Across the U.S., law graduates four years into their careers earn a median of $72,000 after deducting debt payments, a recent study reveals. However, this median figure masks significant variations based on the law school attended, according to a report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce.
Graduates from seven top-tier law schools enjoy median earnings surpassing $200,000 post-debt, while alumni from 33 lower-ranked institutions see a median net income of $55,000 or less. The study, aptly titled “A Law Degree Is No Sure Thing: Some Law School Graduates Earn Top Dollar, but Many Do Not,” underscores a median debt load of $118,500 for law graduates.
The data analysis drew from diverse sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the American Bar Association, and the National Association for Law Placement, to provide insights into the return on investment for law graduates.
Columbia Law School tops the list for return on investment at the four-year mark, boasting median net earnings of $253,800. This figure comes from a median salary of $280,900, offset by median monthly debt payments of $2,300. Trailing Columbia are the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School with $238,000; the University of Chicago Law School at $230,700; Cornell and Stanford Law Schools both at $227,100; Harvard Law School at $220,900; and Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law at $206,700. Notably, all these institutions are in the T-14, the top 14 in U.S. News & World Report’s law school rankings.
Conversely, 20 law schools report median net earnings of $50,000 or less after debt payments. Institutions such as Cooley Law School, Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, and Faulkner University’s Thomas Goode Jones School of Law are among those at the lower end of the spectrum.
“There is a vast gulf in outcomes between graduates of top law schools and those on the bottom,” the report concludes.
