What is cost per bar passage point?

Cost per passage point is a school's 3-year cost of attendance divided by its first-time bar passage rate. A school costing $108,852 with a 96.85% passage rate works out to $1,124 per point. The median across163 schools is $2,838 per point.

Does a lower cost per point mean a better school?

No, and this ranking should not be read that way. Bar passage rate is measured across all test takers at a school, and schools with lower selectivity pass a smaller share of their own admittees, which mechanically lowers the ratio. The figure compares cost and outcome positioning — it is not a quality score and does not predict any individual student's result.

Why is this ranking not sorted the same way as cost alone?

Because the two inputs move independently. Expensive schools do not always have the highest passage rates, and cheap schools often do not have the lowest. Across the 163 schools with both figures, cost per point ranges from $1,124 to $5,073.

← All rankings · Cost methodology

Law School Cost per Bar Passage Point

163 schools with both a computable 3-year total and a reported bar rate · ABA 509

$1,124

Lowest per point

$2,838

Median per point

$5,073

Highest per point

163

Schools with both figures

Read this ranking with three caveats

Bar passage rate is not a school quality score. The 509 figure covers all test takers at the school, not only its graduates. Two schools can post similar rates while admitting very different student populations.
Lower selectivity lowers this ratio automatically. A school that admits broadly and passes fewer of those students will show a low cost per point without anything better about it. Use the LSAT and acceptance columns to see what you are actually comparing.
It predicts nothing about you. Bar passage is shaped by how much time a student prepares, whether they work while studying, and debt-driven choices after graduation. None of that is in this dataset.

