Is Your Law School Worth It?

It’s no secret going to law school is a big investment in both time and money. But does that investment always pay off? Of course, lawyers often enjoy high salaries, rewarding careers, and more. But where you go to law school can mean a lot in how that investment pays off. New data released from the Department of Education this week gives us a peak into the debt and earnings for law schools across the country. These data show how much the median student borrows for law school (undergraduate debt is excluded) and how much the median student earns one year after earning a law degree.

Examining this data provides just a small picture of the outcomes of law graduates both in debt and salary. The salary data is limited in that it is just one year after graduation and many graduates will see their earnings rise over time, some at a very high rate. However, these numbers are the medians, so 50% of graduates earn less than the published number and 50% earn more so they are informative of the immediate outcomes for graduates. 

In the chart below, you can see how schools compare. The schools are color coded by the sector of the school. Click here for interactive data.

Schools vary greatly in both the median debt and median salaries and they are distributed across a wide spectrum. The median institutional debt at graduation if just under $110,000. One year after graduation, the median institutional salary is about $53,000. Some law schools have incredibly high median debts, though the salaries of those schools can have extreme variances. The three law schools with the high debt loads—all over $195,000—have median salaries below $40,000. 

The tables below show both the law schools with the highest and lowest median debts, as well as the law schools with the highest and lowest median salaries one year out.

This data shows some schools provide an immediate return on investment and others do not. It also shows that some of the highest debt loads are schools producing incredibly low wages. Of course, salaries aren’t everything. Some graduates will choose to work in non-profits like legal aid and won’t earn six-figure salaries. For some of the top schools, many of their graduates working in prestigious clerkships with judges and will likely earn higher salaries later. But what is clear is that outcomes in both debt and salary vary greatly and some law schools load students up with debt with some pretty abysmal earnings one year out. It is important to remember this is just a snapshot of the immediate payoff of a law degree and many will see their salaries rise over time. However, there are some clear outliers, both good and bad, in both salaries and debt.