First-time bar passage: every U.S. law school, ranked

Across the 195 ABA-accredited U.S. law schools that report first-time bar passage, the median is 82.9%. Values span from 97.9% at Harvard Law School to 48.2% at Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, drawn from the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure cycle (trend data 2011–2026).

Schools reporting 195
Median 82.9%
25th–75th 72.7% – 88.85%
Range 48.2% – 97.9%

Distribution across 195 schools · median marked

Definition

What it is: Share of a school's graduates who passed the bar exam on their first attempt in the most recent reported cycle.
Reported by: The American Bar Association, in each school’s annual Standard 509 Required Disclosure.
Unit: Percent

How to read it

Read it against the school's state — passing scores and exam difficulty differ, so a rate in a hard jurisdiction can beat a higher one elsewhere.

Every school, ranked

#	Law school	State	First-time bar passage
1	Harvard Law School	Massachusetts	97.9%
2	Duke University School of Law	North Carolina	97.5%
3	University of Chicago Law School	Illinois	97.4%
4	University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	Pennsylvania	96.7%
5	New York University School of Law	New York	96.7%
6	Yale Law School	Connecticut	96.5%
7	Stanford Law School	California	96.5%
8	Cornell Law School	New York	96.4%
9	Texas A&M University School of Law	Texas	96%
10	University of Texas School of Law	Texas	95.9%
11	Columbia Law School	New York	95.8%
12	University of Michigan Law School	Michigan	95.6%
13	University of Virginia School of Law	Virginia	95%
14	Belmont University School of Law	Tennessee	95%
15	Baylor University School of Law	Texas	94.9%
16	University of Utah School of Law	Utah	94.7%
17	Vanderbilt Law School	Tennessee	94.5%
18	UCLA School of Law	California	94.2%
19	University of Minnesota School of Law	Minnesota	94.1%
20	University of Southern California School of Law	California	94%
21	Boston College School of Law	Massachusetts	93.8%
22	Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law	Missouri	93.6%
23	University of Illinois School of Law	Illinois	93.6%
24	Georgetown University Law Center	District of Columbia	93%
25	Fordham University School of Law	New York	93%
26	Boston University School of Law	Massachusetts	92.3%
27	University of North Carolina School of Law	North Carolina	92.3%
28	Jacksonville University School of Law	Florida	92.3%
29	University of Notre Dame School of Law	Indiana	92.2%
30	University of Kansas School of Law	Kansas	92.2%
31	The Ohio State University School of Law	Ohio	92%
32	University of Tennessee School of Law	Tennessee	91.9%
33	Northwestern Pritzker School of Law	Illinois	91.8%
34	University of Washington School of Law	Washington	91.7%
35	University of Alabama School of Law	Alabama	91.4%
36	Villanova University School of Law	Pennsylvania	91.3%
37	UC Berkeley School of Law	California	91.2%
38	South Texas College of Law Houston	Texas	91.1%
39	University of Iowa School of Law	Iowa	91%
40	University of Nebraska School of Law	Nebraska	90.5%
41	Brigham Young University School of Law	Utah	90.4%
42	University of Georgia School of Law	Georgia	90.4%
43	University of Colorado School of Law	Colorado	90.4%
44	Temple University School of Law	Pennsylvania	90.3%
45	The George Washington University School of Law	District of Columbia	90.2%
46	Southern Methodist University School of Law	Texas	90.2%
47	Georgia State University School of Law	Georgia	90%
48	Washington and Lee University School of Law	Virginia	89.4%
49	University of California-Davis School of Law	California	88.9%
50	University of Oklahoma School of Law	Oklahoma	88.8%
51	Duquesne University School of Law	Pennsylvania	88.7%
52	University of Houston School of Law	Texas	88.6%
53	University of Florida School of Law	Florida	88.5%
54	Cardozo, Yeshiva University School of Law	New York	88.5%
55	Emory University School of Law	Georgia	88.4%
56	Florida International University School of Law	Florida	88.3%
57	Wake Forest University School of Law	North Carolina	88.2%
58	Regent University School of Law	Virginia	88.2%
59	University of Dayton School of Law	Ohio	88%
60	St. John's University School of Law	New York	87.7%
61	Arizona State University School of Law	Arizona	87.5%
62	Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law	Indiana	87.4%
63	Northeastern University School of Law	Massachusetts	87.4%