Full ranking

#	School	State	3-year total	Bar pass (1st time)	Cost per point	Median LSAT	Acceptance
1	Brigham Young University	UT	$108,852fees not reported	96.85%	$1,124	170	22.8%
2	Georgia	GA	$115,620	88.37%	$1,308	169	12.72%
3	Georgia State University	GA	$119,247	87.43%	$1,364	160	30.57%
4	South Dakota	SD	$100,695	69.23%	$1,454	152	62.62%
5	Florida	FL	$132,240	90.2%	$1,466	169	16.52%
6	Arkansas at Little Rock	AR	$116,331	78.91%	$1,474	153	54.89%
7	Texas Tech University	TX	$142,917	95.52%	$1,496	159	25.61%
8	Alabama	AL	$145,497	95.24%	$1,528	167	25.63%
9	Akron	OH	$114,597	70.16%	$1,633	154	58.53%
10	Northern Kentucky University	KY	$124,812	76.19%	$1,638	154	58.7%
11	Tennessee	TN	$140,334	85.6%	$1,639	164	24.77%
12	South Carolina	SC	$148,242	90.05%	$1,646	162	29.9%
13	New Mexico	NM	$132,402	77%	$1,720	157	41.41%
14	Oklahoma	OK	$158,112	91.67%	$1,725	162	33.36%
15	Hawaii	HI	$135,306	77.08%	$1,755	158	26.24%
16	Louisiana State University	LA	$152,097	85.39%	$1,781	157	38.55%
17	Cincinnati	OH	$152,298	85.12%	$1,789	159	32.74%
18	Louisville	KY	$151,977	84.48%	$1,799	157	63.39%
19	Mississippi	MS	$141,447	78.18%	$1,809	157	41.96%
20	North Carolina	NC	$171,720	94.12%	$1,824	168	11.19%
21	University at Buffalo	NY	$163,692	88.46%	$1,850	157	42.37%
22	Arizona	AZ	$156,636	84.13%	$1,862	163	27.91%
23	Iowa	IA	$172,227	91.39%	$1,885	164	44.28%
24	Idaho	ID	$142,956fees not reported	75.2%	$1,901	153	66.76%
25	Kentucky	KY	$152,208	79.82%	$1,907	159	40.78%
26	Illinois	IL	$181,572	93.2%	$1,948	166	32.93%
27	Texas A&M University	TX	$186,990fees not reported	95.28%	$1,963	169	12.1%
28	The Ohio State University	OH	$182,865	93.13%	$1,964	168	24.62%
29	Texas	TX	$189,996fees not reported	96.39%	$1,971	172	13.99%
30	Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$165,897	83.47%	$1,988	160	30.78%
31	Pittsburgh	PA	$185,937	93.04%	$1,998	160	34.87%
32	Toledo	OH	$155,328	77.38%	$2,007	153	52.52%
33	City University of New York (CUNY)	NY	$140,454	69.04%	$2,034	155	28.65%
34	Arizona State University	AZ	$188,769	91.94%	$2,053	165	19.78%
35	Memphis	TN	$149,871	72.63%	$2,063	155	41.07%
36	Maine	ME	$175,734	85.06%	$2,066	158	37.27%
37	West Virginia University	WV	$162,720	78.72%	$2,067	155	40.34%
38	Connecticut	CT	$172,380	82.81%	$2,082	162	20.05%
39	Temple University	PA	$185,847	89%	$2,088	165	24.38%
40	Utah	UT	$202,047	94.57%	$2,136	166	25.28%
41	Colorado	CO	$193,935	89.68%	$2,163	164	27.56%
42	Rutgers University	NJ	$171,849	79.11%	$2,172	158	33.54%
43	Cleveland State University	OH	$160,308	72.65%	$2,207	155	34.45%
44	Southern University	LA	$153,282	68.09%	$2,251	147	56.55%
45	Northern Illinois University	IL	$140,427	61.9%	$2,269	150	44.27%
46	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	$192,882	84.62%	$2,279	164	35.77%
47	Montana	MT	$188,649	82.5%	$2,287	156	51.41%
48	George Mason University	VA	$198,522	86.34%	$2,299	169	15.87%
49	William & Mary Law School	VA	$213,858	92.78%	$2,305	166	21.97%
50	Inter American University of Puerto Rico	PR	$129,138	56.02%	$2,305	144	50.92%
51	Houston	TX	$195,924	84.45%	$2,320	163	22.99%
52	Minnesota	MN	$221,154	95.31%	$2,320	171	26.7%
53	Texas Southern University	TX	$146,466	62.89%	$2,329	150	33.12%
54	Mercer University	GA	$205,113	86.52%	$2,371	157	37.75%
55	North Carolina Central University	NC	$142,446	59.4%	$2,398	151	n/a
56	Mississippi Christian University School of Law (MC Law)	MS	$197,226	81.63%	$2,416	152	59.8%
57	District of Columbia	DC	$142,419	57.89%	$2,460	151	36.98%
58	Washington	WA	$228,465	92.61%	$2,467	165	19.61%
59	St. Mary's University	TX	$210,564	84.62%	$2,488	153	25.98%
60	Maryland	MD	$203,973	81.69%	$2,497	164	26.08%
61	Wisconsin	WI	$189,726	75%	$2,530	167	19.12%
