California Law Schools Comparison
In California, 18 ABA-accredited law schools are active for the academic year 2025-2026. By school control, there are 5 public and 13 private law schools in California. The average tuition & fees is $63,402 for California residents and $70,223 for out-of-state students.
The average LSAT score of the enrolled students of the California law schools is 162 and the average GPA is 3.68.
The next list summarizes the law school information in California.
- In California, Irvine School of Law (University of California-Irvine) is the newest law school (founded in 2009) and University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (University of California-Hastings College of Law) is the second oldest law school, founded in 1878.
- The average tuition & fees of California law schools is $70,223 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the highest tuition & fees of $88,436 and Golden Gate University-San Francisco School of Law has the lowest tuition & fees of $42,000.
- The average LSAT score of California law schools is 162 and Stanford Law School has the highest LSAT score of 173 and Western State College of Law has the lowest score of 152.
- The average acceptance rate of California law schools is 27.77% and Stanford Law School has the tightest (lowest) rate of 6% and McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific) has the loosest (lowest) rate of 54%.
- The average law school population of California law schools is 15,055 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the most students of 1,543 and Golden Gate University-San Francisco School of Law has the fewest students of 300.
- The average bar exam pass rate (for first-time exam takers) of California law schools is 80.91% and Stanford Law School has the highest rate of 97% and California Western School of Law has the lowest rate of 63%.
18 ABA Accredited California Law Schools
The below table compares the 18 California law schools that accredited by ABA. You can sort the table by touching/clicking the column title that you want to sort
| Rank | College Name | Founded | Tuition & Fees | LSAT Score | GPA | Acceptance Rate | Student Population | Bar Pass Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Stanford Law School Stanford, CA | 1893 | $82,122 | 173 | 3.96 | 6.1% | 670 | 96.5% |
| 21 | Los Angeles School of Law (University of California-Los Angeles) Los Angeles, CA | 1949 | $76,992 | 171 | 3.95 | 12.1% | 1,376 | 94.2% |
| 25 | Berkeley School of Law (University of California-Berkeley) Berkeley, CA | 1894 | $84,476 | 170 | 3.92 | 14.8% | 1,128 | 91.2% |
| 26 | Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) Los Angeles, CA | 1896 | $88,436 | 169 | 3.91 | 11.2% | 1,543 | 94.0% |
| 29 | Irvine School of Law (University of California-Irvine) Irvine, CA | 2009 | $76,396 | 169 | 3.80 | 14.9% | 532 | 85.5% |
| 67 | Davis School of Law (University of California-Davis) Davis, CA | 1965 | $74,881 | 165 | 3.70 | 21.1% | 606 | 88.9% |
| 54 | Pepperdine University School of Law Malibu, CA | 1971 | $76,120 | 164 | 3.85 | 23.4% | 929 | 86.8% |
| 83 | University of San Diego School of Law San Diego, CA | 1954 | $70,091 | 163 | 3.84 | 23.5% | 972 | 84.8% |
| 74 | Loyola Law School (Loyola Marymount University) Los Angeles, CA | 1920 | $74,026 | 163 | 3.74 | 26.1% | 1,114 | 84.2% |
| 69 | Chapman University School of Law Orange, CA | 1995 | $66,972 | 163 | 3.70 | 20.5% | 420 | 74.1% |
| 108 | University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (University of California-Hastings College of Law) San Francisco, CA | 1878 | $65,477 | 161 | 3.71 | 27.5% | 1,155 | 83.8% |
| 160 | Santa Clara University School of Law Santa Clara, CA | 1912 | $66,790 | 159 | 3.50 | 52.6% | 755 | 74.8% |
| 147 | Southwestern Law School Los Angeles, CA | 1911 | $65,686 | 157 | 3.51 | 36.5% | 1,108 | 64.9% |
| 145 | McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific) Sacramento, CA | 1924 | $65,258 | 156 | 3.52 | 54.4% | 752 | 70.6% |
| 186 | California Western School of Law San Diego, CA | 1924 | $67,840 | 155 | 3.50 | 46.9% | 669 | 62.9% |
| 161 | University of San Francisco School of Law San Francisco, CA | 1912 | $61,720 | 155 | 3.47 | 42.4% | 671 | 74.6% |
| 197 | Golden Gate University-San Francisco School of Law San Francisco, CA | 1901 | $42,000 | 153 | 3.28 | 22.4% | 300 | - |
| 179 | Western State College of Law Irvine, CA | 1966 | $58,738 | 152 | 3.36 | 43.7% | 355 | 63.6% |
| Average | - | $70,223 | 162 | 3.68 | 27.8% | 15,055 | 80.9% |