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2024 Best Law Schools in California

19 Colleges in California
4,128 Law Degrees Awarded
$67,324 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #28 in popularity, law is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

College Factual reviewed 19 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for degree seekers in the field of law. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 4,128 degrees in law during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Law School

Best Law Schools in California The law program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Law rankings. We derive our Best Overall Law School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Law Rankings by Degree Level

Doctor's Degrees in Law

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Law Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.


 

Best Schools for Law in California

The schools below may not offer all types of law degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top California Schools in Law

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
327 Law Degrees Awarded
$160,390 Median Starting Salary

Every student pursuing a degree in law needs to check out University of California - Berkeley. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #18 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.

There were about 327 law students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available. Law degree recipients from University of California - Berkeley earn a boost of around $93,066 above the average earnings of law graduates.

More information about a degree in law from University of California - Berkeley

2
Stanford crest
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
184 Law Degrees Awarded
1.1% Growth in Graduates

Stanford University is a great option for students pursuing a degree in law. Located in the suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.

There were roughly 184 law students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent year we have data available. Those law students who get their degree from Stanford University make $84,250 more than the standard law graduate.

More information about a degree in law from Stanford University

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
193 Law Degrees Awarded
2.1% Growth in Graduates

University of Southern California is a good option for students pursuing a degree in law. Located in the city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were roughly 193 law students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the law degree program at University of Southern California make $54,352 more than the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in law from University of Southern California

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
342 Law Degrees Awarded
8.8% Growth in Graduates

Every student who is interested in law needs to look into University of California - Los Angeles. UCLA is a very large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. A Best Colleges rank of #26 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UCLA is a great university overall.

There were about 342 law students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the law program at University of California - Los Angeles make $24,726 more than the average college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in law from University of California - Los Angeles

5
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
217 Law Degrees Awarded
4.6% Growth in Graduates

SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit university located in the city of Santa Clara. A Best Colleges rank of #50 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SCU is a great university overall.

There were about 217 law students who graduated with this degree at SCU in the most recent year we have data available. Those law students who get their degree from Santa Clara University make $7,405 more than the typical law grad.

More information about a degree in law from Santa Clara University

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
284 Law Degrees Awarded
$72,823 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Francisco, UC Hastings is a public university with a small student population.

There were roughly 284 law students who graduated with this degree at UC Hastings in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the law program at University of California - Hastings College of Law earn $5,499 more than the average college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.

More information about a degree in law from University of California - Hastings College of Law

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
305 Law Degrees Awarded
$55,381 Median Starting Salary

Located in the large city of Los Angeles, Loyola Marymount is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 20th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 305 law students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Marymount in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the law program state that they receive average early career income of $55,381.

More information about a degree in law from Loyola Marymount University

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
201 Law Degrees Awarded
24.9% Growth in Graduates

UC Davis is a very large public university located in the small suburb of Davis. A Best Colleges rank of #52 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UC Davis is a great university overall.

There were roughly 201 law students who graduated with this degree at UC Davis in the most recent data year. Those law students who get their degree from University of California - Davis earn $6,190 more than the typical law graduate.

More information about a degree in law from University of California - Davis

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
227 Law Degrees Awarded
$71,367 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of San Diego, USD is a private not-for-profit university with a medium-sized student population. This university ranks 29th out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 227 law students who graduated with this degree at USD in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the law degree program at University of San Diego get $4,043 more than the standard college graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in law from University of San Diego

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
210 Law Degrees Awarded
33.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #61 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC Irvine is a great university overall.

There were approximately 210 law students who graduated with this degree at UC Irvine in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the law degree program at University of California - Irvine make $10,127 more than the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in law from University of California - Irvine

Best Law Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Law Colleges in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 514
Oregon 266 408
Nevada 192 166
Hawaii 164 109

View All Rankings >

Law is one of 4 different types of Legal Professions programs to choose from.

Law Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Law 4,128

View All Law Concentrations >

Majors Similar to Law

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Support Services 1,618
Legal Research 1,054
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 745
Legal Professions (Other) 271

View All Law Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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