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DOCTORAL DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES

Is a doctoral degree in Law worth it?

Compare cost, debt and earnings across 26 college programs with reportable data.

Personal baseline needed

$100,383 in median year-4 earnings

A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.

$100,383Median year-4 earnings
$26,026Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Use your actual price and alternative earnings before evaluating return. Model your own starting point →
Start with your decision

What do you need to compare?

WHAT THIS DEGREE PAYS

Outcomes at a glance

$100,383Typical earnings four years after completion
$114,505Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
46thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
4,357Degrees awarded in 2024–25
26College programs reporting earnings

Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 24 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.

A PRACTICAL READ

Four useful answers about Law

How much do Law doctoral degree graduates earn?

The national median is $100,383 four years after completion across reportable doctoral degree programs in this federal field.

How much federal debt do graduates have?

A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.

Does the college matter for Law?

Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $89,212 to $120,485 in observed year-4 earnings.

What careers are related to Law?

DegreeVerdict links this field to 6 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.

COMPARE DEGREE LEVELS

More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.

Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.

OPEN PROFILE

Bachelor's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$156,311
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
1
1 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

Master's Degree

Year-4 earnings
$77,881
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
6
6 report earnings →CURRENT VIEW

Doctoral Degree

Year-4 earnings
$100,383
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
26
26 report earnings →OPEN PROFILE

First Professional Degree

Year-4 earnings
$97,854
Federal debt
Not available
Programs in the comparison
176
176 report earnings →
COLLEGE-TO-COLLEGE RANGE

Where the middle half of programs lands

Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.

Median
25th percentile$89,212National median$100,38375th percentile$120,485
26 programs report year‑4 earnings.
BEFORE YOU CHOOSE

Compare price, debt and earnings together

$120,48575th-percentile year-4 earnings among reporting programs
Not availableMedian federal debt across programs that report it
0Programs with earnings in the top quarter and debt at or below the median
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION

Three useful places to start

Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.

Highest observed earnings

Duke University

$261,230 four years after completionDurham, NC · inspect the full program →Largest recent graduating class

Suffolk University

487 reported awards in 2024–25Boston, MA · inspect the full program →
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP

Where colleges sit for this exact degree

Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.

$188,189Observed year-4 earnings$79,692
$10,974Annual college-wide average net price$41,104
All reporting colleges Lower-price, higher-earnings quadrantAxes trim the outer 5% for readability; outliers remain pinned to the chart edge. Price is institution-wide context, not exact program tuition.
Build your shortlist

Choose colleges offering this exact degree

Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.

26 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 25 shown
Search every reporting program →
WHERE OUTCOMES ARE STRONGEST

See the spread, not just the national number.

1Duke University$261,2302Cornell University$259,8513Yale University$188,1894The University of Texas at Austin$173,1145University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign$130,4286Pepperdine University$126,5617Baylor University$121,7158University of San Francisco$120,4859Arizona State University Campus Immersion$111,66810Rutgers University-New Brunswick$106,575

Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking

Career outlook

Jobs this degree may lead to

Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.

Pay and projected demand

Related careers do not share one outlook

Bubble size = annual openings2025–35 national projection

Occupation wages describe workers in these jobs, not graduates of this degree. BLS projections are national estimates and do not guarantee hiring.

Lawyers$159,670 median wage754,500 jobs nationwide+4.7% projected growth through 2035 · 28,700 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$78,360–$351,600 typical wage rangeJudges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates$153,990 median wage24,030 jobs nationwide+2.8% projected growth through 2035 · 800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$46,950–$221,710 typical wage rangeLaw Teachers, Postsecondary$128,500 median wage20,060 jobs nationwide+2.6% projected growth through 2035 · 1,800 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$64,250–$287,900 typical wage rangeAdministrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers$117,860 median wage16,370 jobs nationwide+0.0% projected growth through 2035 · 500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$61,110–$207,480 typical wage rangeArbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators$75,530 median wage9,210 jobs nationwide+4.7% projected growth through 2035 · 300 openings a yearTypical entry education: Bachelor's degree$47,220–$155,440 typical wage rangeJudicial Law Clerks$64,920 median wage13,290 jobs nationwide+2.8% projected growth through 2035 · 1,500 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$46,180–$113,140 typical wage range

BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.

This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.