The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College, The Short List: Grad School and The Short List: Online Programs to find data that matter to you in your college or grad school search.
While a legal education can be an investment for the future, it sometimes comes with a hefty price tag.
Tuition and fees can range from a few thousand dollars to more than $60,000 annually, depending on the school. Private law schools, on average, cost more than public law schools, U.S. News data show.
The average tuition and fees for attending a private law school during the 2016-2017 school year costs around $43,020 per year compared with $26,264 for state residents and $39,612 for out-of-state students at a public law school, according to data reported by 197 ranked schools to U.S. News in an annual survey.
[Compare different law school loans.]
Law school students who attend a private law school borrow more in loans to finance their education. According to data reported to U.S. News, J.D. students who graduated in 2016 incurred an average debt of $130,349 by the time they completed their degree from a private school, compared with $90,217 for those who attended a public school.
All of the 10 law schools that charged the most tuition for the 2016-2017 school year are private institutions. Among these schools, the average tuition and fees for the 2016-2017 year was $60,950.
[See the 10 law schools where the most accepted students enroll.]
Columbia Law School in New York charged the most, billing their students $65,260 for the 2016-2017 academic year. Claiming the second most expensive slot, New York University Law School priced its tuition at $61,622 per year.
Although public law schools can sometimes be a cheaper alternative, there are a few public law schools that charge out-of-state students more than $58,000 annually in tuition and fees. These schools include the University of Virginia, the University of Connecticut and the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, which charged out-of-state students $59,300, $58,802 and $58,012, respectively, for the 2016-2017 year.
Below is a list of the 10 law schools with the highest tuition and fees for the 2016-2017 school year. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School (name) (state) | Tuition and fees (2016-2017) | U.S. News rank |
| Columbia University (NY) | $65,260 | 5 |
| New York University | $61,622 | 6 |
| Cornell University (NY) | $61,485 | 13 |
| University of Pennsylvania | $60,988 | 7 |
| Harvard University (MA) | $60,638 | 3 |
| University of Southern California (Gould) | $60,339 | 19 |
| Duke University (NC) | $59,912 | 10 (tie) |
| Yale University (CT) | $59,865 | 1 |
| Northwestern University (Pritzker) (IL) | $59,850 | 10 (tie) |
| University of Chicago | $59,541 | 4 |
Don’t see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News Law School Compass to find tuition data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed 203 schools for our 2016 survey of law programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Law Schools rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News’ rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The tuition and fees data above are correct as of April 4, 2017.
More from U.S. News
Law Schools Offer Loan Assistance Programs to Debt-Burdened Grads
Infographic: Compare Different Types of Law School Loans
10 Law Schools That Charge the Most originally appeared on usnews.com
