What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Law
Law is tracked across 218 U.S. postsecondary institutions in the College Scorecard field-of-study file, which links CIP code classifications from IPEDS to Treasury earnings records. This profile covers the first professional credential level specifically, because the Department of Education reports program-level outcomes separately for associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral awards. The CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) taxonomy lets analysts roll up specialties into broader families, which is why earnings medians across schools can be compared on a common basis.
Across all reporting institutions, the mean of school-level medians is $136,795, calculated from 100 schools with published earnings data. The earnings distribution stretches from $94,232 at the low end to $308,943 at the top, with a 25th-75th percentile band between $103,602 and $141,243 around a median of $116,613. The top-reporting institution in this program is Columbia University in the City of New York at $308,943. These numbers reflect earnings measured roughly a year after completion, using Social Security Administration tax records linked to federal financial aid applicants.
Variation across schools matters more than a single national figure. Completers counts reported per school indicate how many graduates’ earnings feed the median, which means small programs produce more volatile numbers. Median debt at the program level, when paired with earnings, yields a debt-to-earnings ratio that is the College Scorecard’s standard affordability signal — ratios under 1.0 indicate earnings exceed cumulative debt. Use the school-by-school table to spot institutions where Law graduates out-earn peers at comparable cost, and to surface gainful-employment patterns that only become visible at the CIP-code level.
Law first professional credential median earnings varies 3.3× across entities
Law first professional credential median earnings ranges from $94,232 (lowest) to $308,943 (highest), a spread of $214,711. That spread reflects typical sectoral variation between selective research institutions and broader access institutions. Earnings are measured roughly one year after completion using IRS records linked to federal aid recipients (see https://www.irs.gov/) — not all completers are captured, but the school-level medians correlate strongly with longer-term earnings trajectories.
Law first professional credential median debt varies 3.3× across entities
Law first professional credential median debt ranges from $61,466 (lowest) to $203,702 (highest), a spread of $142,236. That spread reflects typical institutional cost differences — public in-state, public out-of-state, and private school financing models produce predictable spreads. Median debt counts only those students who borrowed federal loans — students who paid out-of-pocket or received institutional grants are excluded from the borrower median, which can flatter low-debt schools.
Law debt-to-earnings ratio is 0.93 — near the typical range (US average ~1) — aligned with the typical 1:1 ratio that defines federal gainful-employment thresholds
debt-to-earnings ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: this ratio uses federal loan principal, not all education debt — private loans, parent PLUS loans not in the borrower’s name, and institutional debt are excluded Variation between sub-units within Law is typically wider than the Law-aggregate figure suggests.
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file. Median earnings represent graduates who received federal financial aid, drawn from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid applicants. Completers count and debt figures reflect program-level data reported through IPEDS. Data is updated annually.