College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Legal Support Services degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 32 colleges (32 of 32 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$35,588

Graduates only, early career.$35,505 two years out.

Median federal debt

$25,013

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.68×

68% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Legal Support Services report early-career pay between $31,452 and $38,854 — a spread of $7,402 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $31,452 median $35,588 75th pct $38,854

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 12 colleges $34,736 $11,486 0.41×

Associate's 102 colleges $31,003 $21,089 0.69×

Bachelor's 32 colleges $35,588 $25,013 0.68×

Grad cert. 3 colleges $43,136 $20,500 0.43×

Post-baccalaureate Certificate 5 colleges $39,531 $14,115 0.39×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

University of Houston-Clear Lake TX $47,913 $17,325 debt

Madonna University MI $43,250 —

Roosevelt University IL $41,906 —

Clayton State University GA $41,833 $28,842 debt

Roger Williams University RI $41,535 —

Davenport University MI $40,507 —

SUNY College of Technology at Canton NY $40,440 $20,995 debt

University of Cincinnati-Main Campus OH $40,399 $23,376 debt

Minnesota State University Moorhead MN $38,339 $25,155 debt

CUNY New York City College of Technology NY $38,131 —

Purdue University Global IN $37,834 $34,931 debt

St Petersburg College FL $37,303 $24,050 debt

Grand Valley State University MI $36,426 $21,498 debt

Peirce College PA $36,348 $33,588 debt

Stevenson University MD $35,956 $25,625 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Legal Support Services, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard