Bar-required jobs: every U.S. law school, ranked

Across the 195 ABA-accredited U.S. law schools that report bar-required jobs, the median is 83.4%. Values span from 99.5% at Cornell Law School to 17% at Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law, drawn from the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure cycle.

Schools reporting 195
Median 83.4%
25th–75th 75.5% – 89.8%
Range 17% – 99.5%

Distribution across 195 schools · median marked

Definition

What it is: Share of graduates in jobs that require bar passage.
Reported by: The American Bar Association, in each school’s annual Standard 509 Required Disclosure.
Unit: Percent

How to read it

Bar-required excludes JD-advantage roles; the gap between this and total employment shows how many graduates land JD-preferred, not JD-required, work.

Every school, ranked

#	Law school	State	Bar-required jobs
1	Cornell Law School	New York	99.5%
2	Duke University School of Law	North Carolina	98.7%
3	Vanderbilt Law School	Tennessee	98.2%
4	University of Virginia School of Law	Virginia	98.1%
5	New York University School of Law	New York	98.1%
6	University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	Pennsylvania	97.2%
7	University of Chicago Law School	Illinois	96.8%
8	UC Berkeley School of Law	California	96.8%
9	Columbia Law School	New York	96.5%
10	University of Michigan Law School	Michigan	95.9%
11	University of Texas School of Law	Texas	95.8%
12	Baylor University School of Law	Texas	95.5%
13	Texas A&M University School of Law	Texas	95.2%
14	Southern Methodist University School of Law	Texas	94.7%
15	UCLA School of Law	California	94.3%
16	University of Southern California School of Law	California	94.3%
17	Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law	Missouri	94.1%
18	University of Georgia School of Law	Georgia	93.5%
19	University of Notre Dame School of Law	Indiana	93.3%
20	Harvard Law School	Massachusetts	93.2%
21	University of Alabama School of Law	Alabama	93.2%
22	Regent University School of Law	Virginia	93.2%
23	University of Colorado School of Law	Colorado	93%
24	University of California-Irvine School of Law	California	92.9%
25	Boston College School of Law	Massachusetts	92.5%
26	University of Utah School of Law	Utah	92.5%
27	Jacksonville University School of Law	Florida	92.3%
28	University of Illinois School of Law	Illinois	92.2%
29	Boston University School of Law	Massachusetts	92.1%
30	Northwestern Pritzker School of Law	Illinois	92%
31	Texas Tech University School of Law	Texas	91.9%
32	Washington and Lee University School of Law	Virginia	91.8%
33	Pepperdine University School of Law	California	91.8%
34	University of California-Davis School of Law	California	91.7%
35	Georgetown University Law Center	District of Columbia	91.6%
36	University of Kansas School of Law	Kansas	91.3%
37	University at Buffalo School of Law	New York	91.2%
38	University of Iowa School of Law	Iowa	91.1%
39	University of Oklahoma School of Law	Oklahoma	91.1%
40	University of Minnesota School of Law	Minnesota	91%
41	Villanova University School of Law	Pennsylvania	90.8%
42	William & Mary School of Law	Virginia	90.5%
43	St. John's University School of Law	New York	90.4%
44	Mississippi College School of Law	Mississippi	90.3%
45	University of North Carolina School of Law	North Carolina	90.2%
46	University of Wisconsin School of Law	Wisconsin	90.2%
47	Mercer University School of Law	Georgia	90.1%
48	University of Arizona School of Law	Arizona	90%
49	Brigham Young University School of Law	Utah	89.8%
50	The George Washington University School of Law	District of Columbia	89.8%
51	University of Kentucky School of Law	Kentucky	89.6%
52	Wake Forest University School of Law	North Carolina	89.2%
53	Cardozo, Yeshiva University School of Law	New York	89.1%
54	University of Louisville School of Law	Kentucky	89.1%
55	Arizona State University School of Law	Arizona	89%
56	University of South Carolina School of Law	South Carolina	88.9%
57	University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Law	Nevada	88.9%
58	University of Florida School of Law	Florida	88.8%
59	University of Tennessee School of Law	Tennessee	88.7%
60	Georgia State University School of Law	Georgia	88.7%
61	University of San Diego School of Law	California	88.6%
62	Marquette University School of Law	Wisconsin	88.6%
63	The Ohio State University School of Law	Ohio	88.5%
64	Albany Law School	New York	88.5%
65	University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	Michigan	88.4%
66	Temple University School of Law	Pennsylvania	88.2%
67	University of Richmond School of Law	Virginia	88%
68	Liberty University School of Law	Virginia	88%
69	Emory University School of Law	Georgia	87.9%
70	Saint Louis University School of Law	Missouri	87.6%
71	Yale Law School	Connecticut	87.2%
72	Florida State University School of Law	Florida	87.1%
73	University of California-San Francisco School of Law	California	87%
74	Seton Hall University School of Law	New Jersey	87%
75	Washburn University School of Law	Kansas	86.9%
76	Stanford Law School	California	86.8%
77	Duquesne University School of Law	Pennsylvania	86.8%
78	Campbell University School of Law	North Carolina	86.7%
79	University of Missouri School of Law	Missouri	86.4%
80	Hofstra University School of Law	New York	86.3%
81	University of Nebraska School of Law	Nebraska	86%
82	Drake University School of Law	Iowa	86%
83	University of Wyoming School of Law	Wyoming	85.9%
84	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles School of Law	California	85.7%
85	Drexel University School of Law	Pennsylvania	85.7%
86	Fordham University School of Law	New York	85.5%
87	Rutgers University School of Law	New Jersey	85.3%
88	University of Houston School of Law	Texas	84.9%
89	Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law	Indiana	84.8%
90	Wayne State University School of Law	Michigan	84.7%
91	Belmont University School of Law	Tennessee	84.7%
92	Brooklyn Law School	New York	84.6%
93	Florida International University School of Law	Florida	84.1%
94	Tulane University School of Law	Louisiana	84.1%
95	Creighton University School of Law	Nebraska	84.1%
96	Louisiana State University School of Law	Louisiana	83.8%
97	Ohio Northern University School of Law	Ohio	83.7%
98	Penn State Dickinson Law	Pennsylvania	83.4%
99	University of Miami School of Law	Florida	83.3%
100	University of Idaho School of Law	Idaho	83.2%
101	University of Washington School of Law	Washington	83.1%
102	Widener University Delaware Law School	Pennsylvania	83%
103	University of Cincinnati School of Law	Ohio	82.7%
104	University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) School of Law	Minnesota	82.6%
105	University of Oregon School of Law	Oregon	82.4%
106	Northeastern University School of Law	Massachusetts	82.2%
107	Elon University School of Law	North Carolina	82.2%
108	University of Pittsburgh School of Law	Pennsylvania	82%
109	South Texas College of Law Houston	Texas	81.9%
110	University of Mississippi School of Law	Mississippi	81.8%
111	University of Connecticut School of Law	Connecticut	81.7%
112	Ave Maria School of Law	Florida	81.5%
113	George Mason University School of Law	Virginia	81.4%
114	DePaul University School of Law	Illinois	81.3%
115	Michigan State University School of Law	Michigan	81.2%
116	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law	Missouri	81.2%
117	Stetson University School of Law	Florida	80.8%
118	Loyola University-New Orleans School of Law	Louisiana	80.8%
119	Pace University School of Law	New York	80.8%
120	University of North Dakota School of Law	North Dakota	80.8%
121	Samford University School of Law	Alabama	80.6%
122	St. Mary's University School of Law	Texas	80.6%
123	University of Montana School of Law	Montana	80%
124	University of Maryland School of Law	Maryland	79.8%
125	University of Memphis School of Law	Tennessee	79.8%
126	Lewis & Clark Law School	Oregon	79.7%
127	Loyola University-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	79.7%
128	The Catholic University of America School of Law	District of Columbia	79.6%
129	University of Tulsa School of Law	Oklahoma	79.6%
130	Western State, Westcliff University School of Law	California	79.6%
131	Oklahoma City University School of Law	Oklahoma	79%
132	University of Akron School of Law	Ohio	78.9%
133	Southwestern Law School	California	78.6%
134	Gonzaga University School of Law	Washington	78.3%
135	University of South Dakota School of Law	South Dakota	78%
136	St. Thomas University (Miami) School of Law	Florida	77.8%
137	University of Denver School of Law	Colorado	77.2%
138	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	Pennsylvania	77.1%
139	West Virginia University School of Law	West Virginia	76.9%
