Public-interest jobs: every U.S. law school, ranked

Across the 195 ABA-accredited U.S. law schools that report public-interest jobs, the median is 7.3%. Values span from 46.9% at City University of New York School of Law to 0.4% at Southern Methodist University School of Law, drawn from the most recent ABA Standard 509 disclosure cycle.

Schools reporting 195
Median 7.3%
25th–75th 5.05% – 10.45%
Range 0.4% – 46.9%

Distribution across 195 schools · median marked

Definition

What it is: Share of graduates in public-interest employment.
Reported by: The American Bar Association, in each school’s annual Standard 509 Required Disclosure.
Unit: Percent

How to read it

Public-interest share reflects mission and loan-forgiveness support as much as student demand; read it with the school's LRAP.

Every school, ranked

#	Law school	State	Public-interest jobs
1	City University of New York School of Law	New York	46.9%
2	Florida A&M University School of Law	Florida	27.8%
3	Northeastern University School of Law	Massachusetts	24.9%
4	University at Buffalo School of Law	New York	20.4%
5	New York University School of Law	New York	17.7%
6	University of Washington School of Law	Washington	17.5%
7	University of San Francisco School of Law	California	17.5%
8	Lewis & Clark Law School	Oregon	17%
9	Appalachian School of Law	Virginia	16.3%
10	UC Berkeley School of Law	California	15.9%
11	University of California-Davis School of Law	California	15.7%
12	University of Massachusetts/Dartmouth School of Law	Massachusetts	15.3%
13	Yale Law School	Connecticut	14.2%
14	Seattle University School of Law	Washington	14.2%
15	University of Arizona School of Law	Arizona	13.8%
16	University of District of Columbia School of Law	District of Columbia	13.8%
17	Florida International University School of Law	Florida	13.4%
18	Cooley Law School	Michigan	13.3%
19	West Virginia University School of Law	West Virginia	13.2%
20	Northern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	13.1%
21	UCLA School of Law	California	13%
22	Wayne State University School of Law	Michigan	12.9%
23	University of Montana School of Law	Montana	12.9%
24	University of Michigan Law School	Michigan	12.8%
25	University of Wyoming School of Law	Wyoming	12.5%
26	Northern Kentucky University School of Law	Kentucky	12.5%
27	Temple University School of Law	Pennsylvania	12.3%
28	University of Pittsburgh School of Law	Pennsylvania	12.3%
29	The Ohio State University School of Law	Ohio	12.1%
30	Gonzaga University School of Law	Washington	12.1%
31	University of Cincinnati School of Law	Ohio	11.8%
32	Touro University School of Law	New York	11.7%
33	Loyola University-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	11.5%
34	University of California-San Francisco School of Law	California	11.3%
35	University of Missouri School of Law	Missouri	11.2%
36	Roger Williams University School of Law	Rhode Island	11.2%
37	University of Richmond School of Law	Virginia	11.1%
38	University of Wisconsin School of Law	Wisconsin	11%
39	Albany Law School	New York	11%
40	University of Denver School of Law	Colorado	10.9%
41	North Carolina Central University School of Law	North Carolina	10.9%
42	University of Oklahoma School of Law	Oklahoma	10.8%
43	Vermont Law School	Vermont	10.8%
44	Michigan State University School of Law	Michigan	10.7%
45	University of Memphis School of Law	Tennessee	10.6%
46	University of Toledo School of Law	Ohio	10.6%
47	Duquesne University School of Law	Pennsylvania	10.5%
48	University of Akron School of Law	Ohio	10.5%
49	Willamette University School of Law	Oregon	10.5%
50	University of Minnesota School of Law	Minnesota	10.4%
51	Brooklyn Law School	New York	10.4%
52	University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School	Pennsylvania	10.3%
53	Tulane University School of Law	Louisiana	10.3%
54	Howard University School of Law	District of Columbia	10.3%
55	Georgetown University Law Center	District of Columbia	10.2%
56	University of Colorado School of Law	Colorado	10.2%
57	University of the Pacific School of Law	California	10.1%
58	University of Oregon School of Law	Oregon	9.9%
59	Harvard Law School	Massachusetts	9.8%
60	Boston University School of Law	Massachusetts	9.8%
61	University of Nebraska School of Law	Nebraska	9.8%
62	University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law	Arkansas	9.8%
