---
title: Is a Legal Support Services degree worth the debt?
cip: 2203
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 Legal Support Services degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **32** colleges (32 of 32 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $35,588 ($35,505 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $25,013 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.68× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $31,452–$38,854 — 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Certificate | $34,736 | $11,486 | 0.41× | 12 | 12/12 |
| Associate's | $31,003 | $21,089 | 0.69× | 102 | 102/102 |
| Bachelor's | $35,588 | $25,013 | 0.68× | 32 | 32/32 |
| Grad cert. | $43,136 | $20,500 | 0.43× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Post-baccalaureate Certificate | $39,531 | $14,115 | 0.39× | 5 | 5/5 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Houston-Clear Lake (TX) | $47,913 | $17,325 |
| Madonna University (MI) | $43,250 | — |
| Roosevelt University (IL) | $41,906 | — |
| Clayton  State University (GA) | $41,833 | $28,842 |
| Roger Williams University (RI) | $41,535 | — |
| Davenport University (MI) | $40,507 | — |
| SUNY College of Technology at Canton (NY) | $40,440 | $20,995 |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus (OH) | $40,399 | $23,376 |
| Minnesota State University Moorhead (MN) | $38,339 | $25,155 |
| CUNY New York City College of Technology (NY) | $38,131 | — |
| Purdue University Global (IN) | $37,834 | $34,931 |
| St Petersburg College (FL) | $37,303 | $24,050 |
| Grand Valley State University (MI) | $36,426 | $21,498 |
| Peirce College (PA) | $36,348 | $33,588 |
| Stevenson University (MD) | $35,956 | $25,625 |

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/legal-support-services.jsonld` · `/education/fields/legal-support-services.json`