Despite arbitrary data meddling by the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and significant misreporting by law schools, I will estimate changes in annual (as in what people care about and what the ABA no longer collects) full-time law-school tuition for 2018. The appendix at the end of the post will summarize how I arrived at my tuition figures. However, I’m still disgusted by how the law schools and the ABA have handled this year’s data collection. On with the show:
Full-time tuition costs at private law schools not in Puerto Rico rose an average 3.1 percent before adjusting for inflation. The rate is about the same as last year’s increase, but it’s still well below the typical 5 percent rate before the Great Recession. For seven years now, the average increase has been below 4 percent. I focus on private law-school tuition because public law schools receive varying degrees of state subsidies, so they do not reflect the already distorted legal-education market’s prices.
Here’s what the inflation-adjusted dispersion of full-time private and full-time public (residential) tuition looks like going back to 1996:
For the last few years I’ve been eyeballing the 25th-percentile public law school’s residential tuition to see if it will rise above the annual Stafford Loan limit of $20,500. In 2018 it fell not even $200 shy of that symbolic line of unaffordability. By my estimates, 16 out of 117 private law schools charge more than $60,000. Ever the leader, Columbia was $84 short of charging $70,000. Next year it will likely have raised its costs by $20,000 in ten years.
In 2018, the median private law school charged $48,166 (DePaul); the mean was $48,383 (between John Marshall (Chicago) and Vermont).
Costs grew more at the high and low ends among private law schools. Separating them into quintiles, here are the increases at the mean of each quintile.
From 2014-16, the tuition increases were stacked towards the high end, which was consistent with the prediction that the cheaper law schools were so fiscally crunched that they couldn’t afford to raise their costs any more. 2017 and 2018 have broken that trend. Perhaps private law schools are more confident thanks to the Trump bump.
The following private law schools raised their tuition charges by more than 5 percent:
- Brooklyn* (18.8%)
- Appalachian (12.0%)
- Santa Clara (10.9%)
- Capital (6.0%)
- Roger Williams (5.7%)
- Gonzaga (5.0%)
In charity, here are the two private law schools that cut their full-time tuition:
- WMU Cooley* (-1.1%)
- Florida Coastal (-0.2%)
Six private law schools kept their costs flat from last year: Thomas Jefferson, Western State, Concordia, John Marshall (Chicago), Valparaiso*, Mississippi College, and Tulsa.
Thirteen public law schools cut their nominal residential tuition:
- Akron (-6.5%)
- Hawaii (-3.2%)
- Florida A&M (-3.2%)
- Minnesota (-2.8%)
- Florida (-2.2%)
- Florida International (-1.8%)
- Louisville (-0.9%)
- Cleveland State (-0.5%)
- Colorado (-0.3%)
- California-Los Angeles (-0.1%)
- California-Irvine (-0.1%)
- California-Davis (-0.1%)
- California-Berkeley (-0.1%)
And nine kept their costs flat: Arizona, Arkansas (Little Rock), California-Hastings, Georgia State, Maine, Cincinnati, Oklahoma, Texas Southern, and Wyoming.
* 2018-19 tuition based on information from law school’s Web site
Editorial: 2018 is similar to prior years in that average nominal tuition went up but not by as much as a decade ago. The dispersion of increases is about the same as well. More interestingly, nominal tuition cuts have largely disappeared. This pushes against the predictions and observations that reality was catching up with law schools. I hesitate to attribute this to the Trump bump, but it may be responsible.
Information on this topic from prior years:
********************
Appendix:
2018 is a mess for tuition estimates; it’s very discouraging. Here are a few notes on the numbers appearing in the post:
- Because Valparaiso held classes, its tuition was included.
- Arizona Summit by contrast was not because it ceased classes, even though it miraculously submitted its 509 information to the ABA.
- I doubled tuition amounts for law schools that clearly submitted semester tuition rather than annual numbers. There are a couple of outliers: I multiplied Chicago by three and Elon by 1.5 to arrive at numbers that look similar to 2017.
- For law schools that irresponsibly declined to provide the ABA with tuition numbers, I looked at their Web sites and the Wayback Machine to try to reconstruct their methodologies for calculating what they would’ve submitted to the ABA last year had they done so.
