Last Updated: 10.05.2023
by Rinas Bullatovci
Average Law School Debt
For many aspiring lawyers, the dream of attending law school comes with a hefty price tag. In this article, we will delve into the statistics surrounding the average law school debt and its impact on graduates.
Key Takeaways: May 2023 Data
✓ On average, law students attending public schools pay $26,600 per year in tuition and fees, whereas those attending private schools pay $49,576 per year on average. (AccessLex Institute)
✓ Upon graduation, the typical law school graduate has an average educational debt of around $165,000. (American Bar Association)
✓ Approximately 92% of the total student debt consists of federal student loans, while the remaining portion comprises private student loans. (Forbes)
✓ The percentage of law school students who incur debt upon graduation is 71%. (Education Data Initiative)
✓ Over 95% of students opt to take out loans to finance their law school education. (Bankrate)
✓ On average, women hold a student debt burden that is 5.5% higher than that of men. (Best Colleges)
✓ Typically, the average age of a law student is 25 or younger. (Juris Education)
Section 01
Average Law School Debt Statistics
Section 02
Law School Debt Demographics
Section 03
Law Student Borrowing and Repayment
Section 04
Law School by the Numbers
Section 05
Average Law School Debt by Private Institution
Section 06
Average Law School Debt by Public Institution
Section
01
Average Law School Debt Statistics
This section explores the impact of law school debt on graduates. With almost half of law school students starting their education with debt, many face challenges in paying it off even after graduation.
Approximately 45% of students who attend law school start their post-secondary education with debt.
Out of the law school graduates who have incurred debt, 41.9% report that they owe the same amount or more than what they did at the time of their graduation.
Law school debt has led 39% of lawyers who are in debt to delay or opt out of having children.
As a consequence of their debts, 26.7% of new lawyers made the choice to delay marriage or stay unmarried.
Additionally, 51.8% of indebted lawyers have delayed buying property.
A total of 25.9% of law school graduates with debt opt for a job that provides a higher chance of loan forgiveness over the job they initially desired.
All law school graduates from Western New England University have incurred debt.
Graduates from the University of Detroit Mercy law school are the least prone to graduate with debt.
On average, law school graduates from Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles have the highest borrowing amount of $188,160 each.
New lawyers have the least amount of average debt, which is $46,010.
A total of 64% of graduates from Brigham Young University carry debt.
Section
02
Law School Debt Demographics
Law school graduates from different racial and ethnic backgrounds face unequal outcomes in terms of student loan debt and earnings.
The average loan debt of Black or African American law school graduates is 97% higher than that of white law school graduates.
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Among first-year law school students, 13% are Hispanic or Latino, whereas only 5% of practicing lawyers identify as such.
The average loan debt of white law school graduates is 17% less than that of the overall average law school student debt.
Non-Hispanic whites make up 62% of first-year law school students and 86% of all practicing lawyers.
Among first-year law school students, only 6% identify as Asian, while this figure drops to 2% among practicing lawyers.
Male law school graduates have a median starting salary of $77,000.
On the other hand, women start at a median salary of $73,000, which can ultimately affect their repayment rates.
Section
03
Law Student Borrowing and Repayment
Graduates often struggle with loan repayment, allocating up to 75% of their income. Most graduates secure employment within a year, with salary varying by sector.
There are some indebted students who use 75% of their discretionary income to repay their student loans.
To pay for tuition, fees, and debts, 57% of law school students work while attending school.
Within a year of graduation, 94% of law students are employed full-time.
Additionally, only 23% of indebted law school graduates believe that their degree was worth the financial cost.
However, despite medical school graduates having an average debt load that exceeds that of law school graduates by 69%, indebted medical school graduates are more than twice as likely to believe their degree was worth the debt.
A law school graduate working in the public sector earns an average starting salary of $60,000.
Those in the private sector have an average starting salary of $68,300.
According to the guidelines issued by the U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), it is recommended to put 10% of one's gross income towards paying off debts.
The average lawyer working in the public or private sector may find it challenging to fully pay off their federal student loans if they adhere to the recommendations and guidelines of the U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB).
If a lawyer working in the public sector allocates 20% of their income to paying off their loans, it would take them 38 years to repay the loan.
They would pay $367,150 in interest charges alone.
Federal guidelines recommend that a maximum of 36% of one's income should be used to pay off debt.
