Law: professional degree earnings by college

Median earnings of law graduates (professional degree) one year after graduation, at 179 colleges. National median: $76,005, rising to $99,949 after four years.

#	College	State	Earnings after 1 yr	After 4 yrs	Median debt
1	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	$226,792	$308,943	$204,847
2	Northwestern University	IL	$220,974	$291,132	$175,867
3	New York University	NY	$219,153	$255,401	$200,942
4	University of Pennsylvania	PA	$218,872	$302,120	$151,202
5	Harvard University	MA	$215,131	$291,490	$61,500
6	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	$214,011	$284,309	$181,823
7	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$212,732	$226,996	$166,278
8	University of Chicago	IL	$209,927	$279,203	$204,803
9	University of Southern California	CA	$207,632	$203,028	$139,036
10	Fordham University	NY	$205,946	$232,595	$159,500
11	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	$204,630	$224,391	$144,382
12	Georgetown University	DC	$200,986	$226,624	$164,055
13	Vanderbilt University	TN	$194,248	$196,797	$162,719
14	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	$178,034	$177,968	$101,750
15	Boston College	MA	$175,620	$190,940	$144,123
16	Boston University	MA	$151,628	$194,750	$102,650
17	Washington University in St Louis	MO	$150,675	$141,243	$98,271
18	Stanford University	CA	$149,637	$259,944	$152,747
19	University of Notre Dame	IN	$136,137	$142,699	$121,186
20	University of California-Irvine	CA	$127,238	$153,307	$141,126
21	Emory University	GA	$116,347	$152,126	$131,634
22	Southern Methodist University	TX	$108,097	$153,614	$144,500
23	University of California College of the Law-San Francisco	CA	$106,980	$136,001	$161,753
24	University of Houston	TX	$106,505	$135,984	$88,521
25	Howard University	DC	$106,437	$116,413	$191,298
26	George Washington University	DC	$104,455	$140,848	$190,920
27	University of California-Davis	CA	$101,884	$136,814	$130,500
28	Loyola Marymount University	CA	$101,289	$143,361	$158,843
29	Santa Clara University	CA	$98,780	$148,599	$181,936
30	Washington and Lee University	VA	$95,999	$110,606	$107,460
31	St. John's University-New York	NY	$95,268	$112,325	$114,074
32	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	$93,372	$142,928	$86,403
33	University of Utah	UT	$92,047	$113,168	$61,500
34	Loyola University Chicago	IL	$91,976	$122,384	$116,954
35	Villanova University	PA	$91,730	$129,021	$90,115
36	Brooklyn Law School	NY	$90,670	$121,254	$139,205
37	Northeastern University	MA	$90,605	$116,706	$113,294
38	Purdue University Global	IN	$90,599	$84,403	$81,822
39	University of San Diego	CA	$89,107	$134,065	$140,720
40	University of San Francisco	CA	$88,852	—	$176,640
41	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$88,758	$120,301	$67,850
42	Georgia State University	GA	$88,730	$116,613	$73,500
43	Chapman University	CA	$88,522	$119,002	$178,628
44	The Colleges of Law at Ventura	CA	$88,273	$78,136	$91,538
45	The Colleges of Law at Santa Barbara	CA	$88,273	$78,136	$91,538
46	Wake Forest University	NC	$87,987	$112,646	$94,987
47	Yeshiva University	NY	$87,755	$124,597	$112,292
48	University of Miami	FL	$87,621	$117,811	$173,398
49	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$87,225	$108,006	$88,437
50	University of Georgia	GA	$86,845	$116,044	$67,459
51	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	$86,110	$120,015	$138,295
52	South Texas College of Law Houston	TX	$85,930	$108,296	$153,711
53	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	$85,689	$117,872	$104,825
54	George Mason University	VA	$85,377	$135,661	$77,500
55	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	$83,997	$122,732	$75,106
56	The Catholic University of America	DC	$83,745	$112,809	$131,353
57	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	$83,466	$105,673	$61,500
58	American University	DC	$83,340	$109,523	$139,660
59	William & Mary	VA	$83,069	$115,663	$111,029