- I will compare these numbers to what S. News publishes to see if it comes up with anything better.
STATE | SCHOOL | TYPE | 2017 | 2018 PUBLISHED | 2018 ESTIMATED | % CHANGE |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | Alabama | Public Res. | $23,720 | $11,960 | $23,920 | 0.8% |
Alabama | Faulkner | Private | $38,000 | $19,592 | $39,184 | 3.1% |
Alabama | Samford | Private | $38,448 | $20,075 | $40,150 | 4.4% |
Arizona | Arizona | Public Res. | $25,826 | $25,826 | $25,826 | 0.0% |
Arizona | Arizona State | Public Res. | $27,388 | $27,584 | $27,584 | 0.7% |
Arizona | Arizona Summit [Phoenix] | $45,284 | $0 | N/A | N/A | |
Arkansas | Arkansas (Fayetteville) | Public Res. | $16,117 | $0 | $16,188 | 0.4% |
Arkansas | Arkansas (Little Rock) | Public Res. | $15,732 | $0 | $15,732 | 0.0% |
California | California Western | Private | $50,670 | $52,470 | $52,470 | 3.6% |
California | California-Berkeley | Public Res. | $49,364 | $49,325 | $49,325 | -0.1% |
California | California-Davis | Public Res. | $47,763 | $23,861 | $47,722 | -0.1% |
California | California-Hastings | Public Res. | $44,326 | $44,326 | $44,326 | 0.0% |
California | California-Irvine | Public Res. | $45,155 | $45,099 | $45,099 | -0.1% |
California | California-Los Angeles | Public Res. | $45,657 | $22,800 | $45,600 | -0.1% |
California | Chapman | Private | $52,086 | $53,124 | $53,124 | 2.0% |
California | Golden Gate | Private | $48,500 | $25,000 | $50,000 | 3.1% |
California | La Verne | Private | $30,024 | $15,604 | $31,208 | 3.9% |
California | Loyola (CA) | Private | $55,110 | $28,615 | $57,230 | 3.8% |
California | Pacific, McGeorge | Private | $49,720 | $25,656 | $51,312 | 3.2% |
California | Pepperdine | Private | $54,260 | $27,915 | $55,830 | 2.9% |
California | San Diego | Private | $52,571 | $54,280 | $54,280 | 3.3% |
California | San Francisco | Private | $49,130 | $24,910 | $49,820 | 1.4% |
California | Santa Clara | Private | $48,916 | $0 | $54,240 | 10.9% |
California | Southern California | Private | $62,711 | $64,908 | $64,908 | 3.5% |
California | Southwestern | Private | $51,890 | $54,166 | $54,166 | 4.4% |
California | Stanford | Private | $60,270 | $0 | $62,382 | 3.5% |
California | Thomas Jefferson | Private | $49,500 | $49,500 | $49,500 | 0.0% |
California | Western State | Private | $43,350 | $21,675 | $43,350 | 0.0% |
California | Whittier | Private | $44,370 | $0 | $44,870 | 1.1% |
Colorado | Colorado | Public Res. | $31,989 | $31,898 | $31,898 | -0.3% |
Colorado | Denver | Private | $49,022 | $25,471 | $50,942 | 3.9% |
Connecticut | Connecticut | Public Res. | $29,410 | $15,169 | $30,338 | 3.2% |
Connecticut | Quinnipiac | Private | $48,805 | $49,540 | $49,540 | 1.5% |
Connecticut | Yale | Private | $62,170 | $64,267 | $64,267 | 3.4% |
Delaware | Widener (Delaware) | Private | $48,920 | $60 | $50,676 | 3.6% |
District of Columbia | American | Private | $54,832 | $28,362 | $56,724 | 3.5% |
District of Columbia | Catholic | Private | $49,800 | $25,780 | $51,560 | 3.5% |
District of Columbia | District of Columbia | Public Res. | $12,516 | $12,838 | $12,838 | 2.6% |
