First-year attrition rate: every U.S. law school, ranked

Across the 196 ABA-accredited U.S. law schools that report first-year attrition rate, the median is 1%. Values span from 20% at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School to 0% at University of Chicago Law School, drawn from the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure cycle.

Schools reporting 196
Median 1%
25th–75th 0% – 4%
Range 0% – 20%

Distribution across 196 schools · median marked

Definition

What it is: Share of first-year students who left for academic or other reasons.
Reported by: The American Bar Association, in each school’s annual Standard 509 Required Disclosure.
Unit: Percent

How to read it

Most attrition is academic; an unusually high rate can flag conditional-scholarship churn or admissions reaching below the class's level.

Every school, ranked

#	Law school	State	First-year attrition rate
1	University of Chicago Law School	Illinois	0%
2	Harvard Law School	Massachusetts	0%
3	Yale Law School	Connecticut	0%
4	Columbia Law School	New York	0%
5	Cornell Law School	New York	0%
6	Northwestern Pritzker School of Law	Illinois	0%
7	University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	Pennsylvania	0%
8	Stanford Law School	California	0%
9	University of Virginia School of Law	Virginia	0%
10	New York University School of Law	New York	0%
11	University of Texas School of Law	Texas	0%
12	UCLA School of Law	California	0%
13	Duke University School of Law	North Carolina	0%
14	Georgetown University Law Center	District of Columbia	0%
15	University of Michigan Law School	Michigan	0%
16	University of Minnesota School of Law	Minnesota	0%
17	Boston University School of Law	Massachusetts	0%
18	Brigham Young University School of Law	Utah	0%
19	UC Berkeley School of Law	California	0%
20	Vanderbilt Law School	Tennessee	0%
21	University of California-Irvine School of Law	California	0%
22	University of Florida School of Law	Florida	0%
23	University of Southern California School of Law	California	0%
24	Boston College School of Law	Massachusetts	0%
25	Fordham University School of Law	New York	0%
26	The George Washington University School of Law	District of Columbia	0%
27	The Ohio State University School of Law	Ohio	0%
28	University of Alabama School of Law	Alabama	0%
29	Southern Methodist University School of Law	Texas	0%
30	University of Wisconsin School of Law	Wisconsin	0%
31	Emory University School of Law	Georgia	0%
32	University of Illinois School of Law	Illinois	0%
33	Wake Forest University School of Law	North Carolina	0%
34	Arizona State University School of Law	Arizona	0%
35	University of California-Davis School of Law	California	0%
36	Cardozo, Yeshiva University School of Law	New York	0%
37	Temple University School of Law	Pennsylvania	0%
38	University of Washington School of Law	Washington	0%
39	University of Colorado School of Law	Colorado	0%
40	Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law	Indiana	0%
41	University of Iowa School of Law	Iowa	0%
42	University of Maryland School of Law	Maryland	0%
43	Northeastern University School of Law	Massachusetts	0%
44	University of Richmond School of Law	Virginia	0%
45	St. John's University School of Law	New York	0%
46	Villanova University School of Law	Pennsylvania	0%
47	University of Arizona School of Law	Arizona	0%
48	University of Houston School of Law	Texas	0%
49	American University School of Law	District of Columbia	0%
50	University of Connecticut School of Law	Connecticut	0%
51	Chicago-Kent, Illinois Institute of Technology School of Law	Illinois	0%
52	Florida International University School of Law	Florida	0%
53	Lewis & Clark Law School	Oregon	0%
54	Loyola University-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	0%
55	Tulane University School of Law	Louisiana	0%
56	Georgia State University School of Law	Georgia	0%
57	University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Law	Nevada	0%
58	University of Cincinnati School of Law	Ohio	0%
59	Penn State Dickinson Law	Pennsylvania	0%
60	Stetson University School of Law	Florida	0%
61	University of Hawaii School of Law	Hawaii	0%
62	University of Maine School of Law	Maine	0%
63	Marquette University School of Law	Wisconsin	0%
64	Rutgers University School of Law	New Jersey	0%
65	University of Louisville School of Law	Kentucky	0%
66	University of New Mexico School of Law	New Mexico	0%
67	University of Tulsa School of Law	Oklahoma	0%
68	University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	Michigan	0%
69	University of Montana School of Law	Montana	0%
70	University of Wyoming School of Law	Wyoming	0%
71	University of Baltimore School of Law	Maryland	0%
72	Loyola University-New Orleans School of Law	Louisiana	0%
73	University of South Dakota School of Law	South Dakota	0%
74	Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law	Missouri	1%
75	University of Notre Dame School of Law	Indiana	1%
76	University of Georgia School of Law	Georgia	1%
77	Texas A&M University School of Law	Texas	1%
78	University of North Carolina School of Law	North Carolina	1%
79	Washington and Lee University School of Law	Virginia	1%
80	Florida State University School of Law	Florida	1%
81	University of Utah School of Law	Utah	1%
82	William & Mary School of Law	Virginia	1%
83	Baylor University School of Law	Texas	1%
84	University of Miami School of Law	Florida	1%
85	University of Tennessee School of Law	Tennessee	1%
86	Wayne State University School of Law	Michigan	1%
87	Case Western Reserve University School of Law	Ohio	1%
88	University of Oklahoma School of Law	Oklahoma	1%
89	University of Missouri School of Law	Missouri	1%
90	University of Denver School of Law	Colorado	1%
91	University of Pittsburgh School of Law	Pennsylvania	1%
92	University of Kentucky School of Law	Kentucky	1%
93	Santa Clara University School of Law	California	1%
94	Hofstra University School of Law	New York	1%
95	Mercer University School of Law	Georgia	1%
96	Saint Louis University School of Law	Missouri	1%
97	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law	Missouri	1%
98	Samford University School of Law	Alabama	1%
99	City University of New York School of Law	New York	1%
100	Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law	Indiana	1%
101	Suffolk University School of Law	Massachusetts	1%