60	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL	$82,546	$111,515	$101,496
61	Tulane University of Louisiana	LA	$82,387	$114,850	$139,236
62	Texas Tech University	TX	$82,319	$100,716	$73,856
63	New York Law School	NY	$81,564	$109,122	$130,391
64	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	$81,315	$109,411	$109,461
65	University of Florida	FL	$80,969	$114,496	$59,500
66	Temple University	PA	$80,956	$117,775	$70,398
67	Southwestern Law School	CA	$80,899	$108,350	$182,531
68	Quinnipiac University	CT	$80,721	$100,096	$108,049
69	University of Denver	CO	$80,504	$103,145	$144,294
70	Seton Hall University	NJ	$80,464	$136,424	$103,370
71	University of the Pacific	CA	$80,285	$114,281	$159,280
72	University of Connecticut	CT	$79,653	$120,178	$76,500
73	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	$79,653	$120,178	$76,500
74	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	$79,653	$120,178	$76,500
75	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	$79,653	$120,178	$76,500
76	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	$79,653	$120,178	$76,500
77	Hofstra University	NY	$79,539	$102,901	$150,600
78	Wayne State University	MI	$79,518	$96,763	$61,500
79	Seattle University	WA	$78,978	$105,471	$131,096
80	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	$78,295	$94,797	$77,415
81	The University of Alabama	AL	$78,273	$110,931	$61,500
82	University of North Texas at Dallas	TX	$77,455	$101,120	$81,715
83	DePaul University	IL	$77,411	$107,264	$112,800
84	University at Buffalo	NY	$77,356	$85,126	$61,500
85	Case Western Reserve University	OH	$76,918	$105,964	$111,430
86	University of Oregon	OR	$76,897	$100,801	$120,050
87	CUNY School of Law	NY	$76,740	$87,345	$89,348
88	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$76,631	$103,272	$61,500
89	University of Kansas	KS	$76,192	$94,898	$61,500
90	Saint Louis University	MO	$76,005	$93,029	$94,722
91	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$75,958	$100,715	$61,500
92	Taft University System	CO	$75,859	$85,612	$61,500
93	University of Iowa	IA	$75,708	$107,273	$89,700
94	University of Maryland Baltimore	MD	$75,660	$112,580	$119,941
95	California Western School of Law	CA	$75,591	$100,889	$203,511
96	Willamette University	OR	$75,273	$100,524	$175,192
97	University of Arizona	AZ	$74,758	$99,949	$64,975
98	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	$74,742	$101,372	—
99	Westcliff University	CA	$74,642	—	$111,130
100	Mitchell Hamline School of Law	MN	$74,343	$91,497	$111,530
101	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	$74,327	$90,759	$65,500
102	University of St Thomas	MN	$74,234	$89,706	$85,416
103	University of Richmond	VA	$74,189	$101,062	$123,875
104	Michigan State University	MI	$73,787	$96,342	$86,596
105	Pace University	NY	$73,747	$99,224	$82,000
106	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	$73,461	$90,775	$65,500
107	Gonzaga University	WA	$73,282	$88,461	$116,869
108	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	$73,209	$85,043	$63,231
109	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$72,974	$89,520	$85,099
110	Drexel University	PA	$72,824	$95,933	$105,404
111	St. Mary's University	TX	$72,309	$87,375	$137,961
112	University of Detroit Mercy	MI	$72,280	$93,055	$133,058
113	Syracuse University	NY	$72,221	$97,648	$110,960
114	New England Law-Boston	MA	$71,910	$94,232	$106,322
115	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	GA	$71,780	$80,422	$167,323
116	Cleveland State University	OH	$71,413	$91,229	$77,500
117	Touro University	NY	$71,252	$86,767	$133,683
118	Marquette University	WI	$71,236	$85,116	$125,500
119	Stetson University	FL	$71,126	$96,451	$135,596
120	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	$70,904	$86,349	$62,421
121	Florida State University	FL	$70,457	$98,060	$62,235
122	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	$70,394	$103,602	$75,535
123	Drake University	IA	$70,385	$87,375	$92,317
124	The University of Montana	MT	$69,935	$86,640	$90,402