District of Columbia | George Washington | Private | $58,520 | $30,395 | $60,790 | 3.9% |
District of Columbia | Georgetown | Private | $59,850 | $62,244 | $62,244 | 4.0% |
District of Columbia | Howard | Private | $33,630 | $17,097 | $34,194 | 1.7% |
Florida | Ave Maria | Private | $41,706 | $21,103 | $42,206 | 1.2% |
Florida | Barry | Private | $35,845 | $18,715 | $37,430 | 4.4% |
Florida | Florida | Public Res. | $22,299 | $21,803 | $21,803 | -2.2% |
Florida | Florida A&M | Public Res. | $14,132 | $6,838 | $13,676 | -3.2% |
Florida | Florida Coastal | Private | $46,171 | $46,068 | $46,068 | -0.2% |
Florida | Florida International | Public Res. | $21,806 | $0 | $21,407 | -1.8% |
Florida | Florida State | Public Res. | $20,683 | $10,347 | $20,694 | 0.1% |
Florida | Miami | Private | $50,578 | $26,195 | $52,390 | 3.6% |
Florida | Nova Southeastern | Private | $39,830 | $41,200 | $41,200 | 3.4% |
Florida | St. Thomas (FL) | Private | $40,282 | $21,095 | $42,190 | 4.7% |
Florida | Stetson | Private | $42,646 | $43,880 | $43,880 | 2.9% |
Georgia | Atlanta’s John Marshall | Private | $42,628 | $21,993 | $43,986 | 3.2% |
Georgia | Emory | Private | $55,336 | $28,674 | $57,348 | 3.6% |
Georgia | Georgia | Public Res. | $19,696 | $9,854 | $19,708 | 0.1% |
Georgia | Georgia State | Public Res. | $17,050 | $8,525 | $17,050 | 0.0% |
Georgia | Mercer | Private | $37,962 | $38,716 | $38,716 | 2.0% |
Hawaii | Hawaii | Public Res. | $23,142 | $11,196 | $22,392 | -3.2% |
Idaho | Concordia | Private | $30,343 | $0 | $30,343 | 0.0% |
Idaho | Idaho | Public Res. | $19,748 | $10,493 | $20,986 | 6.3% |
Illinois | Chicago | Private | $62,865 | $21,766 | $65,298 | 3.9% |
Illinois | Chicago-Kent, IIT | Private | $46,822 | $23,822 | $47,644 | 1.8% |
Illinois | DePaul | Private | $47,230 | $24,083 | $48,166 | 2.0% |
Illinois | Illinois | Public Res. | $38,098 | $19,059 | $38,118 | 0.1% |
Illinois | John Marshall (Chicago) | Private | $48,600 | $275 | $48,600 | 0.0% |
Illinois | Loyola (IL) | Private | $48,406 | $24,481 | $48,962 | 1.1% |
Illinois | Northern Illinois | Public Res. | $22,178 | $11,090 | $22,180 | 0.0% |
Illinois | Northwestern | Private | $62,084 | $32,201 | $64,402 | 3.7% |
Illinois | Southern Illinois | Public Res. | $21,754 | $11,282 | $22,564 | 3.7% |
Indiana | Indiana (Bloomington) | Public Res. | $34,073 | $17,794 | $35,588 | 4.4% |
Indiana | Indiana (Indianapolis) | Public Res. | $28,631 | $547 | $29,198 | 2.0% |
Indiana | Notre Dame | Private | $56,292 | $58,358 | $58,358 | 3.7% |
Indiana | Valparaiso | Private | $41,522 | $0 | $41,522 | 0.0% |
Iowa | Drake | Private | $40,612 | $41,512 | $41,512 | 2.2% |
Iowa | Iowa | Public Res. | $26,456 | $13,671 | $27,342 | 3.3% |
Kansas | Kansas | Public Res. | $21,996 | $0 | $22,562 | 2.6% |
Kansas | Washburn | Public Res. | $21,588 | $35 | $22,359 | 3.6% |
Kentucky | Kentucky | Public Res. | $23,783 | $12,023 | $24,046 | 1.1% |
Kentucky | Louisville | Public Res. | $21,392 | $10,598 | $21,196 | -0.9% |
Kentucky | Northern Kentucky | Public Res. | $19,370 | $10,166 | $20,332 | 5.0% |
