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Best Law Schools in California

2023 Best Law Schools in California

19 Colleges
$67,324 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Law School for You

With 4,128 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, law is the #29 most popular major in California.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. You're no longer limited to schools in your local area, either, since online programs are becoming more prevalent. Or you may find the programs at a trade school to be a better alternative for you.

The Best Law Schools in California ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 19 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

2023 Best Law Schools in California

Check out the law programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.

Top 10 Best Law Schools

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for law students. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

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The excellent programs at University of California - Berkeley helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best law schools in California. Located in the midsize city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Southern California landed the # 3 spot on the list. USC is a very large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Law Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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Out of the 19 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Hastings College of Law landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, UC Hastings is a public college with a small student population.

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#6

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Law Schools in California ranking. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.

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#7

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

Southwestern Law School came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Law Schools in California ranking. Southwestern Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

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University of California - Irvine came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Law Schools in California ranking. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a very large student population.

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University of California - Davis came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Law Schools in California ranking. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public college with a very large student population.

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#10

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles, CA

With a ranking of #10, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on this year’s best schools for law students. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

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Best Law Colleges in the Far Western US Region

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 514
Oregon 408
Nevada 166
Hawaii 109

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

Majors Similar to Law

Related Major Annual Graduates
Legal Support Services 11,545
Legal Research 6,874
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 4,407
Legal Professions (Other) 2,013

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 19 schools only.

  • Read more about our ranking methodology.
  • 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).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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