The average debt for graduates of the Florida Coastal School of Law was $145,245.
Among all law school graduates, those from the Florida Coastal School of Law have the worst debt-to-income ratio, with a median starting salary of $41,280 and an average debt of $145,245.
Assuming that 36% of their income is allocated towards repayments, the average FCSL graduate will take 18 years to repay their borrowed amount.
Assuming that 36% of their income goes toward repayments, the average FCSL graduate will take 18 years to pay off the amount borrowed. During this time, they will also pay $118,900 in interest, which constitutes 45% of the grand total of $264,110.
Brigham Young University graduates have the best debt-to-income ratios, with a median starting salary of $65,457 and an average borrowed amount of $49,710.
Section
04
Law School by the Numbers
Law school costs vary widely; public law school tuition averages $26,600 while private schools cost more. Earning potential and debt also vary widely by school, with some graduates carrying debts over $200k.
The average tuition and fees paid by law students at public schools was $26,600 in 2021.
Those attending public schools paid an average of $26,600.
Law school programs typically require three years of study to complete.
Over the last forty years, the cost of attending private law school has more than doubled, while public law school is nearly six times as expensive.
In 2021, the median amount of grants received by full-time students to pay for their degrees was around $21,000.
In 2021, the median amount of grants received by full-time students to pay for their degrees was around $21,000.
Half of the tuition of full-time law students was covered by grant aid for 31 percent of them during the 2021 academic year.
Schools such as Vanderbilt University, Stanford University, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and Yale University have graduates who are among the highest-earning lawyers in the country.
Among the country's lowest-paid lawyers are alumni from Lincoln Memorial University, Faulkner University, University of Wyoming, Western New England University, and North Carolina Central University.
The average cost of attendance at New York University is $90,822 per year, making it the most expensive law school in the United States.
The University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law has the lowest average annual cost for tuition and fees among law schools in the U.S., at $12,838.
The graduates of Southwestern Law School, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and Florida Coastal School of Law have some of the highest student debt in the country.
With median student loan balances exceeding $200,000 in both 2016 and 2017, graduates of Southwestern Law School, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, Whittier Law School, and Florida Coastal School of Law carry some of the highest levels of student debt in the country.
Brigham Young University, University of Nebraska, and University of Iowa are among the least indebted law school graduates, with a median student loan balance of less than $60,000.
Section
05
Average Law School Debt by Private Institution
Private law schools are expensive, and graduates often carry heavy debt burdens. In this section, we examine average law school debt for graduates of top private law schools and find a wide range of debt levels and percentages of graduates who take on debt.
Boston University graduates have an average debt of $111,946.
67.8% of BU graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Columbia University graduates have an average debt of $163,736.
66.7% of Columbia graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Cornell University graduates have an average debt of $128,757.
66.2% of Cornell graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Duke University graduates have an average debt of $134,948.
67.3% of Duke graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Fordham University graduates have an average debt of $146,217.
59.3% of Fordham graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Georgetown University graduates have an average debt of $166,323.
69.9% of Georgetown graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Harvard University graduates have an average debt of $164,331.
76.4% of Harvard graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Northwestern University graduates have an average debt of $127,458.
67.2% of Northwestern graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Stanford University graduates have an average debt of $131,997. 64.2% of Stanford graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Yale University graduates have an average debt of $121,476. 83.3% of Yale graduates take on debt to finance their education.
Section
06
Average Law School Debt by Public Institution
The below data shows average debt for graduates of public universities, including UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, and University of Virginia. This information can guide law students in making informed decisions about their education and future careers.
The average amount of debt for Florida State University graduates is $72,534, with 79.8% of graduates taking on debt.
79.8% of graduates take on debt.
Ohio State University graduates have an average debt of $92,993, and 72.1% of graduates took on debt.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey graduates had an average debt of $55,023, with 85.9% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of Alabama graduates had an average debt of $81,738, with 71.7% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of California, Berkeley graduates had an average debt of $137,771, with 69.9% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of Cincinnati graduates had an average debt of $63,728, with 75.6% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of Iowa graduates had an average debt of $72,465, with 69.5% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of Michigan graduates had an average debt of $133,158, with 70.6% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of New Hampshire graduates had an average debt of $78,586, with 89% of graduates taking on debt.
The University of Virginia graduates had an average debt of $156,437.
62.5% of graduates take on debt.