102	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	Minnesota	1%
103	Creighton University School of Law	Nebraska	1%
104	University of North Dakota School of Law	North Dakota	1%
105	University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) School of Law	Minnesota	2%
106	Albany Law School	New York	2%
107	University of Arkansas School of Law	Arkansas	2%
108	University of Dayton School of Law	Ohio	2%
109	Louisiana State University School of Law	Louisiana	2%
110	Drake University School of Law	Iowa	2%
111	Howard University School of Law	District of Columbia	2%
112	Washburn University School of Law	Kansas	2%
113	Western New England University School of Law	Massachusetts	2%
114	University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	2%
115	Roger Williams University School of Law	Rhode Island	2%
116	George Mason University School of Law	Virginia	3%
117	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles School of Law	California	3%
118	University of Kansas School of Law	Kansas	3%
119	University of South Carolina School of Law	South Carolina	3%
120	Drexel University School of Law	Pennsylvania	3%
121	University of Nebraska School of Law	Nebraska	3%
122	University of Oregon School of Law	Oregon	3%
123	Syracuse University School of Law	New York	3%
124	University of Mississippi School of Law	Mississippi	3%
125	Campbell University School of Law	North Carolina	3%
126	University of the Pacific School of Law	California	3%
127	Gonzaga University School of Law	Washington	3%
128	Quinnipiac University School of Law	Connecticut	3%
129	South Texas College of Law Houston	Texas	3%
130	Willamette University School of Law	Oregon	3%
131	University of Idaho School of Law	Idaho	3%
132	Faulkner University School of Law	Alabama	3%
133	Michigan State University School of Law	Michigan	4%
134	Brooklyn Law School	New York	4%
135	University of California-San Francisco School of Law	California	4%
136	The Catholic University of America School of Law	District of Columbia	4%
137	Seattle University School of Law	Washington	4%
138	Duquesne University School of Law	Pennsylvania	4%
139	California Western School of Law	California	4%
140	University of New Hampshire School of Law	New Hampshire	4%
141	Nova Southeastern University School of Law	Florida	4%
142	West Virginia University School of Law	West Virginia	4%
143	Charleston School of Law	South Carolina	4%
144	University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law	Arkansas	4%
145	University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	4%
146	University of North Texas at Dallas School of Law	Texas	4%
147	Vermont Law School	Vermont	4%
148	Widener University Delaware Law School	Pennsylvania	4%
149	Oklahoma City University School of Law	Oklahoma	4%
150	Chapman University School of Law	California	5%
151	University of San Diego School of Law	California	5%
152	Seton Hall University School of Law	New Jersey	5%
153	DePaul University School of Law	Illinois	5%
154	Regent University School of Law	Virginia	5%
155	University of Akron School of Law	Ohio	5%
156	Pace University School of Law	New York	5%
157	University of Toledo School of Law	Ohio	5%
158	University of District of Columbia School of Law	District of Columbia	5%
159	Barry University School of Law	Florida	5%
160	Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	5%
161	Belmont University School of Law	Tennessee	6%
162	Texas Tech University School of Law	Texas	6%
163	New York Law School	New York	6%
164	Northern Kentucky University School of Law	Kentucky	6%
165	Ohio Northern University School of Law	Ohio	6%
166	Jacksonville University School of Law	Florida	7%
167	University of Memphis School of Law	Tennessee	7%
168	Elon University School of Law	North Carolina	7%
169	Touro University School of Law	New York	7%
170	Northern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	7%
171	Southern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	7%
172	Pepperdine University School of Law	California	8%
173	University at Buffalo School of Law	New York	8%
174	Liberty University School of Law	Virginia	8%
175	Western State, Westcliff University School of Law	California	8%
176	New England Law/Boston	Massachusetts	9%
177	Capital University Law School	Ohio	9%
178	Cooley Law School	Michigan	9%
179	University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth School of Law	Massachusetts	10%
180	St. Thomas University (Miami) School of Law	Florida	10%
181	Southern University School of Law	Louisiana	10%
182	Ave Maria School of Law	Florida	11%
183	University of San Francisco School of Law	California	11%
184	Mississippi College School of Law	Mississippi	11%
185	Appalachian School of Law	Virginia	11%
186	Southwestern Law School	California	12%
187	St. Mary's University School of Law	Texas	12%
188	Texas Southern University School of Law	Texas	12%
189	Wilmington University School of Law	Delaware	12%
190	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	12%
191	Cleveland State University School of Law	Ohio	13%
192	Lincoln Memorial University School of Law	Tennessee	13%
193	Florida A&M University School of Law	Florida	13%
194	North Carolina Central University School of Law	North Carolina	15%
195	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	Pennsylvania	17%
196	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	Georgia	20%

At the extremes

Top: University of Chicago Law School (0%) · Harvard Law School (0%) · Yale Law School (0%) · Columbia Law School (0%) · Cornell Law School (0%)

Bottom: Lincoln Memorial University School of Law (13%) · Florida A&M University School of Law (13%) · North Carolina Central University School of Law (15%) · Widener University Commonwealth Law School (17%) · Atlanta's John Marshall Law School (20%)

FAQ

What is first-year attrition rate?

Share of first-year students who left for academic or other reasons.

What is the median first-year attrition rate across U.S. law schools?

1%, across the 196 ABA-accredited schools that report it in the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle.

Which law school has the lowest first-year attrition rate?

University of Chicago Law School, at 0%.

What counts as a strong first-year attrition rate?

Lower is better — the most favorable tenth sits at or below 0%, against a median of 1%.

How should I read first-year attrition rate?