Louisiana | Louisiana State | Public Res. | $23,083 | $23,660 | $23,660 | 2.5% |
Louisiana | Loyola (LA) | Private | $44,330 | $22,290 | $44,580 | 0.6% |
Louisiana | Southern University | Public Res. | $15,802 | $16,490 | $16,490 | 4.4% |
Louisiana | Tulane | Private | $54,568 | $28,286 | $56,572 | 3.7% |
Maine | Maine | Public Res. | $23,640 | $11,820 | $23,640 | 0.0% |
Maryland | Baltimore | Public Res. | $31,084 | $15,977 | $31,954 | 2.8% |
Maryland | Maryland | Public Res. | $32,492 | $33,651 | $33,651 | 3.6% |
Massachusetts | Boston College | Private | $52,850 | $27,375 | $54,750 | 3.6% |
Massachusetts | Boston University | Private | $53,236 | $27,538 | $55,076 | 3.5% |
Massachusetts | Harvard | Private | $62,792 | $32,489 | $64,978 | 3.5% |
Massachusetts | Massachusetts — Dartmouth | Public Res. | $27,291 | $14,263 | $28,526 | 4.5% |
Massachusetts | New England | Private | $47,992 | $24,744 | $49,488 | 3.1% |
Massachusetts | Northeastern | Private | $49,224 | $25,350 | $50,700 | 3.0% |
Massachusetts | Suffolk | Private | $46,932 | $24,045 | $48,090 | 2.5% |
Massachusetts | Western New England | Private | $40,954 | $42,218 | $42,218 | 3.1% |
Michigan | Detroit Mercy | Private | $42,140 | $22,110 | $44,220 | 4.9% |
Michigan | Michigan | Public Res. | $57,262 | $29,881 | $59,762 | 4.4% |
Michigan | Michigan State | Private | $43,400 | $22,100 | $44,200 | 1.8% |
Michigan | Wayne State | Public Res. | $31,956 | $16,441 | $32,882 | 2.9% |
Michigan | WMU Cooley | Private | $51,370 | $0 | $50,790 | -1.1% |
Minnesota | Minnesota | Public Res. | $44,066 | $21,420 | $42,840 | -2.8% |
Minnesota | Mitchell|Hamline | Private | $42,816 | $21,730 | $43,460 | 1.5% |
Minnesota | St. Thomas (MN) | Private | $40,247 | $20,721 | $41,442 | 3.0% |
Mississippi | Mississippi | Public Res. | $15,882 | $8,275 | $16,550 | 4.2% |
Mississippi | Mississippi College | Private | $35,500 | $35,510 | $35,510 | 0.0% |
Missouri | Missouri (Columbia) | Public Res. | $21,407 | $894 | $21,837 | 2.0% |
Missouri | Missouri (Kansas City) | Public Res. | $19,040 | $0 | $19,701 | 3.5% |
Missouri | St. Louis | Private | $41,025 | $21,077 | $42,154 | 2.8% |
Missouri | Washington University | Private | $55,423 | $57,445 | $57,445 | 3.6% |
Montana | Montana | Public Res. | $12,562 | $13,177 | $13,177 | 4.9% |
Nebraska | Creighton | Private | $38,744 | $20,048 | $40,096 | 3.5% |
Nebraska | Nebraska | Public Res. | $15,645 | $0 | $16,083 | 2.8% |
Nevada | Nevada | Public Res. | $26,973 | $13,511 | $27,022 | 0.2% |
New Hampshire | New Hampshire | Public Res. | $37,401 | $18,703 | $37,406 | 0.0% |
New Jersey | Rutgers | Public Res. | $27,492 | $14,179 | $28,358 | 3.2% |
New Jersey | Seton Hall | Private | $53,046 | $54,090 | $54,090 | 2.0% |
New Mexico | New Mexico | Public Res. | $17,147 | $8,699 | $17,398 | 1.5% |
New York | Albany | Private | $46,072 | $23,725 | $47,450 | 3.0% |
New York | Brooklyn | Private | $50,706 | $0 | $60,236 | 18.8% |
New York | Cardozo, Yeshiva | Private | $58,764 | $29,970 | $59,940 | 2.0% |
New York | City University | Public Res. | $15,113 | $7,782 | $15,564 | 3.0% |
