What is the cheapest law school total cost?

South Dakota has the lowest 3-year total at $100,695, including tuition, mandatory fees and living costs. The most expensive is Stanford University at $388,278. The median across 164 schools is $237,120.

How does total cost compare to published tuition?

Total cost is always higher than tuition because it adds mandatory fees and living costs. 12 schools do not publish a separate mandatory fee figure, so their totals are understated by an unquantifiable amount and are labelled in the table.

← All rankings · Cost methodology

Law Schools Ranked by 3-Year Total Cost of Attendance

164 schools · tuition + mandatory fees + living costs, 2025-26 in-state basis · ABA 509 (152 complete, 12 without a separate fee figure)

This is not a tuition ranking. Published tuition is one of three components schools disclose separately in the ABA Standard 509, and it is frequently the smallest of the three at the expensive end — housing alone exceeds tuition at a number of schools on this list. Totals multiply one year of disclosed costs by 3.

#	School	State	Tuition	Mandatory fees	Living costs	Per year	3-year total	Monthly
1	South Dakota	SD	$12,076	$5,037	$16,452	$33,565	$100,695	$2,797
2	Brigham Young University	UT	$15,992	not reported — total understated	$20,292	$36,284	$108,852	$3,024
3	Akron	OH	$22,359	$4,290	$11,550	$38,199	$114,597	$3,183
4	Georgia	GA	$18,044	$1,458	$19,038	$38,540	$115,620	$3,212
5	Arkansas at Little Rock	AR	$13,770	$3,704	$21,303	$38,777	$116,331	$3,231
6	Georgia State University	GA	$16,162	$1,434	$22,153	$39,749	$119,247	$3,312
7	Northern Kentucky University	KY	$24,388	$1,004	$16,212	$41,604	$124,812	$3,467
8	Inter American University of Puerto Rico	PR	$16,585	$1,175	$25,286off-campus figure	$43,046	$129,138	$3,587
9	Florida	FL	$19,139	$2,665	$22,276	$44,080	$132,240	$3,673
10	New Mexico	NM	$19,474	$1,546	$23,114	$44,134	$132,402	$3,678
11	Hawaii	HI	$23,304	$772	$21,026	$45,102	$135,306	$3,759
12	Tennessee	TN	$16,696	$3,866	$26,216	$46,778	$140,334	$3,898
13	Northern Illinois University	IL	$23,667	$400	$22,742	$46,809	$140,427	$3,901
14	City University of New York (CUNY)	NY	$15,450	$563	$30,805off-campus figure	$46,818	$140,454	$3,902
15	Mississippi	MS	$19,797	$160	$27,192	$47,149	$141,447	$3,929
16	District of Columbia	DC	$12,438	$1,000	$34,035	$47,473	$142,419	$3,956
17	North Carolina Central University	NC	$13,444	$5,746	$28,292	$47,482	$142,446	$3,957
18	Texas Tech University	TX	$22,590	$4,942	$20,107	$47,639	$142,917	$3,970
19	Idaho	ID	$27,516	not reported — total understated	$20,136	$47,652	$142,956	$3,971
20	Alabama	AL	$24,980	$899	$22,620	$48,499	$145,497	$4,042
21	Texas Southern University	TX	$19,202	$1,836	$27,784off-campus figure	$48,822	$146,466	$4,069
22	South Carolina	SC	$20,322	$3,700	$25,392	$49,414	$148,242	$4,118
23	Memphis	TN	$18,634	$2,594	$28,729	$49,957	$149,871	$4,163
24	Louisville	KY	$27,000	$1,396	$22,263	$50,659	$151,977	$4,222
25	Louisiana State University	LA	$19,750	$3,915	$27,034	$50,699	$152,097	$4,225
26	Kentucky	KY	$25,685	$1,616	$23,435	$50,736	$152,208	$4,228
27	Cincinnati	OH	$24,010	$800	$25,956	$50,766	$152,298	$4,231
28	Southern University	LA	$11,338	$7,494	$32,262	$51,094	$153,282	$4,258
29	Toledo	OH	$26,446	$3,152	$22,178	$51,776	$155,328	$4,315
30	Arizona	AZ	$26,490	$122	$25,600	$52,212	$156,636	$4,351
31	Oklahoma	OK	$18,379	$6,274	$28,051	$52,704	$158,112	$4,392
32	Cleveland State University	OH	$29,766	$1,800	$21,870	$53,436	$160,308	$4,453
33	West Virginia University	WV	$26,370	$1,404	$26,466	$54,240	$162,720	$4,520
