California Law Schools Comparison
In California, 21 law schools that are accredited by American Bar Association (ABA) are active for academic year 2020-2021. There are 5 public and 16 private law schools in California. The average tuition & fees is $49,117 for California residents and $51,474 for out-of-state students.
The average LSAT score of the enrolled students of the California law schools is 161 and the average GPA is 3.56.
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 Hastings College of the Law (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 $51,474 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the highest tuition & fees of $67,191 and Golden Gate University has the lowest tuition & fees of $5,600.
- The average LSAT score of California law schools is 161 and Stanford Law School has the highest LSAT score of 172 and Western State College of Law has the lowest score of 150.
- The average acceptance rate of California law schools is 32.75% and Stanford Law School has the tightest (lowest) rate of 6% and California Western School of Law has the loosest (lowest) rate of 56%.
- The average law school population of California law schools is 14,923 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the most students of 1,414 and Western State College of Law has the fewest students of 226.
- The average bar exam pass rate (for first-time exam takers) of California law schools is 80.17% and Stanford Law School has the highest rate of 98% and Golden Gate University has the lowest rate of 44%.
21 ABA Accredited California Law Schools
The below table compares the 21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stanford Law School Stanford, CA | 1893 | $62,847 | 172 | 3.91 | 6.3% | 613 | 98.2% |
| 2 | Los Angeles School of Law (University of California-Los Angeles) Los Angeles, CA | 1949 | $53,152 | 170 | 3.82 | 15.4% | 1,184 | 96.6% |
| 3 | Berkeley School of Law (University of California-Berkeley) Berkeley, CA | 1894 | $55,316 | 169 | 3.83 | 13.7% | 1,235 | 96.7% |
| 4 | Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) Los Angeles, CA | 1896 | $67,191 | 168 | 3.82 | 13.0% | 1,414 | 92.1% |
| 5 | Irvine School of Law (University of California-Irvine) Irvine, CA | 2009 | $53,548 | 167 | 3.69 | 16.8% | 479 | 86.4% |
| 6 | Davis School of Law (University of California-Davis) Davis, CA | 1965 | $58,591 | 165 | 3.70 | 28.3% | 731 | 88.2% |
| 7 | Pepperdine University Malibu, CA | 1971 | $57,560 | 164 | 3.80 | 25.0% | 1,241 | 78.6% |
| 8 | University of San Diego San Diego, CA | 1954 | $56,711 | 161 | 3.70 | 31.0% | 824 | 86.0% |
| 9 | Loyola Law School (Loyola Marymount University) Los Angeles, CA | 1920 | $59,340 | 161 | 3.64 | 29.4% | 1,162 | 88.2% |
| 10 | Chapman University Orange, CA | 1995 | $55,099 | 160 | 3.60 | 28.3% | 478 | 80.7% |
| 11 | Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA | 1912 | $56,280 | 157 | 3.42 | 53.3% | 728 | 70.3% |
| 12 | McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific) Stockton, CA | 1924 | $53,434 | 155 | 3.44 | 53.6% | 655 | 75.0% |
| 13 | University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA | 1912 | $50,770 | 155 | 3.33 | 46.9% | 574 | 77.8% |
| 14 | California Western School of Law San Diego, CA | 1924 | $54,310 | 153 | 3.26 | 56.0% | 780 | 65.3% |
| 15 | Southwestern Law School Los Angeles, CA | 1911 | $27,858 | 154 | 3.31 | 46.8% | 957 | 82.5% |
| 16 | Thomas Jefferson School of Law San Diego, CA | 1969 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 17 | Hastings College of the Law (University of California-Hastings College of Law) San Francisco, CA | 1878 | $55,538 | 160 | 3.52 | 28.0% | 1,124 | 85.0% |
| 18 | Western State College of Law Irvine, CA | 1966 | $43,393 | 150 | 3.11 | 46.0% | 226 | 51.7% |
| 19 | Drivon School of Law (Humphreys University-Stockton and Modesto Campuses) Stockton, CA | 1951 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 20 | Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA | 1901 | $5,600 | 151 | 3.13 | 51.6% | 518 | 44.1% |
| 21 | University of La Verne College of Law La Verne, CA | 1970 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Average | - | $51,474 | 161 | 3.56 | 32.7% | 14,923 | 80.2% |