63	University of South Dakota School of Law	South Dakota	9.8%
64	University of Texas School of Law	Texas	9.7%
65	Southwestern Law School	California	9.7%
66	University of North Dakota School of Law	North Dakota	9.6%
67	Stanford Law School	California	9.5%
68	University of Idaho School of Law	Idaho	9.5%
69	Western New England University School of Law	Massachusetts	9.5%
70	Southern Illinois University School of Law	Illinois	9.5%
71	University of Louisville School of Law	Kentucky	9.2%
72	University of Maine School of Law	Maine	9.1%
73	University of California-Irvine School of Law	California	9%
74	DePaul University School of Law	Illinois	9%
75	University of New Mexico School of Law	New Mexico	9%
76	University of Georgia School of Law	Georgia	8.8%
77	St. John's University School of Law	New York	8.8%
78	University of Kansas School of Law	Kansas	8.7%
79	Stetson University School of Law	Florida	8.7%
80	Santa Clara University School of Law	California	8.6%
81	William & Mary School of Law	Virginia	8.5%
82	Penn State Dickinson Law	Pennsylvania	8.5%
83	Cardozo, Yeshiva University School of Law	New York	8.3%
84	University of North Carolina School of Law	North Carolina	8.2%
85	Ohio Northern University School of Law	Ohio	8.2%
86	Southern University School of Law	Louisiana	8.2%
87	Cornell Law School	New York	8.1%
88	University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) School of Law	Minnesota	8.1%
89	Barry University School of Law	Florida	8.1%
90	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles School of Law	California	8%
91	The George Washington University School of Law	District of Columbia	7.7%
92	Jacksonville University School of Law	Florida	7.7%
93	Emory University School of Law	Georgia	7.6%
94	University of Arkansas School of Law	Arkansas	7.6%
95	University of Dayton School of Law	Ohio	7.6%
96	Cleveland State University School of Law	Ohio	7.6%
97	Indiana University-Indianapolis School of Law	Indiana	7.5%
98	New York Law School	New York	7.3%
99	Georgia State University School of Law	Georgia	7.2%
100	Charleston School of Law	South Carolina	7.1%
101	University of Kentucky School of Law	Kentucky	7%
102	Columbia Law School	New York	6.8%
103	Drexel University School of Law	Pennsylvania	6.8%
104	Indiana University-Bloomington School of Law	Indiana	6.7%
105	Boston College School of Law	Massachusetts	6.6%
106	University of Florida School of Law	Florida	6.5%
107	University of Utah School of Law	Utah	6.5%
108	University of Tennessee School of Law	Tennessee	6.5%
109	Villanova University School of Law	Pennsylvania	6.5%
110	Rutgers University School of Law	New Jersey	6.5%
111	University of San Diego School of Law	California	6.4%
112	University of Baltimore School of Law	Maryland	6.4%
113	Brigham Young University School of Law	Utah	6.3%
114	University of Connecticut School of Law	Connecticut	6.3%
115	University of Southern California School of Law	California	6.2%
116	Arizona State University School of Law	Arizona	6.2%
117	Syracuse University School of Law	New York	6.2%
118	University of Mississippi School of Law	Mississippi	6.2%
119	Ave Maria School of Law	Florida	6.2%
120	University of New Hampshire School of Law	New Hampshire	6.2%
121	Loyola University-New Orleans School of Law	Louisiana	6.2%
122	St. Thomas University (Miami) School of Law	Florida	6.2%
123	Florida State University School of Law	Florida	6.1%
124	Washburn University School of Law	Kansas	6.1%
125	Liberty University School of Law	Virginia	6%
126	Belmont University School of Law	Tennessee	5.9%
127	Nova Southeastern University School of Law	Florida	5.9%
128	University of Virginia School of Law	Virginia	5.8%
129	American University School of Law	District of Columbia	5.8%
130	University of Detroit Mercy School of Law	Michigan	5.8%
131	Samford University School of Law	Alabama	5.8%
132	New England Law/Boston	Massachusetts	5.8%
133	Widener University Delaware Law School	Pennsylvania	5.8%
134	Northwestern Pritzker School of Law	Illinois	5.7%
135	University of Iowa School of Law	Iowa	5.7%
136	University of Miami School of Law	Florida	5.7%
137	Hofstra University School of Law	New York	5.7%
138	Pace University School of Law	New York	5.7%
139	Pepperdine University School of Law	California	5.5%
140	University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law	Missouri	5.5%
