Public Law Schools

This page compares the 85 Public Law Schools. Even in public schools, the law school tuition & fees are more expensive than typical college programs. However, compared to private law schools, public law schools' tuition is lower in general.

Important Statistics of Public Law Schools

The 2025 average tuition & fees of Public Law Schools are $30,746 for state residents and $44,090 for out-of-state students for the academic year 2024-2025. The average GPA of the schools is 3.64 and the average LAST score is 159. The average acceptance rate is 41.35%.
  • University of Virginia School of Law has the highest tuition & fees of $77,700 and Southern Illinois University School of Law has the lowest tuition & fees of $21,555.
  • University of Michigan Law School has the highest LSAT score of 171 and Southern University Law Center has the lowest score of 147.
  • Texas A&M University School of Law has the highest GPA of 3.97 and Southern University Law Center has the lowest GPA of 3.12.
  • University of Virginia School of Law has the tightest (lowest) acceptance rate of 11.46% and University of South Dakota School of Law has the lowest rate of 76.16%.
  • James E. Rogers College of Law has the most law school students of 2,519 and University of Wyoming College of Law has the least enrolled students of 226.

Public Law Schools Comparison Table

The following table compares Public Law Schools with important law schools facts. All data is for the academic year 2023-2024, except bar exam passage data for 2022-2023.
School NameTuition & FeesAcceptance RateAverage GPAAverage LSATTotal EnrollmentEnrollment (First-Year Students)Bar Exam Pass Rate*
University of Akron School of Law
public, Akron, OH
$26,215
($26,115)
62.07% 3.52 153 431 122 72.15%
The University of Alabama School of Law
public, Tuscaloosa, AL
$44,470
($24,080)
26.62% 3.95 167 473 124 91.30%
Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
public, Phoenix, AZ
$50,317
($28,839)
21.28% 3.90 167 1,600 195 86.44%
James E. Rogers College of Law
public, Tucson, AZ
$29,988
($25,353)
29.35% 3.79 163 2,519 118 78.45%
University of Arkansas School of Law
public, Fayetteville, AR
$39,733
($17,900)
42.57% 3.71 156 402 128 82.54%
William H. Bowen School of Law
public, Little Rock, AR
$32,671
($16,728)
58.99% 3.39 152 436 132 75.40%
University of Baltimore School of Law
public, Baltimore, MD
$51,014
($34,980)
58.66% 3.39 154 737 221 64.68%
Berkeley School of Law
public, Berkeley, CA
$74,995
($62,567)
14.92% 3.87 170 1,302 318 88.24%
Davis School of Law
public, Davis, CA
$67,164
($54,919)
28.99% 3.69 165 718 206 82.66%
University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
public, San Francisco, CA
$55,207
($48,273)
30.91% 3.59 160 1,185 356 72.14%
Irvine School of Law
public, Irvine, CA
$68,190
($55,945)
18.18% 3.72 167 510 146 86.86%
Los Angeles School of Law
public, Los Angeles, CA
$71,430
($59,185)
16.80% 3.92 170 1,376 301 88.82%
University of Cincinnati College of Law
public, Cincinnati, OH
$29,010
($24,010)
47.66% 3.80 158 455 121 87.93%
City University of New York School of Law
public, Long Island City, NY
$29,042
($18,852)
39.89% 3.45 153 674 207 55.88%
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
public, Cleveland, OH
$30,142
($30,015)
35.88% 3.42 155 504 148 66.38%
University of Colorado Boulder School of Law
public, Boulder, CO
$42,217
($34,747)
34.24% 3.81 164 525 161 81.14%
University of Connecticut School of Law
public, Hartford, CT
$62,550
($31,508)
29.31% 3.71 160 517 143 80.95%
David A. Clarke School of Law
public, Washington, DC
$25,873
($13,438)
44.34% 3.27 151 248 80 47.92%
