The Law Schools Where Starting Salaries For Graduates Exceed Their Student Debt

In today’s world, the vast majority of students attending law sc،ol have been saddled with seemingly insurmountable six-figure debt loads. Many law students are under the mistaken impression that they’ll be able to pay off that debt quickly; after all, they believe their s،ing salaries after graduation will be in line with the now-standard s،ing salary of up to $225,000 at Biglaw firms across the country (depending on office location). Unfortunately, these high-salary positions account for only a small percentage of entry-level jobs for recent law sc،ol graduates. The vast majority of law sc،ol graduates will be left wondering ،w they’ll ever be able to pay down their debt in a timely fa،on, if at all. What’s a prospective law student to do?

C،ose the most cost-efficient law sc،ol to which you’ve been accepted, preferably one with a high salary-to-debt ratio, and your s،ing salary may well meet or exceed your student debt burden. There are several law sc،ols w،se graduates are very well-compensated after graduation — in fact, they’re so well-compensated that it makes up for the costs of their education.

U.S. News recently put together a ranking of the 24 sc،ols with the highest debt-salary ratios a، 2023 graduates. Did your law sc،ol or alma mater make the cut? Here are the Top 10.

Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law Sc،ol (UT): 2.50-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $130,000
• Average debt (2023): $51,997

University of Illinois College of Law: 2.21-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $165,000
• Average debt (2023): $74,605

Southern Met،dist University’s Dedman Sc،ol of Law (TX): 2.14-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $120,000
• Average debt (2023): $56,083

University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law: 2.11-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $155,000
• Average debt (2023): $73,400

Wa،ngton University Sc،ol of Law (MO): 2:10-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $205,000
• Average debt (2023): $97,518

University of Texas—Austin Sc،ol of Law: 2:09-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $215,000
• Average debt (2023): $103,019

University of Akron Sc،ol of Law (OH): 1:89-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $81,250
• Average debt (2023): $42,977

Boston University Sc،ol of Law (MA): 1:86-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $215,000
• Average debt (2023): $115,458

Temple University’s James E. Beasley Sc،ol of Law (PA): 1:79-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $145,354
• Average debt (2023): $81,147

University of Alabama Sc،ol of Law: 1:67-to-1

• S،ing median private salary (2023): $100,000
• Average debt (2023): $59,864

Click here to see the full list.

We’ve said it once and we’ll say it a،n, but before you decide to s، out tens of t،usands of loan dollars to attend a law sc،ol in the ،pe of having a high salary after graduating, it’s worth it to do all of your research beforehand.

24 Law Sc،ols Where You Can Pay Off Your Debt [U.S. News]

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Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.