---
title: Is a Law degree worth the debt?
cip: 2201
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Law degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Professional**, across **175** colleges (175 of 175 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $57,068 ($58,280 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $106,102 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 1.72× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $50,901–$66,845 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Master's | $39,422 | $50,500 | 1.52× | 6 | 6/6 |
| Doctoral | $56,355 | $118,306 | 1.91× | 27 | 27/27 |
| Professional | $57,068 | $106,102 | 1.72× | 175 | 175/175 |

## Where a Professional in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Columbia University in the City of New York (NY) | $193,362 | $198,924 |
| New York University (NY) | $189,685 | — |
| Northwestern University (IL) | $187,194 | $154,286 |
| University of Pennsylvania (PA) | $186,571 | $171,488 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus (VA) | $185,710 | $178,812 |
| Harvard University (MA) | $184,307 | $93,235 |
| University of Chicago (IL) | $181,006 | $188,691 |
| Georgetown University (DC) | $165,914 | $162,286 |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $160,390 | $155,891 |
| Stanford University (CA) | $151,574 | $153,302 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (MI) | $146,285 | $132,524 |
| Fordham University (NY) | $146,081 | $147,561 |
| Vanderbilt University (TN) | $132,293 | $139,857 |
| University of Southern California (CA) | $121,676 | $138,518 |
| Boston University (MA) | $108,069 | $117,740 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/law.jsonld` · `/education/fields/law.json`