Florida A&M University College of Law
public, Orlando, FL
$33,076
($13,816)
35.83% 3.52 151 347 124 40.20%
Florida International University College of Law
public, Miami, FL
$36,049
($21,806)
25.18% 3.74 160 591 181 86.49%
Florida State University College of Law
public, Tallahassee, FL
$40,705
($20,694)
21.12% 3.85 165 1,311 139 82.97%
Levin College of Law
public, Gainesville, FL
$38,040
($21,804)
17.01% 3.91 169 762 177 81.86%
George Mason University School of Law
public, Arlington, VA
$42,798
($26,950)
14.03% 3.89 168 924 97 87.43%
Georgia State University College of Law
public, Atlanta, GA
$36,810
($17,202)
31.03% 3.56 159 676 197 78.53%
University of Georgia School of Law
public, Athens, GA
$37,752
($18,994)
14.77% 3.83 169 694 159 83.73%
William S. Richardson School of Law
public, Honolulu, HI
$46,588
($23,164)
28.80% 3.48 157 313 90 69.14%
University of Houston Law Center
public, Houston, TX
$50,132
($34,942)
32.27% 3.72 161 866 259 86.01%
University of Idaho College of Law
public, Moscow, ID
$46,205
($26,969)
75.27% 3.35 151 422 161 74.76%
University of Illinois College of Law
public, Champaign, IL
$51,893
($41,893)
43.69% 3.75 165 683 159 72.48%
Maurer School of Law
public, Bloomington, IN
$62,526
($41,476)
46.86% 3.86 164 611 153 81.48%
Robert H. McKinney School of Law
public, Indianapolis, IN
$51,623
($31,559)
62.29% 3.61 155 893 249 76.00%
University of Iowa College of Law
public, Iowa City, IA
$51,955
($31,426)
47.71% 3.76 163 555 153 88.89%
University of Illinois Chicago School of Law
public, Chicago, IL
$39,708
($32,508)
69.53% 3.39 152 990 340 59.19%
University of Kansas School of Law
public, Lawrence, KS
$29,739
($23,402)
48.71% 3.71 160 400 112 91.86%
University of Kentucky College of Law
public, Lexington, KY
$51,380
($25,748)
52.54% 3.67 157 410 152 74.19%
Paul M. Hebert Law Center
public, Baton Rouge, LA
$39,105
($23,665)
48.93% 3.65 157 626 203 92.00%
Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
public, Louisville, LA
$30,400
($25,400)
57.64% 3.68 156 373 115 74.77%
University of Maine School of Law
public, Portland, ME
$40,640
($26,940)
58.29% 3.62 157 270 84 88.16%
University of Maryland School of Law
public, Baltimore, MD
$52,538
($36,209)
30.18% 3.76 163 786 216 74.87%
Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law
public, Memphis, TN
$25,262
($19,980)
43.66% 3.40 155 283 75 76.09%
University of Michigan Law School
public, Ann Arbor, MI
$72,584
($69,584)
12.58% 3.85 171 978 275 97.27%
University of Minnesota Law School
public, Minneapolis, MN
$58,396
($48,964)
39.76% 3.85 168 720 214 89.55%
University of Mississippi School of Law
public, University, MS
$38,880
($18,470)
43.53% 3.62 157 531 166 73.72%
University of Missouri School of Law
public, Columbia, MO
$31,339
($25,039)
52.49% 3.70 160 424 121 86.87%
University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law
public, Kansas City, MO
$29,359
($23,359)
58.87% 3.55 154 418 133 77.21%
University of Montana School of Law
public, Missoula, MT
$54,449
($26,983)
71.49% 3.48 154 362 96 85.94%
University of Nebraska - Lincoln College of Law
public, Lincoln, NE
$37,442
($16,082)
65.90% 3.75 158 466 147 76.19%
William S. Boyd School of Law
public, Las Vegas, NV
$44,552
($30,748)
33.59% 3.78 160 456 131 76.80%
University of New Hampshire School of Law
public, Concord, NH
$48,320
($40,320)
57.38% 3.41 155 680 225 69.29%
University of New Mexico School of Law
public, Albuquerque, NM
$44,158
($20,674)
53.48% 3.61 155 312 89 81.91%
North Carolina Central University School of Law
public, Durham, NC
$39,042
($16,371)
34.62% 3.35 149 430 122 56.59%
University of North Carolina School of Law
