Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value Law Schools in California

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value Law Schools in California

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

19 Colleges
$38,733 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$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.

To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Law Schools in California ranking. This report analyzed 19 schools in California to see which ones offered the best value programs for law students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Law Schools in California

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for law majors pursuing a .

Top 10 Best Law Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Thomas Jefferson School of Law the best value school in California for law students. Thomas Jefferson School of Law is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of San Diego.

Full Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law Report

$14,226 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in California list. Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public college with a very large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Berkeley are $14,226 a year.

UC Berkeley also made our Best Law Schools in California list, coming in at #3.

Read full report on Law at University of California - Berkeley

$13,258 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in California list. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UCLA also is in the top 10% of our Best Law Schools in California ranking.

Read More…

$13,775 Average Tuition & Fees

The excellent programs at University of California - Irvine helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best law schools in California. Located in the large city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at UC Irvine are $13,775 a year.

Full Law at University of California - Irvine Report

$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 law schools in California. Located in the small suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a fairly large student population.

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

In addition to its great value ranking, UC Davis is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Law Schools in California list.

Full Law at University of California - Davis Report

#6

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

Southwestern Law School did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for law students. It came in at #6 on the list. Southwestern Law School is a fairly small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read More…

#7

Loyola Marymount University

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

Loyola Marymount University landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value law programs. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Los Angeles.

Loyola Marymount undergraduate students pay an average of $53,051 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Loyola Marymount excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Law Schools in California list.

Read full report on Law at Loyola Marymount University

#8

Santa Clara University

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

Santa Clara University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for law students. It came in at #8 on the list. SCU is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the midsize city of Santa Clara.

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

SCU not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #4 on our Best Law Schools in California list.

Full Law at Santa Clara University Report

#9

Stanford University

Stanford, CA
$56,169 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #9, Stanford University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for law students. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Stanford.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Stanford are $56,169 a year.

Stanford also took the #1 spot in our Best Law Schools in California rankings.

Read More…

#10

University of La Verne

La Verne, CA
$45,850 Average Tuition & Fees

University of La Verne ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Law Schools in California list. Located in the large suburb of La Verne, ULV is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

ULV undergraduate students pay an average of $45,850 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

Best Value Law Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Value Law Colleges 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.

  • 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.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.