New York | Columbia | Private | $67,564 | $69,916 | $69,916 | 3.5% |
New York | Cornell | Private | $63,327 | $65,541 | $65,541 | 3.5% |
New York | Fordham | Private | $58,196 | $30,203 | $60,406 | 3.8% |
New York | Hofstra | Private | $57,510 | $29,607 | $59,214 | 3.0% |
New York | New York Law School | Private | $50,718 | $51,732 | $51,732 | 2.0% |
New York | New York University | Private | $63,986 | $66,422 | $66,422 | 3.8% |
New York | Pace | Private | $47,210 | $48,614 | $48,614 | 3.0% |
New York | St. John’s | Private | $57,480 | $29,740 | $59,480 | 3.5% |
New York | SUNY Buffalo | Public Res. | $28,016 | $28,075 | $28,075 | 0.2% |
New York | Syracuse | Private | $49,966 | $25,711 | $51,422 | 2.9% |
New York | Touro | Private | $48,830 | $24,900 | $49,800 | 2.0% |
North Carolina | Campbell | Private | $39,900 | $20,565 | $41,130 | 3.1% |
North Carolina | Duke | Private | $62,247 | $32,361 | $64,722 | 4.0% |
North Carolina | Elon | Private | $36,667 | $22,275 | $38,000 | 3.6% |
North Carolina | North Carolina | Public Res. | $23,889 | $12,086 | $24,172 | 1.2% |
North Carolina | North Carolina Central | Public Res. | $18,533 | $9,369 | $18,738 | 1.1% |
North Carolina | Wake Forest | Private | $45,110 | $22,680 | $45,360 | 0.6% |
North Dakota | North Dakota | Public Res. | $12,232 | $13,023 | $13,023 | 6.5% |
Ohio | Akron | Public Res. | $24,214 | $11,323 | $22,646 | -6.5% |
Ohio | Capital | Private | $36,112 | $19,145 | $38,290 | 6.0% |
Ohio | Case Western Reserve | Private | $50,666 | $26,035 | $52,070 | 2.8% |
Ohio | Cincinnati | Public Res. | $24,010 | $12,005 | $24,010 | 0.0% |
Ohio | Cleveland State | Public Res. | $27,360 | $13,605 | $27,210 | -0.5% |
Ohio | Dayton | Private | $33,739 | $209 | $34,580 | 2.5% |
Ohio | Ohio Northern | Private | $28,010 | $14,580 | $29,160 | 4.1% |
Ohio | Ohio State | Public Res. | $30,264 | $15,424 | $30,848 | 1.9% |
Ohio | Toledo | Public Res. | $20,004 | $10,948 | $21,896 | 9.5% |
Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Public Res. | $20,903 | $0 | $20,903 | 0.0% |
Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | Private | $35,340 | $17,815 | $35,630 | 0.8% |
Oklahoma | Tulsa | Private | $25,254 | $12,627 | $25,254 | 0.0% |
Oregon | Lewis and Clark | Private | $45,020 | $23,185 | $46,370 | 3.0% |
Oregon | Oregon | Public Res. | $33,922 | $17,709 | $35,418 | 4.4% |
Oregon | Willamette | Private | $42,680 | $22,190 | $44,380 | 4.0% |
Pennsylvania | Drexel | Private | $44,340 | $0 | $45,270 | 2.1% |
Pennsylvania | Duquesne | Private | $42,844 | $22,472 | $44,944 | 4.9% |
Pennsylvania | Penn State (Dickinson Law) | Public Res. | $48,686 | $25,291 | $50,582 | 3.9% |
Pennsylvania | Penn State (Penn State Law) | Public Res. | $49,070 | $25,492 | $50,984 | 3.9% |
Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Private | $63,364 | $32,902 | $65,804 | 3.9% |
Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh | Public Res. | $34,008 | $34,834 | $34,834 | 2.4% |
Pennsylvania | Temple | Public Res. | $26,103 | $27,103 | $27,103 | 3.8% |