34	University at Buffalo	NY	$26,430	$3,320	$24,814	$54,564	$163,692	$4,547
35	Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$31,518	$1,610	$22,171	$55,299	$165,897	$4,608
36	Massachusetts Dartmouth	MA	$31,766	$1,690	$22,292	$55,748	$167,244	$4,646
37	Ohio Northern University	OH	$33,900	not reported — total understated	$23,154	$57,054	$171,162	$4,755
38	North Carolina	NC	$28,082	$3,480	$25,678	$57,240	$171,720	$4,770
39	Rutgers University	NJ	$31,577	$4,030	$21,676	$57,283	$171,849	$4,774
40	Iowa	IA	$30,944	$2,545	$23,920	$57,409	$172,227	$4,784
41	Connecticut	CT	$30,354	$1,246	$25,860off-campus figure	$57,460	$172,380	$4,788
42	Maine	ME	$26,100	$4,060	$28,418	$58,578	$175,734	$4,882
43	Illinois	IL	$36,500	$3,404	$20,620	$60,524	$181,572	$5,044
44	The Ohio State University	OH	$35,650	$1,613	$23,692	$60,955	$182,865	$5,080
45	Baltimore	MD	$33,944	$2,474	$25,024	$61,442	$184,326	$5,120
46	Temple University	PA	$32,588	$1,549	$27,812	$61,949	$185,847	$5,162
47	Pittsburgh	PA	$39,936	$1,697	$20,346	$61,979	$185,937	$5,165
48	Texas A&M University	TX	$32,634	not reported — total understated	$29,696off-campus figure	$62,330	$186,990	$5,194
49	Montana	MT	$24,582	$2,930	$35,371	$62,883	$188,649	$5,240
50	Arizona State University	AZ	$28,390	$1,443	$33,090	$62,923	$188,769	$5,244
51	Wisconsin	WI	$36,526	$1,660	$25,056	$63,242	$189,726	$5,270
52	Texas	TX	$38,236	not reported — total understated	$25,096	$63,332	$189,996	$5,278
53	Tulsa	OK	$30,840	$1,460	$31,536	$63,836	$191,508	$5,320
54	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$36,950	$1,522	$25,822	$64,294	$192,882	$5,358
55	Colorado	CO	$35,992	$1,333	$27,320	$64,645	$193,935	$5,387
56	Houston	TX	$31,326	$7,896	$26,086	$65,308	$195,924	$5,442
57	Mississippi Christian University School of Law (MC Law)	MS	$37,980	$1,662	$26,100off-campus figure	$65,742	$197,226	$5,479
58	George Mason University	VA	$24,864	$2,968	$38,342	$66,174	$198,522	$5,515
59	Capital University Law School	OH	$45,066	$390	$21,112	$66,568	$199,704	$5,547
60	Utah	UT	$34,721	$1,108	$31,520	$67,349	$202,047	$5,612
61	Wayne State University	MI	$38,861	$3,733	$25,132	$67,726	$203,178	$5,644
62	Maryland	MD	$37,830	$2,179	$27,982	$67,991	$203,973	$5,666
63	Mercer University	GA	$44,782	$300	$23,289	$68,371	$205,113	$5,698
64	New Hampshire	NH	$42,000	$348	$27,094	$69,442	$208,326	$5,787
65	St. Mary's University	TX	$44,910	$1,400	$23,878	$70,188	$210,564	$5,849
66	Oregon	OR	$47,240	$1,372	$22,020	$70,632	$211,896	$5,886
67	Michigan State University	MI	$43,480	$388	$27,152	$71,020	$213,060	$5,918
68	William & Mary Law School	VA	$38,734	$7,368	$25,184	$71,286	$213,858	$5,941
69	Drake University	IA	$50,920	$470	$20,328	$71,718	$215,154	$5,977
70	Faulkner University	AL	$39,900	$500	$32,600	$73,000	$219,000	$6,083
71	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	MN	$55,300	$1,000	$16,848off-campus figure	$73,148	$219,444	$6,096
72	Minnesota	MN	$51,440	$2,678	$19,600	$73,718	$221,154	$6,143
73	Western New England University	MA	$50,320	$2,700	$20,731	$73,751	$221,253	$6,146
74	Liberty University	VA	$43,150	$2,198	$28,768	$74,116	$222,348	$6,176
75	Marquette University	WI	$51,970	not reported — total understated	$22,146	$74,116	$222,348	$6,176
76	Roger Williams University	RI	$47,400	$1,690	$25,716	$74,806	$224,418	$6,234
77	Barry University	FL	$42,000	$1,150	$32,008off-campus figure	$75,158	$225,474	$6,263
78	Gonzaga University	WA	$57,962	$825	$17,105off-campus figure	$75,892	$227,676	$6,324
79	Washington	WA	$45,927	$1,146	$29,082	$76,155	$228,465	$6,346
