,952	2.50
Santa Clara University	private	CA	$151,269	$794	$141,434	$79,561	1.90
Seattle University	private	WA	$154,269	$810	$144,601	$62,856	2.45
Seton Hall University	private	NJ	$114,394	$601	$120,752	$66,781	1.71
South Texas College of Law Houston	private	TX	$133,762	$702	$123,227	$65,338	2.05
Southern Illinois University	public	IL	$97,582	$512	$92,825	$46,087	2.12
Southern Methodist University	private	TX	$141,372	$742	$129,468	$87,718	1.61
Southern University Law Center	public	LA	$101,655	$534	$102,727	$44,959	2.26
Southwestern Law School	private	CA	$211,466	$1,110	$200,015	$62,192	3.40
St. John's University	private	NY	$109,414	$574	$111,109	$71,940	1.52
St. Louis University	private	MO	$91,143	$479	$95,681	$60,162	1.51
St. Mary's University	private	TX	$114,578	$602	$111,628	$55,383	2.07
St. Thomas University - Florida	private	FL	$152,124	$799	$154,520	$47,056	3.23
Stanford University	private	CA	$130,762	$687	$126,381	$163,869	0.80
Stetson University	private	FL	$141,439	$743	$134,015	$54,543	2.59
Suffolk University	private	MA	$119,123	$625	$125,360	$58,629	2.03
SUNY Buffalo	public	NY	$94,804	$498	$92,683	$58,252	1.63
Syracuse University	private	NY	$104,570	$549	$110,009	$60,714	1.72
Temple University	public	PA	$67,518	$354	$72,417	$69,477	0.97
Texas A&M	public	TX	$102,723	$539	$110,158	$65,825	1.56
Texas Southern University	public	TX	$116,166	$610	$105,998	$51,652	2.25
Texas Tech University	public	TX	$73,000	$383	$77,871	$69,732	1.05
Thomas Jefferson School of Law	private	CA	$205,025	$1,076	$195,437	$48,041	4.27
Touro College	private	NY	$141,289	$742	$138,825	$61,622	2.29
Tulane University	private	LA	$109,928	$577	$116,563	$61,516	1.79
University of Akron	public	OH	$73,530	$386	$78,023	$50,272	1.46
University of Alabama	public	AL	$63,595	$334	$78,052	$63,572	1.00
University of Arizona	public	AZ	$77,069	$405	$84,992	$59,288	1.30
University of Arkansas - Fayetteville	public	AR	$61,500	$323	$67,694	$56,949	1.08
University of Arkansas - Little Rock	public	AR	$78,617	$413	$74,001	$49,737	1.58
University of Baltimore	public	MD	$104,000	$546	$107,712	$57,995	1.79
University of California - Berkeley	public	CA	$150,000	$788	$141,986	$160,316	0.94
University of California - Davis	public	CA	$89,009	$467	$91,248	$74,200	1.20
University of California - Hastings	public	CA	$138,152	$725	$126,270	$76,460	1.81
University of California - Irvine	public	CA	$119,986	$630	$120,838	$76,998	1.56
University of California - Los Angeles	public	CA	$124,812	$655	$118,367	$110,067	1.13
University of Chicago	private	IL	$156,934	$824	$147,297	$173,847	0.90
University of Cincinnati	public	OH	$64,066	$336	$66,096	$57,318	1.12
University of Colorado	public	CO	$100,082	$525	$99,051	$63,600	1.57
University of Connecticut	public	CT	$86,158	$452	$79,990	$74,845	1.15
University of Dayton	private	OH	$133,728	$702	$115,245	$48,432	2.76
University of Denver	private	CO	$140,174	$736	$136,989	$61,558	2.28
University of Detroit Mercy	private	MI	$135,776	$713	$123,140	$57,657	2.35
University of Florida	public	FL	$92,076	$483	$90,960	$63,869	1.44
University of Georgia	public	GA	$81,080	$426	$80,609	$65,840	1.23
University of Hawaii	public	HI	$80,116	$421	$88,373	$63,302	1.27
University of Houston	public	TX	$81,118	$426	$86,407	$73,446	1.10
University of Idaho	public	ID	$97,842	$514	$94,247	$53,150	1.84
University of Illinois	public	IL	$71,701	$376	$82,528	$74,666	0.96
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law	public	IL	$157,559	$827	$152,790	$54,970	2.87
University of Iowa	public	IA	$59,711	$313	$70,745	$63,788	0.94
University of Kansas	public	KS	$61,500	$323	$70,952	$58,898	1.04
University of Kentucky	public	KY	$82,450	$433	$83,981	$51,106	1.61
University of La Verne	private	CA	$161,762	$849	$161,784	$52,107	3.10
University of Louisville	public	KY	$80,928	$425	$82,541	$48,703	1.66
University of Maine	public	ME	$100,974	$530	$93,153	$54,655	1.85
University of Maryland	public	MD	$117,611	$617	$114,119	$66,335	1.77
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth	public	MA	$116,322	$611	$107,533	$49,214	2.36
University of Memphis	public	TN	$91,826	$482	$87,680	$55,512	1.65
University of Miami	private	FL	$153,562	$806	$145,295	$62,384	2.46
University of Michigan	public	MI	$141,505	$743	$130,254	$145,235	0.97
University of Minnesota	public	MN	$112,944	$593	$103,756	$67,879	1.66
University of Mississippi	public	MS	$65,900	$346	$63,227	$52,584	1.25
