Law

Add Comparison
Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2023
35,647
declining 2.1%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$9,827
growing 0.357%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$52,540
growing 4.4%
Average Wage
$90,519
growing 4.17%
People in Workforce
97,164
growing 3.4%
Average Employee Age
43.1
growing 0.54%

About

In 2023, the locations with the highest concentration of Law degree recipients are New York, NY, Washington, DC, and Chicago, IL. In 2023, the locations with a relatively high number of Law degree recipients are Vineyards, FL, Grundy, VA, and South Royalton, VT. The most common degree awarded to students studying Law is a professional doctorate.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Law and the types of students that study this field. Georgetown University awards the most degrees in Law in the US, but New England Law-Boston and South Texas College of Law Houston have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Law.

Tuition costs for Law majors are, on average, $9,827 for in-state public colleges, and $52,540 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Law programs are Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above institutions (115 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (21,326 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Law (2023)
  1. 684 degrees awarded
  2. 570 degrees awarded
  3. 550 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Law, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (21,326 completions in 2023).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Law programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

View Data
Save Image

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$9,827
Median In-State Public
$52,540
Median Out of State Private

Georgetown University has the most Law degree recipients, with 684 degrees awarded in 2023.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Law.

View Data
Save Image

Specialized Colleges

Out of all institutions that offer Law programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, New England Law-Boston has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Law, with 100%.

View Data
Save Image

Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Law
  1. 1,887 degrees awarded
  2. 1,841 degrees awarded
  3. 1,401 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Law by year.

View Data
Save Image

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Legal graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Legal majors is $90,519 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

The industry that employs the most Legal majors is Legal services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Seafood & other miscellaneous foods, n.e.c. .

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
$90,519
Average Wage in Workforce
± $6,883
4.17%
1 Year Growth
± 10.4%

The average salary for Legal majors is $90,519 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Legal majors.

View Data
Save Image

Highest Paying Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Legal majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Legal majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

View Data
Save Image

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

The most common occupations for Legal majors, by number of employees, are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Most Specialized

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Legal majors working as Paralegals & legal assistants, Judicial law clerks, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

The highest paid occupations by median income for Legal majors are Athletes and sports competitors, Surgeons, and Paramedics.

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Occupations by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
97,164
2023 Workforce
± 7,651
3.4%
1 Year Growth
± 10.9%

The number of Legal graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.4%, from 93,966 in 2022 to 97,164 in 2023.

The largest single share of Legal graduates go on to work as Paralegals & legal assistants (14%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Legal by share of the total number of graduates.

View Data
Save Image

Most Common

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

The most common industries that employ Legal majors, by number of employees, are Legal services, uninformed, and Justice, public order, & safety activities .

View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Highest Paid

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
View Data
Save Image
View Data
Save Image

Industries by Share

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
97,164
2023 Workforce
± 7,651
3.4%
1 Year Growth
± 10.9%

The number of Legal graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.4%, from 93,966 in 2022 to 97,164 in 2023.

The industry which employs the most Legal graduates by share is Legal services, followed by uninformed. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Legal.

View Data
Save Image

Specialty Locations

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Legal majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Legal majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

View Data
Save Image

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Legal in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Legal is 43.1.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Professional Doctorate. Female employees are more likely to hold Legal degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Legal (22,169 students).

Workforce Age

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
43.1
Average Age in 2023
± 0.976 Years
0.54%
1 Year Change
± 3.22%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Legal. The most common ages of employees with this major are 48 and 46 years old, which represent 3.31% and 3.24% of the population, respectively.

View Data
Save Image

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Law are Professional Doctorate and Research Doctorate.

View Data
Save Image

Workforce Degrees

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.

The most common degree types held by the working population in Legal are Bachelors Degree, Professional degree, and Masters Degree.

View Data
Save Image

Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (55%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Law.

View Data
Save Image

Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    22,169 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    4,714 degrees awarded
  3. Black or African American
    2,564 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Law for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

View Data
Save Image

Race & Ethnicity by Sex

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Professional Doctorate recipients in Law.

View Data
Save Image

Global Diversity

The closest comparable data for the 6 Digit Course Law is from the 2 Digit Course Legal.
Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. Philippines
    727 degree recipients
  2. Mexico
    723 degree recipients
  3. China
    721 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Europe
    24 times more than expected
  2. Bahamas
    16.7 times more than expected
  3. Sudan
    12.2 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Europe that hold Legal degrees (24 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Philippines (727 degree recipients).

View Data
Save Image

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Law field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Law majors need many skills, but most especially Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Law majors need more than the average amount of Negotiation, Persuasion, and Active Listening.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Law majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Negotiation is very distinctive for majors, but the Active Listening, Speaking, and Critical Thinking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

View Data
Save Image

Bar Chart

View Data
Save Image

Keep Exploring