62	Samford University	AL	$235,680	90.44%	$2,606	156	48.97%
63	Liberty University	VA	$222,348	85.29%	$2,607	154	58.76%
64	Baltimore	MD	$184,326	70.53%	$2,613	155	49.5%
65	Washington and Lee University	VA	$245,490	93.46%	$2,627	167	22.73%
66	Gonzaga University	WA	$227,676	85.85%	$2,652	155	51.14%
67	Massachusetts Dartmouth	MA	$167,244	62.63%	$2,670	152	52.17%
68	Oregon	OR	$211,896	79.17%	$2,676	160	54.97%
69	Tulsa	OK	$191,508	71.05%	$2,695	157	56.58%
70	Capital University Law School	OH	$199,704	73.68%	$2,710	151	65.9%
71	Wayne State University	MI	$203,178	73.85%	$2,751	164	24.81%
72	Michigan State University	MI	$213,060	77.35%	$2,754	162	26.02%
73	Richmond	VA	$252,630fees not reported	91.3%	$2,767	164	39.64%
74	Saint Louis University	MO	$246,906	89.09%	$2,771	157	56.43%
75	St. Thomas (Minnesota)	MN	$237,120	85.14%	$2,785	159	57.62%
76	Drake University	IA	$215,154	77.19%	$2,787	156	54.82%
77	Belmont University	TN	$269,193	96.49%	$2,790	161	37.62%
78	New Hampshire	NH	$208,326	73.78%	$2,824	155	51.96%
79	Southern Methodist University	TX	$276,162	97.75%	$2,825	167	24.59%
80	Duquesne University	PA	$253,308	89.66%	$2,825	157	43.23%
81	Campbell University	NC	$264,153	93.48%	$2,826	156	50.68%
82	St. Thomas University (Florida)	FL	$247,050	87.06%	$2,838	152	60.25%
83	Villanova University	PA	$258,726	89.95%	$2,876	164	25.93%
84	California-Irvine	CA	$261,222	89.87%	$2,907	169	14.92%
85	Boston University	MA	$278,742	94.93%	$2,936	170	12.08%
86	Northeastern University	MA	$266,250	90.52%	$2,941	164	24.22%
87	Albany Law School	NY	$258,234	86.71%	$2,978	158	37.45%
88	Stetson University	FL	$253,293	84.86%	$2,985	159	36.44%
89	California-Davis	CA	$278,754	93.24%	$2,990	165	15.97%
90	Charleston School of Law	SC	$232,308	77.38%	$3,002	154	50.2%
91	Catholic University of America, The	DC	$271,344	90.38%	$3,002	161	32.4%
92	Wake Forest University	NC	$269,349	89.61%	$3,006	166	24.63%
93	Ohio Northern University	OH	$171,162fees not reported	56.41%	$3,034	149	n/a
94	DePaul University	IL	$254,214	83.78%	$3,034	158	34.81%
95	Mitchell/Hamline School of Law	MN	$219,444	71.95%	$3,050	154	51.4%
96	Penn State Dickinson Law	PA	$268,143	87.56%	$3,062	159	42.99%
97	Howard University	DC	$238,989	78.01%	$3,064	156	24.05%
98	Boston College	MA	$295,443	96.19%	$3,071	168	8.48%
99	California College of the Law, San Francisco	CA	$266,385	86.25%	$3,089	161	27.48%
100	Drexel University	PA	$260,616	84.21%	$3,095	160	29.64%
101	Lewis & Clark Law School	OR	$269,562	86.67%	$3,110	161	54.72%
102	California-Los Angeles	CA	$305,724	96.65%	$3,163	171	12.05%
103	Loyola University-Chicago	IL	$276,972	85.71%	$3,232	161	28.18%
104	Syracuse University	NY	$274,236	84.77%	$3,235	158	34.59%
105	Faulkner University	AL	$219,000	67.5%	$3,244	150	53.87%
106	Western State College of Law (Westcliff University)	CA	$263,364	81.11%	$3,247	152	43.67%
107	Western New England University	MA	$221,253	68%	$3,254	153	51.89%
108	Yale University	CT	$321,489	98.54%	$3,263	174	4.06%
109	Elon University	NC	$228,999fees not reported	69.92%	$3,275	154	53.21%
110	Ave Maria School of Law	FL	$255,345	77.46%	$3,296	155	46.95%
111	Duke University	NC	$323,835	98.23%	$3,297	171	12.88%
112	Michigan	MI	$310,698	94.15%	$3,300	171	8.57%
113	Notre Dame	IN	$299,820	89.44%	$3,352	170	16.07%
114	Denver	CO	$273,216	81.47%	$3,354	160	41.33%
115	Virginia	VA	$320,010	95.11%	$3,365	173	10.17%
116	New York Law School	NY	$291,849	86.47%	$3,375	157	39.67%
117	California-Berkeley	CA	$321,696	94.79%	$3,394	170	14.84%
118	American University	DC	$294,798	86.61%	$3,404	162	33.28%
119	Washington University (St. Louis)	MO	$306,861	89.63%	$3,424	175	18.96%
120	San Francisco	CA	$278,292	80.87%	$3,441	155	42.38%
