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Best Value Legal Professions Schools in California

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2023 Best Value Legal Professions Schools in California

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

18 Colleges
$38,140 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$61,809 Avg Salary

Out of the majors we analyze each year, legal professions was ranked 6th in California. In fact, 5,637 were awarded in the state in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Grad Degree Search has developed this Best Value Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 18 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for legal professions students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

Check out the legal professions programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Our analysis found Thomas Jefferson School of Law to be the best value school for legal professions students who want to pursue a degree in California. Located in the city of San Diego, Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Thomas Jefferson School of Law

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #2 on this year’s list means University of California - Berkeley is a great value for legal professions students. UC Berkeley is a fairly large public school located in the city of Berkeley.

UC Berkeley undergraduate students pay an average of $14,226 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UC Berkeley is ranked #3 for overall quality for legal professions in California.

Read More…

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Legal Professions Schools in California list. UCLA is a fairly large public school located in the city of Los Angeles.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UCLA are $13,258 per year.

UCLA also claimed a spot on our Best Legal Professions Schools in California list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Los Angeles

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

A rank of #4 on this year’s list means University of California - Irvine is a great value for legal professions students. UC Irvine is a very large public school located in the city of Irvine.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UC Irvine are $13,775 per year.

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$14,645 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of California - Davis helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best legal professions schools in California. UC Davis is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Davis.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Davis are $14,645 a year.

Read More…

#6

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #6, Southwestern Law School did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Southwestern Law School is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

Full Legal Professions at Southwestern Law School Report

#7

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA
$53,051 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for legal professions students. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Loyola Marymount are $53,051 a year.

Full Legal Professions at Loyola Marymount University Report

#8

Trinity Law School

Santa Ana, CA

Trinity Law School did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for legal professions students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Santa Ana, Trinity Law School is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Trinity Law School

#9

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA
$55,860 Average Tuition & Fees

Santa Clara University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value legal professions programs. Located in the medium-sized city of Santa Clara, SCU is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at SCU are $55,860 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, SCU is ranked #5 for overall quality for legal professions in California.

Full Legal Professions at Santa Clara University Report

#10

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
$56,169 Average Tuition & Fees

Stanford University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Legal Professions Schools in California list. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.

Stanford undergraduate students pay an average of $56,169 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Stanford also made our Best Legal Professions Schools in California list, coming in at #1.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Stanford University

Explore all the Best Value Legal Professions Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 622
Oregon 434
Nevada 187
Hawaii 116
Alaska 3

Major Annual Graduates
Law 36,216
Legal Research 6,659
Legal Professions (Other) 1,424
Legal Support Services 446
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 444

Related Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration & Social Service 53,252
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 13,045
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 10,452
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 1,613

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 18 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to The wub.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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