140	Quinnipiac University School of Law	Connecticut	76.4%
141	University of San Francisco School of Law	California	76.3%
142	Suffolk University School of Law	Massachusetts	76.3%
143	Chapman University School of Law	California	76.2%
144	Charleston School of Law	South Carolina	76.2%
145	Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law	Indiana	75.9%
146	Seattle University School of Law	Washington	75.5%
147	University of Hawaii School of Law	Hawaii	75.5%
148	Case Western Reserve University School of Law	Ohio	75.4%
149	Chicago-Kent, Illinois Institute of Technology School of Law	Illinois	75.4%
150	Santa Clara University School of Law	California	75.3%
151	Touro University School of Law	New York	75.2%
152	University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law	Arkansas	75%
153	New York Law School	New York	74.8%
154	Lincoln Memorial University School of Law	Tennessee	74.5%
155	California Western School of Law	California	74.1%
156	University of New Mexico School of Law	New Mexico	74%
157	University of Dayton School of Law	Ohio	73.9%
158	University of Baltimore School of Law	Maryland	73.5%
159	City University of New York School of Law	New York	73.4%
160	Willamette University School of Law	Oregon	73.3%
161	Southern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	73%
162	Cleveland State University School of Law	Ohio	72.7%
163	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	Georgia	72.3%
164	Capital University Law School	Ohio	71.9%
165	University of North Texas at Dallas School of Law	Texas	71.7%
166	University of Maine School of Law	Maine	71.6%
167	Florida A&M University School of Law	Florida	71.3%
168	Syracuse University School of Law	New York	71.2%
169	University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	71.2%
170	Northern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	70.1%
171	Nova Southeastern University School of Law	Florida	69.5%
172	American University School of Law	District of Columbia	69.4%
173	Vermont Law School	Vermont	69.2%
174	Roger Williams University School of Law	Rhode Island	69.2%
175	University of the Pacific School of Law	California	68.9%
176	Northern Kentucky University School of Law	Kentucky	68.8%
177	Howard University School of Law	District of Columbia	68.4%
178	University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth School of Law	Massachusetts	68.4%
179	University of Arkansas School of Law	Arkansas	67.2%
180	Faulkner University School of Law	Alabama	65.9%
181	Barry University School of Law	Florida	63.8%
182	University of Toledo School of Law	Ohio	62.8%
183	North Carolina Central University School of Law	North Carolina	62%
184	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	Minnesota	60.1%
185	Cooley Law School	Michigan	58.7%
186	University of New Hampshire School of Law	New Hampshire	57.8%
187	Western New England University School of Law	Massachusetts	56%
188	Texas Southern University School of Law	Texas	53.7%
189	Appalachian School of Law	Virginia	53.5%
190	University of District of Columbia School of Law	District of Columbia	52.5%
191	New England Law/Boston	Massachusetts	51.4%
192	University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	48.4%
193	Southern University School of Law	Louisiana	39.8%
194	Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	25.9%
195	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	17%

At the extremes

Top: Cornell Law School (99.5%) · Duke University School of Law (98.7%) · Vanderbilt Law School (98.2%) · University of Virginia School of Law (98.1%) · New York University School of Law (98.1%)

Bottom: New England Law/Boston (51.4%) · University of Puerto Rico School of Law (48.4%) · Southern University School of Law (39.8%) · Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law (25.9%) · Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law (17%)

FAQ

What is bar-required jobs?

Share of graduates in jobs that require bar passage.

What is the median bar-required jobs across U.S. law schools?

83.4%, across the 195 ABA-accredited schools that report it in the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle.

Which law school has the highest bar-required jobs?

Cornell Law School, at 99.5%.

What counts as a strong bar-required jobs?

Schools above the median of 83.4% are above average; the top tenth begins around 93.2%.

How should I read bar-required jobs?