public, Chapel Hill, NC
$51,486
($29,696)
16.27% 3.78 166 572 174 92.00%
University of North Dakota School of Law
public, Grand Forks, ND
$32,648
($17,396)
62.01% 3.37 150 238 83 60.71%
Northern Illinois University College of Law
public, DeKalb, IL
$23,553 54.48% 3.43 150 317 103 59.55%
Salmon P. Chase College of Law
public, Highland Heights, KY
$38,165
($24,619)
71.91% 3.38 152 375 125 81.61%
Michael E. Moritz College of Law
public, Columbus, OH
$49,292
($34,040)
33.08% 3.83 165 564 158 90.66%
University of Oklahoma College of Law
public, Norman, OK
$36,653
($22,808)
47.23% 3.71 159 1,105 165 87.88%
University of Oregon School of Law
public, Eugene, OR
$60,414
($48,516)
75.23% 3.52 158 513 156 76.67%
Penn State Dickinson Law
public, Carlisle, PA
$59,054 35.37% 3.63 162 311 102 77.46%
Penn State Law
public, University Park, PA
$57,556 36.94% 3.77 161 553 129 86.79%
University of Pittsburgh Law School
public, Pittsburgh, PA
$50,634
($39,618)
39.45% 3.56 160 559 111 84.55%
Rutgers Law School - Camden campus
public, Camden, NJ
$46,695
($32,062)
38.88% 3.60 157 1,339 390 67.01%
University of South Carolina School of Law
public, Columbia, SC
$41,500
($23,722)
34.00% 3.70 160 613 200 81.60%
University of South Dakota School of Law
public, Vermillion, SD
$36,333
($16,793)
76.16% 3.56 151 244 80 67.27%
Southern Illinois University School of Law
public, Carbondale, IL
$21,555 60.47% 3.30 149 273 108 65.67%
Southern University Law Center
public, Baton Rouge, LA
$30,034
($17,434)
53.46% 3.12 147 874 231 52.94%
Beasley School of Law
public, Philadelphia, PA
$46,776
($30,880)
39.40% 3.65 163 967 208 85.15%
University of Tennessee College of Law
public, Knoxville, TN
$39,152
($20,408)
30.21% 3.78 162 417 141 83.65%
Texas A&M University School of Law
public, Fort Worth, TX
$48,618
($32,634)
14.64% 3.97 166 1,683 139 92.99%
University of Texas School of Law
public, Austin, TX
$54,096
($36,429)
14.90% 3.86 171 1,005 251 94.01%
Thurgood Marshall School of Law
public, Houston, TX
$29,497
($21,657)
39.65% 3.16 150 568 199 63.45%
Texas Tech University School of Law
public, Lubbock, TX
$39,232
($27,532)
38.08% 3.63 158 439 152 92.09%
University of Toledo College of Law
public, Toledo, OH
$25,484
($25,284)
61.59% 3.53 151 353 103 69.89%
University at Buffalo Law School
public, Buffalo, NY
$33,550
($28,710)
41.08% 3.72 156 823 139 81.05%
University of Massachusetts School of Law
public, North Dartmouth, MA
$41,272
($31,990)
67.27% 3.39 150 354 111 59.43%
UNT Dallas College of Law
public, Dallas, TX
$32,008
($19,127)
30.06% 3.43 153 417 137 68.54%
S.J. Quinney College of Law
public, Salt Lake City, UT
$43,598
($33,634)
30.20% 3.85 164 320 96 93.98%
University of Virginia School of Law
public, Charlottesville, VA
$77,700
($74,700)
11.46% 3.94 171 960 277 96.50%
Washburn University School of Law
public, Topeka, KS
$39,900
($26,340)
66.10% 3.59 154 305 97 84.04%
University of Washington School of Law
public, Seattle, WA
$55,617
($43,584)
34.67% 3.74 164 715 176 89.51%
Wayne State University Law School
public, Detroit, MI
$41,388
($37,950)
27.41% 3.83 162 480 126 66.67%
West Virginia University College of Law
public, Morgantown, WV
$42,120
($25,272)
45.13% 3.59 155 314 107 69.39%
Marshall-Wythe School of Law
public, Williamsburg, VA
$68,329
($44,706)
27.31% 3.77 166 556 146 92.96%
University of Wisconsin Law School
public, Madison, MI
$52,893
($35,197)
35.58% 3.79 165 729 164 100.00%
University of Wyoming College of Law
public, Laramie, WY
$37,162
($18,322)
55.09% 3.51 154 226 81 80.88%
*The pass rate is based on the first time bar exam takers.
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