80	Elon University	NC	$45,333	not reported — total understated	$31,000	$76,333	$228,999	$6,361
81	Charleston School of Law	SC	$48,600	$1,084	$27,752off-campus figure	$77,436	$232,308	$6,453
82	Samford University	AL	$46,334	$1,000	$31,226off-campus figure	$78,560	$235,680	$6,547
83	St. Thomas (Minnesota)	MN	$50,998	$634	$27,408	$79,040	$237,120	$6,587
84	Willamette University	OR	$56,600	$80	$22,828off-campus figure	$79,508	$238,524	$6,626
85	Howard University	DC	$39,780	$1,632	$38,251	$79,663	$238,989	$6,639
86	Vermont Law School	VT	$55,382	$1,075	$23,952off-campus figure	$80,409	$241,227	$6,701
87	Washington and Lee University	VA	$57,450	$2,490	$21,890off-campus figure	$81,830	$245,490	$6,819
88	Saint Louis University	MO	$55,260	$930	$26,112	$82,302	$246,906	$6,859
89	St. Thomas University (Florida)	FL	$44,730	$2,848	$34,772	$82,350	$247,050	$6,863
90	Appalachian School of Law	VA	$41,000	not reported — total understated	$41,800off-campus figure	$82,800	$248,400	$6,900
91	Richmond	VA	$57,700	not reported — total understated	$26,510	$84,210	$252,630	$7,018
92	Stetson University	FL	$56,521	$496	$27,414	$84,431	$253,293	$7,036
93	Duquesne University	PA	$58,898	$1,220	$24,318	$84,436	$253,308	$7,036
94	DePaul University	IL	$55,328	$300	$29,110	$84,738	$254,214	$7,062
95	Ave Maria School of Law	FL	$49,500	$2,850	$32,765	$85,115	$255,345	$7,093
96	Pace University	NY	$56,648	$1,108	$27,826	$85,582	$256,746	$7,132
97	Albany Law School	NY	$63,994	$240	$21,844off-campus figure	$86,078	$258,234	$7,173
98	Loyola University-New Orleans	LA	$55,024	$1,870	$29,205	$86,099	$258,297	$7,175
99	Villanova University	PA	$59,800	$950	$25,492off-campus figure	$86,242	$258,726	$7,187
100	Drexel University	PA	$57,000	$1,850	$28,022	$86,872	$260,616	$7,239
101	Quinnipiac University	CT	$56,610	$1,150	$29,274off-campus figure	$87,034	$261,102	$7,253
102	California-Irvine	CA	$59,080	$2,208	$25,786	$87,074	$261,222	$7,256
103	Western State College of Law (Westcliff University)	CA	$54,840	$808	$32,140off-campus figure	$87,788	$263,364	$7,316
104	Campbell University	NC	$51,840	$930	$35,281off-campus figure	$88,051	$264,153	$7,338
105	Northeastern University	MA	$65,652	$198	$22,900	$88,750	$266,250	$7,396
106	California College of the Law, San Francisco	CA	$53,087	$1,242	$34,466	$88,795	$266,385	$7,400
107	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	GA	$52,536	$1,050	$35,426off-campus figure	$89,012	$267,036	$7,418
108	Penn State Dickinson Law	PA	$60,048	$431	$28,902	$89,381	$268,143	$7,448
109	Belmont University	TN	$55,500	$2,205	$32,026	$89,731	$269,193	$7,478
110	Wake Forest University	NC	$57,920	$1,224	$30,639	$89,783	$269,349	$7,482
111	Lewis & Clark Law School	OR	$61,434	$50	$28,370	$89,854	$269,562	$7,488
112	Catholic University of America, The	DC	$61,580	$1,700	$27,168	$90,448	$271,344	$7,537
113	Denver	CO	$63,390	$422	$27,260	$91,072	$273,216	$7,589
114	Nova Southeastern University	FL	$49,350	$1,360	$40,413off-campus figure	$91,123	$273,369	$7,594
115	Syracuse University	NY	$64,650	$2,290	$24,472	$91,412	$274,236	$7,618
116	Southern Methodist University	TX	$60,844	$7,842	$23,368	$92,054	$276,162	$7,671
117	Loyola University-Chicago	IL	$58,670	$996	$32,658	$92,324	$276,972	$7,694
118	San Francisco	CA	$59,800	$190	$32,774	$92,764	$278,292	$7,730
119	Boston University	MA	$69,870	$1,512	$21,532	$92,914	$278,742	$7,743
120	California-Davis	CA	$57,460	$2,410	$33,048	$92,918	$278,754	$7,743
121	Chapman University	CA	$63,126	$75	$32,956	$96,157	$288,471	$8,013
