California Law Schools Comparison
In California, 18 law schools that are accredited by American Bar Association (ABA) are active for the academic year 2024-2025. There are 5 public and 13 private law schools in California. The average tuition & fees is $58,440 for California residents and $66,126 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 3.64.
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 $66,126 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the highest tuition & fees of $81,940 and Western State College of Law has the lowest tuition & fees of $53,288.
- The average LSAT score of California law schools is 161 and Stanford Law School has the highest LSAT score of 173 and Western State College of Law has the lowest score of 151.
- The average acceptance rate of California law schools is 33.99% and Stanford Law School has the tightest (lowest) rate of 9% and Santa Clara University School of Law has the loosest (lowest) rate of 66%.
- The average law school population of California law schools is 14,888 and Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) has the most students of 1,421 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 75.63% and Stanford Law School has the highest rate of 97% and California Western School of Law has the lowest rate of 48%.
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 | $76,608 | 173 | 3.92 | 8.9% | 666 | 96.7% |
| 14 | Los Angeles School of Law (University of California-Los Angeles) Los Angeles, CA | 1949 | $71,377 | 170 | 3.95 | 16.1% | 1,335 | 88.8% |
| 11 | Berkeley School of Law (University of California-Berkeley) Berkeley, CA | 1894 | $78,881 | 170 | 3.87 | 17.3% | 1,306 | 88.2% |
| 20 | Gould School of Law (University of Southern California) Los Angeles, CA | 1896 | $81,940 | 169 | 3.91 | 12.4% | 1,421 | 82.4% |
| 33 | Irvine School of Law (University of California-Irvine) Irvine, CA | 2009 | $70,823 | 167 | 3.81 | 17.4% | 508 | 86.9% |
| 72 | Pepperdine University School of Law Malibu, CA | 1971 | $70,556 | 164 | 3.85 | 28.4% | 997 | 83.3% |
| 45 | Davis School of Law (University of California-Davis) Davis, CA | 1965 | $69,654 | 163 | 3.68 | 33.2% | 673 | 82.7% |
| 59 | Loyola Law School (Loyola Marymount University) Los Angeles, CA | 1920 | $68,512 | 162 | 3.72 | 30.6% | 1,097 | 78.8% |
| 91 | Chapman University School of Law Orange, CA | 1995 | $63,201 | 162 | 3.67 | 27.1% | 404 | 80.0% |
| 71 | University of San Diego School of Law San Diego, CA | 1954 | $65,191 | 161 | 3.80 | 37.1% | 942 | 78.8% |
| 76 | University of California College of the Law, San Francisco (University of California-Hastings College of Law) San Francisco, CA | 1878 | $58,113 | 160 | 3.63 | 37.5% | 1,170 | 72.1% |
| 154 | Santa Clara University School of Law Santa Clara, CA | 1912 | - | 157 | 3.44 | 66.3% | 694 | 61.8% |
| 145 | McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific) Sacramento, CA | 1924 | $61,432 | 155 | 3.52 | 59.5% | 708 | 67.1% |
| 123 | Southwestern Law School Los Angeles, CA | 1911 | $60,728 | 155 | 3.48 | 39.4% | 1,007 | 64.0% |
| 149 | University of San Francisco School of Law San Francisco, CA | 1912 | $55,290 | 154 | 3.39 | 54.5% | 657 | 67.4% |
| 171 | California Western School of Law San Diego, CA | 1924 | $62,550 | 153 | 3.39 | 55.3% | 650 | 48.4% |
| 190 | Golden Gate University-San Francisco School of Law San Francisco, CA | 1901 | $56,000 | 153 | 3.28 | 22.4% | 300 | - |
| 1 | Western State College of Law Irvine, CA | 1966 | $53,288 | 151 | 3.26 | 48.5% | 353 | 58.5% |
| Average | - | $66,126 | 161 | 3.64 | 34.0% | 14,888 | 75.6% |