Pennsylvania | Villanova | Private | $45,195 | $23,268 | $46,536 | 3.0% |
Pennsylvania | Widener (Commonwealth) | Private | $44,548 | $60 | $45,750 | 2.7% |
Puerto Rico | Inter American | Private | $16,603 | $16,645 | $16,645 | 0.3% |
Puerto Rico | Pontifical Catholic | Private | $16,418 | $7,869 | $7,869 | -52.1% |
Puerto Rico | Puerto Rico | Public Res. | $7,383 | $7,852 | $7,852 | 6.4% |
Rhode Island | Roger Williams | Private | $34,833 | $36,815 | $36,815 | 5.7% |
South Carolina | Charleston | Private | $41,548 | $21,067 | $42,134 | 1.4% |
South Carolina | South Carolina | Public Res. | $28,858 | $14,804 | $29,608 | 2.6% |
South Dakota | South Dakota | Public Res. | $15,668 | $8,472 | $16,944 | 8.1% |
Tennessee | Belmont | Private | $43,480 | $22,235 | $44,470 | 2.3% |
Tennessee | Lincoln Memorial | Private | $35,340 | $18,420 | $36,840 | 4.2% |
Tennessee | Memphis | Public Res. | $19,197 | $9,599 | $19,198 | 0.0% |
Tennessee | Tennessee | Public Res. | $19,638 | $9,837 | $19,674 | 0.2% |
Tennessee | Vanderbilt | Private | $55,083 | $57,558 | $57,558 | 4.5% |
Texas | Baylor | Private | $60,050 | $20,807 | $62,421 | 3.9% |
Texas | Houston | Public Res. | $31,021 | $0 | $32,093 | 3.5% |
Texas | North Texas-Dallas | Public Res. | $8,748 | $9,107 | $9,107 | 4.1% |
Texas | South Texas-Houston | Private | $31,500 | $16,200 | $32,400 | 2.9% |
Texas | Southern Methodist | Private | $52,586 | $27,047 | $54,094 | 2.9% |
Texas | St. Mary’s | Private | $36,310 | $18,705 | $37,410 | 3.0% |
Texas | Texas | Public Res. | $35,015 | $17,857 | $35,714 | 2.0% |
Texas | Texas A&M [Wesleyan] | Public Res. | $28,504 | $15,500 | $31,000 | 8.8% |
Texas | Texas Southern | Public Res. | $20,418 | $10,209 | $20,418 | 0.0% |
Texas | Texas Tech | Public Res. | $22,996 | $13,420 | $26,840 | 16.7% |
Utah | Brigham Young | Private | $25,360 | $13,060 | $26,120 | 3.0% |
Utah | Utah | Public Res. | $26,641 | $14,177 | $28,354 | 6.4% |
Vermont | Vermont | Private | $47,998 | $24,127 | $48,254 | 0.5% |
Virginia | Appalachian | Private | $31,700 | $17,750 | $35,500 | 12.0% |
Virginia | George Mason | Public Res. | $25,351 | $12,677 | $25,354 | 0.0% |
Virginia | Liberty | Private | $35,782 | $36,862 | $36,862 | 3.0% |
Virginia | Regent | Private | $36,140 | $18,310 | $36,620 | 1.3% |
Virginia | Richmond | Private | $43,000 | $44,700 | $44,700 | 4.0% |
Virginia | Virginia | Public Res. | $58,300 | $60,700 | $60,700 | 4.1% |
Virginia | Washington and Lee | Private | $48,375 | $24,678 | $49,356 | 2.0% |
Virginia | William and Mary | Public Res. | $32,964 | $17,000 | $34,000 | 3.1% |
Washington | Gonzaga | Private | $38,715 | $40,665 | $40,665 | 5.0% |
Washington | Seattle | Private | $45,054 | $23,293 | $46,586 | 3.4% |
Washington | Washington | Public Res. | $34,311 | $35,988 | $35,988 | 4.9% |
West Virginia | West Virginia | Public Res. | $22,878 | $12,042 | $24,084 | 5.3% |
Wisconsin | Marquette | Private | $44,830 | $23,085 | $46,170 | 3.0% |
Wisconsin | Wisconsin | Public Res. | $22,496 | $11,759 | $23,518 | 4.5% |
Wyoming | Wyoming | Public Res. | $16,350 | $16,350 | $16,350 | 0.0% |
Fin.