Law School Costs
While the average tuition at top performing schools is much higher than the rest, prices do not scale with job outcomes elsewhere. The average tuition at the lowest performing schools is similar to the average for mid-range schools. The following chart reflects the average nominal tuition prices in 2022-2023 for ABA-Approved law schools grouped by job outcomes in 2022. It also reflects the average three-year tuition paid by 2022 graduates.
Tip On the left panelAt the top of the page, you can change the data scope to view tuition from different angles.
| Grouped by 2022 Job Outcomes1 | Average Annual TuitionFall 2022 to Spring 2023 | Average Three-Year Tuition TotalFall 2019 to Spring 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Schools | Private Schools | Public Schools | Private Schools | |
| ≥ 90% Legal Job Rate | $39K9 schools$18,994 - $68,500 | $71K10 schools$61,058 - $78,278 | $37K9 schools$19,894 - $63,200 | $65K10 schools$55,808 - $72,360 |
| 75% - 89.9% Legal Job Rate | $32K46 schools$15,648 - $59,306 | $56K50 schools$28,541 - $73,998 | $30K46 schools$14,114 - $53,212 | $51K50 schools$26,028 - $67,998 |
| 60% - 74.9% Legal Job Rate | $26K24 schools$9,689 - $46,034 | $50K31 schools$37,500 - $60,994 | $26K24 schools$15,298 - $45,676 | $46K31 schools$34,050 - $57,836 |
| 50% - 59.9% Legal Job Rate | $17K5 schools$13,438 - $21,037 | $49K14 schools$39,500 - $58,350 | $17K5 schools$13,886 - $22,254 | $46K14 schools$37,430 - $54,310 |
| 40% - 49.9% Legal Job Rate | $16K3 schools$10,055 - $19,332 | $44K1 schools | $14K3 schools$7,900 - $19,010 | $53K1 schools |
| 30% - 39.9% Legal Job Rate | -0 schools | $53K1 schools | -0 schools | $52K1 schools |
| < 30% Legal Job Rate | -0 schools | $16K2 schools$15,665 - $17,108 | -0 schools | $16K2 schools$15,510 - $16,696 |
The following chart plots the previous chart's underlying data, except schools with a legal job rate below 20%.
About the data
School-specific tuition and job outcome data come from the American Bar Association. The job outcome groups are based on the legal job rate. The rate's denominator is total graduates and its numerator includes only jobs that are long term (a job with an indefinite duration or fixed duration of 1 year or more), full time (at least 35 hours per week), and bar passage required (job requires a law license). LST chose the breakpoints for the job outcome groups and uses normal averages rather than weighted averages for the group averages.