141	California Western School of Law	California	5.4%
142	Drake University School of Law	Iowa	5.3%
143	Creighton University School of Law	Nebraska	5.3%
144	Fordham University School of Law	New York	5.2%
145	University of Illinois School of Law	Illinois	5.2%
146	University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law	Illinois	5.1%
147	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	Georgia	5%
148	Capital University Law School	Ohio	5%
149	Mercer University School of Law	Georgia	4.9%
150	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	Minnesota	4.9%
151	Washington University (St. Louis) School of Law	Missouri	4.8%
152	Duke University School of Law	North Carolina	4.8%
153	Vanderbilt Law School	Tennessee	4.8%
154	Texas A&M University School of Law	Texas	4.8%
155	Chicago-Kent, Illinois Institute of Technology School of Law	Illinois	4.7%
156	Suffolk University School of Law	Massachusetts	4.7%
157	Chapman University School of Law	California	4.6%
158	Louisiana State University School of Law	Louisiana	4.5%
159	University of Tulsa School of Law	Oklahoma	4.4%
160	Elon University School of Law	North Carolina	4.4%
161	University of Notre Dame School of Law	Indiana	4.3%
162	University of Maryland School of Law	Maryland	4.3%
163	Oklahoma City University School of Law	Oklahoma	4.3%
164	George Mason University School of Law	Virginia	4.2%
165	University of Houston School of Law	Texas	4.2%
166	Case Western Reserve University School of Law	Ohio	4.2%
167	University of North Texas at Dallas School of Law	Texas	4.2%
168	University of Alabama School of Law	Alabama	4.1%
169	Saint Louis University School of Law	Missouri	4.1%
170	Marquette University School of Law	Wisconsin	4%
171	Wake Forest University School of Law	North Carolina	3.8%
172	University of Chicago Law School	Illinois	3.7%
173	Texas Tech University School of Law	Texas	3.7%
174	Washington and Lee University School of Law	Virginia	3.6%
175	Faulkner University School of Law	Alabama	3.4%
176	Quinnipiac University School of Law	Connecticut	3.3%
177	University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	3.2%
178	Western State, Westcliff University School of Law	California	3.2%
179	Regent University School of Law	Virginia	2.9%
180	University of Nevada-Las Vegas School of Law	Nevada	2.6%
181	Texas Southern University School of Law	Texas	2.4%
182	South Texas College of Law Houston	Texas	2.3%
183	University of South Carolina School of Law	South Carolina	2.1%
184	University of Hawaii School of Law	Hawaii	2%
185	Seton Hall University School of Law	New Jersey	1.9%
186	Mississippi College School of Law	Mississippi	1.9%
187	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	Pennsylvania	1.9%
188	Lincoln Memorial University School of Law	Tennessee	1.8%
189	Campbell University School of Law	North Carolina	1.7%
190	St. Mary's University School of Law	Texas	1.7%
191	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	1.4%
192	Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law	Puerto Rico	1%
193	Baylor University School of Law	Texas	0.9%
194	The Catholic University of America School of Law	District of Columbia	0.9%
195	Southern Methodist University School of Law	Texas	0.4%

At the extremes

Top: City University of New York School of Law (46.9%) · Florida A&M University School of Law (27.8%) · Northeastern University School of Law (24.9%) · University at Buffalo School of Law (20.4%) · New York University School of Law (17.7%)

Bottom: Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Law (1.4%) · Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Law (1%) · Baylor University School of Law (0.9%) · The Catholic University of America School of Law (0.9%) · Southern Methodist University School of Law (0.4%)

FAQ

What is public-interest jobs?

Share of graduates in public-interest employment.

What is the median public-interest jobs across U.S. law schools?

7.3%, across the 195 ABA-accredited schools that report it in the most recent ABA Standard 509 cycle.

Which law school has the highest public-interest jobs?

City University of New York School of Law, at 46.9%.

What counts as a strong public-interest jobs?

There is no single 'good' figure; the middle half of schools fall between 5.05% and 10.45%.

How should I read public-interest jobs?