121	Roger Williams University	RI	$224,418	65.19%	$3,443	150	61.32%
122	George Washington University, The	DC	$301,980fees not reported	87.66%	$3,445	168	27.21%
123	Seton Hall University	NJ	$300,294	87.13%	$3,447	161	34.27%
124	Quinnipiac University	CT	$261,102	75.44%	$3,461	155	43.1%
125	Pepperdine University	CA	$321,750	90.71%	$3,547	164	23.36%
126	Vermont Law School	VT	$241,227	67.91%	$3,552	152	58.53%
127	Northwestern University	IL	$326,559	91.83%	$3,556	173	12.3%
128	South Texas College of Law Houston	TX	$305,754	85.56%	$3,574	155	33.65%
129	Chapman University	CA	$288,471	80.31%	$3,592	163	20.53%
130	Harvard University	MA	$352,146	97.9%	$3,597	174	9.2%
131	Vanderbilt University	TN	$341,199	94.64%	$3,605	170	13.26%
132	Loyola University-New Orleans	LA	$258,297	71.17%	$3,629	154	50.93%
133	Suffolk University	MA	$296,256	80.75%	$3,669	155	61.85%
134	Nova Southeastern University	FL	$273,369	74.47%	$3,671	155	47.33%
135	St. John's University	NY	$322,704	87.55%	$3,686	164	23.05%
136	Pennsylvania	PA	$348,396	94.42%	$3,690	173	8.05%
137	Willamette University	OR	$238,524	64.58%	$3,693	154	61.42%
138	San Diego	CA	$320,844	86.73%	$3,699	163	23.51%
139	Georgetown University	DC	$352,443fees not reported	94.55%	$3,728	171	15.75%
140	Chicago	IL	$360,972	96.73%	$3,732	174	9.74%
141	Southern California	CA	$352,902	94.14%	$3,749	169	11.17%
142	Cardozo School of Law (Yeshiva University)	NY	$331,716	87.83%	$3,777	165	29.56%
143	Case Western Reserve University	OH	$292,680	77.46%	$3,778	162	34.8%
144	Cornell University	NY	$355,092	93.68%	$3,790	173	18.19%
145	Columbia University	NY	$359,832	94.73%	$3,799	173	11.84%
146	Emory University	GA	$328,386	86.34%	$3,803	166	30.09%
147	New York University	NY	$369,924	96.94%	$3,816	172	13.39%
148	Barry University	FL	$225,474	58.85%	$3,831	150	55.94%
149	Fordham University	NY	$349,806	90.8%	$3,852	168	16.22%
150	Stanford University	CA	$388,278	99.43%	$3,905	173	6.1%
151	Pace University	NY	$256,746	65.18%	$3,939	154	44.13%
152	Miami	FL	$339,426	85.29%	$3,980	164	24.65%
153	Brooklyn Law School	NY	$340,422	85.47%	$3,983	161	44%
154	Hofstra University	NY	$320,685	79.17%	$4,051	157	40.56%
155	Tulane University	LA	$313,278	76.12%	$4,116	161	39.97%
156	Southwestern Law School	CA	$298,719fees not reported	72.07%	$4,145	157	36.47%
157	the Pacific (McGeorge)	CA	$295,197	71.13%	$4,150	156	54.41%
158	California Western School of Law	CA	$297,636	71.43%	$4,167	155	46.92%
159	Atlanta's John Marshall Law School	GA	$267,036	63.81%	$4,185	152	32.65%
160	Loyola Marymount University-Los Angeles	CA	$343,248	79.72%	$4,306	163	26.05%
161	New England Law/Boston	MA	$334,959	73.88%	$4,534	153	61.3%
162	Appalachian School of Law	VA	$248,400fees not reported	54.76%	$4,536	146	60.93%
163	Touro University	NY	$344,256	67.86%	$5,073	153	45.62%

What the two inputs look like apart

The reason this ranking is not simply a cost ranking with a re-sort: the most expensive schools on this site do not have the highest passage rates, and the cheapest do not have the lowest. Price and bar outcomes vary independently.

	Highest total cost	Lowest total cost
3-year total	$388,278	$100,695
Bar pass (1st time)	99.43%	69.23%

Stanford University posts the highest total at $388,278, while South Dakotaposts the lowest at $100,695 — a gap of $287,583 over 3 years. Neither figure is a verdict on either school.

Source: ABA Standard 509 Required Disclosures, 2025 reporting cycle. Cost totals add tuition, mandatory full-time fees and disclosed living costs, multiplied by 3. Bar passage rates are first-time taker rates for the most recently reported cohort. This comparison is descriptive only and is not an indicator of school quality or of any individual outcome.