125	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	$69,399	$93,806	$92,996
126	University of Mississippi	MS	$69,218	$92,069	$61,500
127	Creighton University	NE	$68,601	$86,665	$154,760
128	University of North Dakota	ND	$68,231	$90,309	$69,233
129	San Joaquin College of Law	CA	$68,121	$93,023	$129,171
130	University of Wyoming	WY	$67,904	$81,644	$92,542
131	Duquesne University	PA	$67,873	$82,014	$82,736
132	University of Idaho	ID	$67,309	$81,744	$108,425
133	Nova Southeastern University	FL	$67,124	$96,470	$167,112
134	Golden Gate University	CA	$67,023	$96,079	$176,619
135	Regent University	VA	$66,818	$82,360	$80,315
136	University of Southern Maine	ME	$66,803	$83,912	$62,244
137	University of South Dakota	SD	$66,227	$83,195	—
138	Texas Southern University	TX	$66,184	$91,447	$119,956
139	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO	$65,850	$92,296	$95,146
140	Campbell University	NC	$65,790	$89,637	$151,122
141	West Virginia University	WV	$65,672	$78,497	$73,909
142	University of the District of Columbia	DC	$65,525	$90,325	$120,008
143	Washburn University	KS	$65,433	$83,608	$73,142
144	Elon University	NC	$65,187	$82,321	$118,973
145	University of Kentucky	KY	$65,090	$86,420	$82,963
146	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	$64,790	$79,750	$61,500
147	Ave Maria School of Law	FL	$64,701	$91,005	$122,609
148	Charleston School of Law	SC	$64,448	$73,362	$132,332
149	Capital University	OH	$64,345	$85,015	$105,027
150	University of Arkansas	AR	$63,636	$88,977	$61,500
151	Widener University	PA	$63,586	$83,799	$108,931
152	University of Louisville	KY	$63,572	$80,728	$84,706
153	Roger Williams University	RI	$63,199	$90,866	$120,892
154	Roger Williams University School of Law	RI	$63,199	$90,866	$120,892
155	University of Tulsa	OK	$62,809	$86,293	$111,803
156	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	$62,774	$81,144	$102,642
157	Northern Kentucky University	KY	$61,985	$74,937	$106,454
158	North Carolina Central University	NC	$61,944	$83,361	$122,897
159	University of Toledo	OH	$61,910	$85,086	$67,925
160	University of Memphis	TN	$61,864	$81,169	$94,721
161	Northern Illinois University	IL	$61,696	$78,459	$83,496
162	Thomas Jefferson School of Law	CA	$61,550	$87,982	$203,389
163	Vermont Law and Graduate School	VT	$60,786	$77,550	$117,714
164	University of Arkansas at Little Rock	AR	$60,568	$78,317	$95,010
165	Ohio Northern University	OH	$60,353	$69,823	$61,500
166	Barry University	FL	$59,656	$82,024	$179,498
167	Oklahoma City University	OK	$59,395	$74,062	$152,856
168	Mississippi Christian University	MS	$59,311	$70,352	$145,260
169	Alliant International University-San Diego	CA	$58,290	—	—
170	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$57,063	$79,658	$74,106
171	Lincoln Memorial University	TN	$56,845	$73,596	$135,978
172	Thomas M Cooley Law School	MI	$55,916	$74,147	$160,093
173	Southern University and A & M College	LA	$53,279	$67,462	$127,635
174	Southern University Law Center	LA	$53,279	$67,462	$127,635
175	Appalachian School of Law	VA	$51,736	$65,332	—
176	Trinity Law School	CA	$49,016	$69,932	$159,412
177	Trinity International University-Illinois	IL	$49,016	$69,932	$159,412
178	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-School of Law	PR	$33,923	$53,462	$103,157
179	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce	PR	$30,323	$39,634	$116,756

Earnings are median annual earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid, measured by the U.S. Department of Education. Colleges with too few graduates are not shown.

Frequently asked questions

How much do law graduates earn?

The median college reports $76,005 in earnings one year after a professional degree in law and $99,949 four years after. The highest is $226,792 at Columbia University in the City of New York.

How much student debt do law graduates have?

The median federal loan debt for this degree is about $111,029 at the typical college.