122	New York Law School	NY	$71,052	$2,472	$23,759off-campus figure	$97,283	$291,849	$8,107
123	Case Western Reserve University	OH	$64,600	$952	$32,008	$97,560	$292,680	$8,130
124	American University	DC	$66,990	$2,182	$29,094	$98,266	$294,798	$8,189
125	the Pacific (McGeorge)	CA	$62,678	$640	$35,081	$98,399	$295,197	$8,200
126	Boston College	MA	$72,380	$375	$25,726off-campus figure	$98,481	$295,443	$8,207
127	Suffolk University	MA	$62,610	$1,436	$34,706	$98,752	$296,256	$8,229
128	California Western School of Law	CA	$64,720	$150	$34,342off-campus figure	$99,212	$297,636	$8,268
129	Southwestern Law School	CA	$63,160	not reported — total understated	$36,413	$99,573	$298,719	$8,298
130	Notre Dame	IN	$73,430	$520	$25,990	$99,940	$299,820	$8,328
131	Seton Hall University	NJ	$69,660	$1,890	$28,548off-campus figure	$100,098	$300,294	$8,342
132	George Washington University, The	DC	$75,420	not reported — total understated	$25,240off-campus figure	$100,660	$301,980	$8,388
133	California-Los Angeles	CA	$59,084	$2,778	$40,046	$101,908	$305,724	$8,492
134	South Texas College of Law Houston	TX	$42,960	$2,000	$56,958off-campus figure	$101,918	$305,754	$8,493
135	Washington University (St. Louis)	MO	$72,792	$892	$28,603off-campus figure	$102,287	$306,861	$8,524
136	Michigan	MI	$76,108	$572	$26,886	$103,566	$310,698	$8,631
137	Tulane University	LA	$69,578	$5,178	$29,670	$104,426	$313,278	$8,702
138	Virginia	VA	$74,078	$3,822	$28,770	$106,670	$320,010	$8,889
139	Hofstra University	NY	$73,344	$1,516	$32,035	$106,895	$320,685	$8,908
140	San Diego	CA	$66,950	$801	$39,197	$106,948	$320,844	$8,912
141	Yale University	CT	$76,636	$2,325	$28,202	$107,163	$321,489	$8,930
142	California-Berkeley	CA	$62,532	$3,842	$40,858	$107,232	$321,696	$8,936
143	Pepperdine University	CA	$72,920	$630	$33,700	$107,250	$321,750	$8,938
144	St. John's University	NY	$75,170	$1,572	$30,826	$107,568	$322,704	$8,964
145	Duke University	NC	$80,100	$1,729	$26,116off-campus figure	$107,945	$323,835	$8,995
146	Northwestern University	IL	$79,772	$861	$28,220	$108,853	$326,559	$9,071
147	Emory University	GA	$69,510	$962	$38,990	$109,462	$328,386	$9,122
148	Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University)	NY	$74,438	$2,020	$34,114	$110,572	$331,716	$9,214
149	New England Law/Boston	MA	$62,896	$320	$48,437off-campus figure	$111,653	$334,959	$9,304
150	Miami	FL	$66,720	$2,498	$43,924off-campus figure	$113,142	$339,426	$9,429
151	Brooklyn Law School	NY	$75,496	$1,450	$36,528	$113,474	$340,422	$9,456
152	Vanderbilt University	TN	$76,440	$2,359	$34,934	$113,733	$341,199	$9,478
153	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles	CA	$70,360	$1,026	$43,030off-campus figure	$114,416	$343,248	$9,535
154	Touro University	NY	$61,000	$1,150	$52,602off-campus figure	$114,752	$344,256	$9,563
155	Pennsylvania	PA	$78,348	$6,144	$31,640	$116,132	$348,396	$9,678
156	Fordham University	NY	$78,078	$1,170	$37,354	$116,602	$349,806	$9,717
157	Harvard University	MA	$77,100	$1,592	$38,690	$117,382	$352,146	$9,782
158	Georgetown University	DC	$83,576	not reported — total understated	$33,905	$117,481	$352,443	$9,790
159	Southern California	CA	$84,034	$1,914	$31,686	$117,634	$352,902	$9,803
160	Cornell University	NY	$84,722	$690	$32,952	$118,364	$355,092	$9,864
161	Columbia University	NY	$85,368	$3,022	$31,554	$119,944	$359,832	$9,995
162	Chicago	IL	$83,316	$1,590	$35,418	$120,324	$360,972	$10,027
163	New York University	NY	$83,952	$3,262	$36,094	$123,308	$369,924	$10,276
164	Stanford University	CA	$77,454	$2,253	$49,719	$129,426	$388,278	$10,786

