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Best Legal Professions Schools in California

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2023 Best Legal Professions Schools in California

22 Colleges
$61,809 Avg Salary
$19,221 Avg Student Debt

In 2020-2021, 6,896 degrees and certificates were awarded to legal professions students who went to a California college or university. This makes it the #20 most popular major in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

The Best Legal Professions 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 22 schools in California to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.

View our full ranking methodology.

The following schools top our list of the Best Legal Professions Colleges.

#1

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Our 2023 rankings named Stanford University the best school in California for legal professions students. Stanford is a large private not-for-profit school located in the 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 legal professions schools in California. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public school with a fairly large student population.

On average, legal professions graduates from UC Berkeley take out $15,000 in student loans while working on their degree. For students who choose a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly student loan payment is $278.

Full Legal Professions at University of California - Berkeley Report

#3

Cerritos College

Norwalk, CA

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Cerritos College. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools in California list. Cerritos College is a large public school located in the large suburb of Norwalk.

Legal Professions majors at Cerritos College take out an average of $16,650 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Cerritos College

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 #4 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools in California list. Located in the city of Los Angeles, UCLA is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Full Legal Professions at University of California - Los Angeles Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Hastings College of Law. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Legal Professions Schools in California list. Located in the large city of San Francisco, UC Hastings is a public college with a small student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Hastings College of Law

University of Southern California ranked #6 on this year’s Best Legal Professions Schools in California list. USC is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of Southern California

#7

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara, CA

With a ranking of #7, Santa Clara University did quite well on this year’s best schools for legal professions students. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Santa Clara.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Santa Clara University

#8

Southwestern Law School

Los Angeles, CA

Southwestern Law School came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Legal Professions Schools in California ranking. Southwestern Law School is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Los Angeles.

Read full report on Legal Professions at Southwestern Law School

University of California - Irvine landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best legal professions programs. Located in the city of Irvine, UC Irvine is a public school with a fairly large student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Irvine

University of California - Davis did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for legal professions students. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in the suburb of Davis, UC Davis is a public school with a very large student population.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Davis

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

State Degrees Awarded
Washington 892
Oregon 506
Hawaii 128
Nevada 265
Alaska 32

Major Annual Graduates
Law 36,216
Legal Support Services 11,545
Legal Research 6,874
Non-Professional General Legal Studies 4,407
Legal Professions (Other) 2,013

Related Major Annual Graduates
Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting 142,610
Public Administration & Social Service 98,583
Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies 73,813
Military Technologies & Applied Sciences 4,477

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 22 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to The wub.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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