Law Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Law maps to BLS occupations averaging about $64,987, with roughly 1,596,050 workers nationwide in those roles. About 39,447 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 63%.
Key Statistics
Law: what the data shows
Common questions about law degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a law degree?
A Law program is classified under NCES CIP 22.0101 in the Law field family (22.01).
A program that prepares individuals for the independent professional practice of law, for taking state and national bar examinations, and for advanced research in jurisprudence. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of the legal system, including the statutory, administrative, and judicial components of civil and criminal law
IPEDS counted 39,447 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
What do you learn in law?
O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, Speaking, Writing, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.
What degree do you need?
For Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a law degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Law to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a law degree worth it?
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $5,163 and median net price is $10,528.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Law and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$5,163 Median In-State Public
$30,242 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Law majors are, on average, $5,163 for in-state public colleges, and $30,242 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Law programs.
Institutions awarding the most Law degrees
| # | Institution | State | Completions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgetown University | DC | 672 |
| 2 | Harvard University | MA | 622 |
| 3 | George Washington University | DC | 551 |
| 4 | Columbia University in the City of New York | NY | 523 |
| 5 | New York University | NY | 523 |
| 6 | Fordham University | NY | 455 |
| 7 | The University of Texas at Austin | TX | 411 |
| 8 | University of Miami | FL | 409 |
| 9 | University of California-Berkeley | CA | 408 |
| 10 | Mitchell Hamline School of Law | MN | 403 |
IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), all award levels for this CIP in our extract.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
39,447 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Law from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Law.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,398 |
| 2 | Texas A&M University-College Station | TX | 59,099 |
| 3 | Ivy Tech Community College | IN | 54,926 |
| 4 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | OH | 44,617 |
| 5 | Brigham Young University-Idaho | ID | 42,090 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Law programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Woodland Community College | CA | $1,124 |
| 2 | Imperial Valley College | CA | $1,126 |
| 3 | Yuba College | CA | $1,128 |
| 4 | Lassen Community College | CA | $1,144 |
| 5 | College of the Redwoods | CA | $1,147 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Law programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $29 |
| 2 | Central Carolina Community College | NC | $616 |
| 3 | Fort Scott Community College | KS | $665 |
| 4 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $1,228 |
| 5 | West Shore Community College | MI | $1,335 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Law programs.
Graduation Rates
63.39% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)
62.82% Average Graduation Rate
367 Institutions Reporting
50.60% - 76.31% Interquartile Range
Graduation/completion rates for Law programs across institutions.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $64,987. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Law graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers, Postsecondary | $36,511 | 1,500,000 |
| Secondary School Teachers | $104,813 | 1,072,540 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Law CIP family (n/a programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Law graduate.
- $142,745 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$40,621 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Law majors is $40,621.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Law majors.
Occupations by Share
1,596,050 2023 Workforce
The number of Law graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Law by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Law in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Law.
Age distribution for Law degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
39,447 Total Degrees Awarded
17,145 Male (43.46%)
22,302 Female (56.54%)
Gender distribution of Law degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
24,204 White (61.36%)
5,236 Hispanic or Latino (13.27%)
2,957 Black or African American (7.50%)
2,789 Asian (7.07%)
1,482 Two or More Races (3.76%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Law degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Law are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Law.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Law field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Law majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Law majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Law majors.
About
A program that prepares individuals for the independent professional practice of law, for taking state and national bar examinations, and for advanced research in jurisprudence. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of the legal system, including the statutory, administrative, and judicial components of civil and criminal law
In 2023, 39,447 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Law.
CIP Code
22.0101 - Law
What the data shows
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $64,987. The largest mapped role by headcount is Teachers, Postsecondary (1,500,000 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $5,163 in-state at public colleges and $30,242 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.