University of Missouri - Columbia	public	MO	$63,084	$331	$64,434	$55,840	1.13
University of Missouri - Kansas City	public	MO	$98,485	$517	$94,055	$53,017	1.86
University of Montana	public	MT	$76,994	$404	$76,176	$50,922	1.51
University of Nebraska	public	NE	$58,621	$308	$62,097	$56,140	1.04
University of Nevada - Las Vegas	public	NV	$85,790	$450	$88,587	$73,579	1.17
University of New Hampshire	public	NH	$83,797	$440	$86,252	$63,005	1.33
University of New Mexico	public	NM	$85,991	$451	$83,178	$53,908	1.60
University of North Carolina	public	NC	$95,390	$501	$95,153	$68,778	1.39
University of North Dakota	public	ND	$61,500	$323	$65,914	$53,045	1.16
University of Notre Dame	private	IN	$126,962	$667	$120,371	$95,295	1.33
University of Oklahoma	public	OK	$73,500	$386	$80,286	$63,997	1.15
University of Oregon	public	OR	$86,641	$455	$86,095	$60,156	1.44
University of Pennsylvania	private	PA	$150,634	$791	$141,935	$179,672	0.84
University of Pittsburgh	public	PA	$101,541	$533	$100,589	$56,028	1.81
University of Richmond	private	VA	$86,056	$452	$90,189	$59,819	1.44
University of San Diego	private	CA	$122,698	$644	$124,145	$77,013	1.59
University of San Francisco	private	CA	$196,166	$1,030	$181,423	$66,240	2.96
University of South Carolina	public	SC	$110,100	$578	$103,124	$53,450	2.06
University of South Dakota	public	SD	$83,269	$437	$87,839	$51,169	1.63
University of Southern California	private	CA	$129,000	$677	$123,328	$99,325	1.30
University of St. Thomas - Minneapolis	private	MN	$73,500	$386	$79,343	$58,673	1.25
University of Tennessee	public	TN	$61,500	$323	$66,892	$58,744	1.05
University of Texas	public	TX	$105,553	$554	$98,260	$106,117	0.99
University of The District of Columbia	public	DC	$111,015	$583	$108,139	$60,099	1.85
University of the Pacific - McGeorge	private	CA	$160,450	$842	$144,434	$63,005	2.55
University of Toledo	public	OH	$79,000	$415	$79,011	$47,729	1.66
University of Tulsa	private	OK	$76,373	$401	$78,494	$58,673	1.30
University of Utah	public	UT	$74,100	$389	$82,841	$66,420	1.12
University of Virginia	public	VA	$157,870	$829	$148,400	$175,653	0.90
University of Washington	public	WA	$95,727	$503	$93,602	$70,100	1.37
University of Wisconsin	public	WI	$61,500	$323	$72,753	$58,995	1.04
University of Wyoming	public	WY	$98,352	$516	$98,295	$57,110	1.72
Valparaiso University	private	IN	$136,455	$716	$126,315	$47,553	2.87
Vanderbilt University	private	TN	$126,907	$666	$116,270	$129,252	0.98
Vermont Law School	private	VT	$144,920	$761	$138,049	$48,432	2.99
Villanova University	private	PA	$78,619	$413	$93,783	$63,140	1.25
Wake Forest University	private	NC	$105,577	$554	$104,770	$63,666	1.66
Washburn University	public	KS	$75,093	$394	$77,387	$52,226	1.44
Washington and Lee University	private	VA	$97,097	$510	$97,321	$66,007	1.47
Washington University in St Louis	private	MO	$88,000	$462	$93,366	$93,342	0.94
Wayne State University	public	MI	$61,500	$323	$71,090	$64,415	0.95
West Virginia University	public	WV	$82,128	$431	$79,743	$56,544	1.45
Western Michigan University - Cooley Law School	private	MI	$180,337	$947	$168,181	$45,383	3.97
Western New England University School of Law	private	MA	No Data	No Data	$156,479	$52,822	No Data
Western State College of Law at Westcliff University	for_profit	CA	$124,476	$653	$123,258	$60,523	2.06
Whittier Law School	private	CA	$204,664	$1,074	$193,418	$40,747	5.02
Widener University - Delaware	private	DE	$128,868	$677	$125,585	$54,462	2.37
Widener University - Pennsylvania	private	PA	$128,868	$677	$125,585	$54,462	2.37
Willamette University	private	OR	$147,911	$777	$136,804	$57,318	2.58
William and Mary	public	VA	$105,414	$553	$101,129	$70,083	1.50
Yale University	private	CT	$126,398	$664	$125,467	$130,669	0.97

School-specific borrowing and earnings data on this page come from the United States Department of Education, except for the estimated monthly payment. In calculating the estimated monthly payment, the Education Department has used unwarranted assumptions. In 2019, ED used an imputed rate over 7%, which could only have been a proper weighted interest rate for some (if any) borrowers. In 2020, ED used an imputed rate of 4.3%, which would have been the weighted interest rate for zero borrowers. Instead, LST calculated an interest rate for each cohort based on the interest rates from all years those included graduates borrowed. For the current page's year, we used a rate of 6.3%.