Legal

Contains Stem Majors

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Total Degrees​
Awarded in 2022
67,032
growing 9.79%
Median In-State​
Public Tuition
$8,815
growing 2.43%
Median Out-of-State​
Private Tuition
$45,760
growing 3.3%
Average Wage
$86,930
growing 9.32%
People in Workforce
93,840
declining 0.229%
Average Employee Age
42.9
growing 0.6%

About

In 2022, the locations with the highest concentration of Legal degree recipients are New York, NY, Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC. The most common degree awarded to students studying Legal is a professional doctorate.

Photo by Brian Turner

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Legal and the types of students that study this field. University of Southern California awards the most degrees in Legal in the US, but New York Law School and University of California-Hastings College of Law have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Legal.

Tuition costs for Legal majors are, on average, $8,815 for in-state public colleges, and $45,760 for out of state private colleges.

The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Legal programs are Public, 2-year institutions (371 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (34,265 completions).

Institutions

Institution with the Most Degrees Awarded in Legal (2022)
  1. University of Southern California
    1,536 degrees awarded
  2. Georgetown University
    1,355 degrees awarded
  3. New York University
    1,155 degrees awarded

The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Legal, is Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above (34,265 completions in 2022).

The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Legal programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.

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Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$8,815
Median In-State Public
$45,760
Median Out of State Private

University of Southern California has the most Legal degree recipients, with 1,536 degrees awarded in 2022.

The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Legal.

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Specialized Colleges

Highest Concentration Institution
  1. New York Law School
    100%
  2. University of California-Hastings College of Law
    100%
  3. Brooklyn Law School
    100%

Out of all institutions that offer Legal programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, New York Law School has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Legal, with 100%.

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Degrees Awarded by County

Counties with the Most Degrees Awarded in Legal
  1. Los Angeles County, CA
    3,986 degrees awarded
  2. New York County, NY
    3,420 degrees awarded
  3. District of Columbia, DC
    2,994 degrees awarded

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Legal by year.

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Growth in Awarded Degrees

Counties with the Fastest Growing Number of Degrees Awarded
  1. Hamblen County, TN
    1.1k%
  2. Cambria County, PA
    1k%
  3. Franklin County, GA
    400%

This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Legal.

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Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Legal graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.

The average salary for Legal majors is $86,930 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

The industry that employs the most Legal majors is Legal services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Electronics stores.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$86,930
Average Wage in Workforce
± $6,699
9.32%
1 Year Growth
± 10.1%

The average salary for Legal majors is $86,930 and the most common occupations are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Legal majors.

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Highest Paying Locations

Highest Paying Pumas
  1. Outer Baltimore County PUMA, MD
    $334,276
  2. Bergen County (Central)--Ridgewood Village, Glen Rock & Westwood PUMA, NJ
    $259,208
  3. Los Angeles County (West Central)--LA City (Central/Hancock Park & Mid-Wilshire) PUMA, CA
    $226,610

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Legal majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Legal majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Most Common

The most common occupations Legal majors, by number of employees, are Paralegals & legal assistants, Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers, and Other managers.

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Most Specialized

Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Legal majors working as Paralegals & legal assistants, Judicial law clerks, and Lawyers, & judges, magistrates, & other judicial workers.

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Highest Paid

The highest paid occupations by median income for Legal majors are Securities, commodities, & financial services sales agents, Chief executives & legislators, and Aircraft pilots & flight engineers.

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Occupations by Share

93,840
2022 Workforce
± 7,519
0.229%
1 Year Growth
± 11.4%

The number of Legal graduates in the workforce has been declining at a rate of 0.229%, from 94,055 in 2021 to 93,840 in 2022.

The largest single share of Legal graduates go on to work as Paralegals & legal assistants (14.9%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Legal by share of the total number of graduates.

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Most Common

The most common industries that employ Legal majors, by number of employees, are Legal services, Justice, public order, & safety activities , and Elementary & secondary schools.

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Highest Paid

The highest paying industries of Legal majors, by average wage, are Electronics stores, Spectator sports, and Air transportation.

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Industries by Share

93,840
2022 Workforce
± 7,519
0.229%
1 Year Growth
± 11.4%

The number of Legal graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 0.229%, from 94,055 in 2021 to 93,840 in 2022.

The industry which employs the most Legal graduates by share is Legal services, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities . This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Legal.

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Specialty Locations

PUMAS with a relatively high number of Legal majors
  1. East Central Baltimore County--Towson, Parkville & Carney PUMA, MD
    11.5
  2. NYC-Manhattan Community Districts 1 & 2--Financial District & Greenwich Village PUMA, NY
    9.84
  3. Southeast Rhode Island (Newport & Bristol Counties)--Newport City PUMA, RI
    8.88

This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Legal majors.

Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Legal majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.

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Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Legal in the United States.

The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Legal is 42.9.

The most common degree type these workers hold is a Professional Doctorate. Female employees are more likely to hold Legal degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Legal (34,141 students).

Workforce Age

42.9
Average Age in 2022
± 0.996 Years
0.6%
1 Year Change
± 3.24%

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Legal. The most common ages of employees with this major are 48 and 39 years old, which represent 3.53% and 3.36% of the population, respectively.

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Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Legal are Professional Doctorate, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

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Workforce Degrees

The most common degree types held by the working population in Legal are Bachelors Degree, Professional degree, and Masters Degree.

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Sex Imbalance for Common Institutions

Female (61.6%)
Most Common Sex with a Degree in this Field

This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Legal.

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Race & Ethnicity by Degrees Awarded

Most Common Race or Ethnicity
  1. White
    34,141 degrees awarded
  2. Hispanic or Latino
    9,160 degrees awarded
  3. Non-resident Alien
    7,954 degrees awarded

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Legal for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.

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Race & Ethnicity by Sex

Most Common Race/Ethnicity and Sex Combination
  1. White Female
    11,808 degrees awarded
  2. White Male
    10,901 degrees awarded
  3. Hispanic or Latino Female
    2,738 degrees awarded

This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Professional Doctorate recipients in Legal.

White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.

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Global Diversity

Most Common Countries of Origin
  1. Philippines
    756 degree recipients
  2. Mexico
    733 degree recipients
  3. China
    574 degree recipients
High Relative Number of Students
  1. Bulgaria
    5.57 times more than expected
  2. Japan
    3.45 times more than expected
  3. Ukraine
    3.26 times more than expected

There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Bulgaria that hold Legal degrees (5.57 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Philippines (756 degree recipients).

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Legal field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Legal majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Legal majors need more than the average amount of Active Listening, Speaking, and Reading Comprehension.

These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Legal majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Active Listening is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.

Radar Distribution

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Bar Chart

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