The average debt among law students enrolled in 2019-20 averaged $27,000, according to AccessLex Institute’s newest update to the Legal Education Data Deck.
Of the law students in 2019-20, 22% were first-generation students and 37% were former Pell Grant recipients.
Compared to other 2020 graduate degree recipients, law graduates borrowed, on average, less for their undergraduate but more for their graduate education. The amount law students borrowed for graduate school exceeded all other graduate and professional degree recipients except medical students.
The proportion of J.D. recipients who borrowed for law school increased by five percentage points between 2016 and 2020.
“Our latest edition of the Data Deck presents an updated picture of differences in the accessibility and affordability of a J.D. compared to other graduate and professional degrees,” said Tiffane Cochran, vice president of research, AccessLex Institute. “As we continue to engage in ongoing discussions and efforts to diversify legal education and the profession, continuing to monitor and evaluate our progress on these and related metrics is imperative.”
AccessLex Institute’s data is taken from numerous educational institutions and organizations, as well as federal agencies, including the Law School Admission Council, the National Conference of Bar Examiners, the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The deck also includes the latest information on law student outcomes as well as new data from the U.S. Department of Education on law student demographics and debt.
Review the new Data Deck here.