64	Florida State University School of Law	Florida	87.2%
65	Seton Hall University School of Law	New Jersey	87.2%
66	Penn State Dickinson Law	Pennsylvania	87%
67	Pepperdine University School of Law	California	86.8%
68	University of Pittsburgh School of Law	Pennsylvania	86.3%
69	Texas Tech University School of Law	Texas	86.3%
70	George Mason University School of Law	Virginia	86%
71	Wayne State University School of Law	Michigan	86%
72	University at Buffalo School of Law	New York	85.7%
73	University of New Mexico School of Law	New Mexico	85.7%
74	Drake University School of Law	Iowa	85.7%
75	University of Cincinnati School of Law	Ohio	85.6%
76	University of California-Irvine School of Law	California	85.5%
77	Campbell University School of Law	North Carolina	85.4%
78	University of Oregon School of Law	Oregon	85.1%
79	Lewis & Clark Law School	Oregon	85%
80	Drexel University School of Law	Pennsylvania	85%
81	University of Denver School of Law	Colorado	84.9%
82	Louisiana State University School of Law	Louisiana	84.9%
83	University of San Diego School of Law	California	84.8%
84	Liberty University School of Law	Virginia	84.8%
85	Brooklyn Law School	New York	84.5%
86	University of Maine School of Law	Maine	84.4%
87	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles School of Law	California	84.2%
88	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law	Missouri	84.1%
89	University of Connecticut School of Law	Connecticut	84%
90	Mercer University School of Law	Georgia	84%
91	Saint Louis University School of Law	Missouri	84%
92	University of California-San Francisco School of Law	California	83.8%
93	William & Mary School of Law	Virginia	83.6%
94	University of Missouri School of Law	Missouri	83.3%
95	University of South Carolina School of Law	South Carolina	83.2%
96	The Catholic University of America School of Law	District of Columbia	83.1%
97	University of Kentucky School of Law	Kentucky	83.1%
98	Syracuse University School of Law	New York	82.9%
99	University of Maryland School of Law	Maryland	82.1%
100	Case Western Reserve University School of Law	Ohio	82%
101	University of Montana School of Law	Montana	82%
102	New York Law School	New York	81.9%
103	University of Miami School of Law	Florida	81.3%
104	American University School of Law	District of Columbia	81.3%
105	St. Thomas University (Miami) School of Law	Florida	80.9%
106	University of Richmond School of Law	Virginia	80.1%
107	University of Wisconsin School of Law	Wisconsin	80%
108	Loyola University-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	80%
109	University of Arkansas School of Law	Arkansas	80%
110	Gonzaga University School of Law	Washington	79.7%
111	University of New Hampshire School of Law	New Hampshire	79.5%
112	Suffolk University School of Law	Massachusetts	79.4%
113	New England Law/Boston	Massachusetts	79.2%
114	Chicago-Kent, Illinois Institute of Technology School of Law	Illinois	79%
115	University of Tulsa School of Law	Oklahoma	79%
116	Hofstra University School of Law	New York	78.9%
117	Samford University School of Law	Alabama	78.8%
118	Seattle University School of Law	Washington	78.7%
119	Michigan State University School of Law	Michigan	78.3%
120	West Virginia University School of Law	West Virginia	78.3%
121	University of Wyoming School of Law	Wyoming	78.2%
122	Tulane University School of Law	Louisiana	77.7%
123	University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Law	Nevada	77.2%
124	Western New England University School of Law	Massachusetts	77.2%
125	Stetson University School of Law	Florida	77%
126	University of Hawaii School of Law	Hawaii	76.9%
127	Howard University School of Law	District of Columbia	76.8%
128	Elon University School of Law	North Carolina	76.8%
129	DePaul University School of Law	Illinois	76%
130	University of Louisville School of Law	Kentucky	75.6%
131	Cleveland State University School of Law	Ohio	75.5%
132	Florida A&M University School of Law	Florida	75.4%
133	Oklahoma City University School of Law	Oklahoma	75.2%
134	Santa Clara University School of Law	California	74.8%
135	University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) School of Law	Minnesota	74.7%
136	University of San Francisco School of Law	California	74.6%
137	Albany Law School	New York	74.3%
138	Chapman University School of Law	California	74.1%
139	Charleston School of Law	South Carolina	74.1%
140	Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law	Indiana	73.9%