Excluded from this ranking

32 schools report tuition per credit hour rather than an annual total. Converting them would require assuming credits per year, so no annual figure is estimated and they are not ranked.

#	School	State	Per credit hour	Living costs
1	Puerto Rico	PR	$305	$23,501
2	Florida A&M University	FL	$456	$39,030
3	Nebraska	NE	$456	$22,092
4	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico	PR	$540	$20,807
5	Arkansas	AR	$541	$22,194
6	Southern Illinois University	IL	$547	$15,671
7	North Texas at Dallas	TX	$562	$24,638
8	Wyoming	WY	$576	$20,700
9	North Dakota	ND	$591	$20,616
10	Florida State University	FL	$688	$23,180
11	Florida International University	FL	$691	$22,616
12	Missouri-Kansas City	MO	$786	$23,962
13	Missouri	MO	$812	$22,002
14	Wilmington University School of Law	DE	$838	$24,622
15	Kansas	KS	$857	$20,238
16	Washburn University	KS	$932	$16,043
17	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	$1,028	$23,512
18	Oklahoma City University	OK	$1,107	$27,617
19	Jacksonville University	FL	$1,200	$24,911
20	Illinois-Chicago	IL	$1,248	$24,976
21	Dayton	OH	$1,380	$19,395
22	Regent University	VA	$1,400	$26,950
23	Lincoln Memorial University	TN	$1,490	$28,325
24	Creighton University	NE	$1,542	$23,400
25	Cooley Law School	MI	$1,580	$29,972
26	Baylor University	TX	$1,606	$21,309
27	Detroit Mercy	MI	$1,616	$23,983
28	Chicago-Kent College of Law (IIT)	IL	$1,830	$27,426
29	Widener University Commonwealth Law School	PA	$1,875	$32,862
30	Widener University Delaware Law School	DE	$1,950	$25,720
31	Seattle University	WA	$2,061	$34,161
32	Santa Clara University	CA	$2,260	$35,618

Source: ABA Standard 509 Required Disclosures, 2025 reporting cycle. In-state tuition basis.12 schools in the table publish no separate mandatory fee figure; their totals omit it. Costs rise annually — 2025-26 figures will not hold for a future class. Not financial advice.