141	Northern Kentucky University School of Law	Kentucky	73.8%
142	Quinnipiac University School of Law	Connecticut	73.7%
143	University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law	Arkansas	73.5%
144	University of Memphis School of Law	Tennessee	73.4%
145	University of Mississippi School of Law	Mississippi	73.2%
146	Rutgers University School of Law	New Jersey	72.8%
147	Creighton University School of Law	Nebraska	72.6%
148	University of South Dakota School of Law	South Dakota	72.6%
149	University of North Texas at Dallas School of Law	Texas	72.5%
150	Texas Southern University School of Law	Texas	72.4%
151	University of Toledo School of Law	Ohio	72.3%
152	University of Arizona School of Law	Arizona	72.2%
153	Capital University Law School	Ohio	72.2%
154	University of Akron School of Law	Ohio	72.1%
155	Faulkner University School of Law	Alabama	71.4%
156	Washburn University School of Law	Kansas	71.1%
157	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	Minnesota	71%
158	University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	Michigan	70.8%
159	University of Baltimore School of Law	Maryland	70.7%
160	University of the Pacific School of Law	California	70.5%
161	Loyola University-New Orleans School of Law	Louisiana	69%
162	Barry University School of Law	Florida	68.6%
163	Pace University School of Law	New York	68.5%
164	University of Idaho School of Law	Idaho	68.4%
165	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	Georgia	68.4%
166	Ohio Northern University School of Law	Ohio	68.4%
167	University of North Dakota School of Law	North Dakota	68.3%
168	Nova Southeastern University School of Law	Florida	67.4%
169	Willamette University School of Law	Oregon	66.7%
170	Widener University Delaware Law School	Pennsylvania	66.3%
171	Ave Maria School of Law	Florida	65.9%
172	St. Mary's University School of Law	Texas	65.8%
173	City University of New York School of Law	New York	65.7%
174	University of District of Columbia School of Law	District of Columbia	65.6%
175	Southwestern Law School	California	64.9%
176	Vermont Law School	Vermont	64.9%
177	Lincoln Memorial University School of Law	Tennessee	63.7%
178	Western State, Westcliff University School of Law	California	63.6%
179	Mississippi College School of Law	Mississippi	63.4%
180	Appalachian School of Law	Virginia	63.2%
181	California Western School of Law	California	62.9%
182	Touro University School of Law	New York	61.7%
183	Southern University School of Law	Louisiana	60.3%
184	University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	60.1%
185	Southern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	59.5%
186	University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth School of Law	Massachusetts	58.3%
187	University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	58.3%
188	Northern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	57.1%
189	Roger Williams University School of Law	Rhode Island	57.1%
190	North Carolina Central University School of Law	North Carolina	55.9%
191	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	54.9%
192	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	Pennsylvania	54%
193	Cooley Law School	Michigan	51.5%
194	Marquette University School of Law	Wisconsin	50%
195	Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	48.2%

At the extremes

Top: Harvard Law School (97.9%) · Duke University School of Law (97.5%) · University of Chicago Law School (97.4%) · University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (96.7%) · New York University School of Law (96.7%)

Bottom: Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law (54.9%) · Widener University Commonwealth Law School (54%) · Cooley Law School (51.5%) · Marquette University School of Law (50%) · Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law (48.2%)

FAQ

What is first-time bar passage?

Share of a school's graduates who passed the bar exam on their first attempt in the most recent reported cycle.

What is the median first-time bar passage across U.S. law schools?

82.9%, across the 195 ABA-accredited schools that report it in the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle.

Which law school has the highest first-time bar passage?

Harvard Law School, at 97.9%.

What counts as a strong first-time bar passage?

Schools above the median of 82.9% are above average; the top tenth begins around 93.92%.

How should I read first-time bar passage?