ABA 509 DATA BY STATE, 2025
Law Schools in California: LSAT, GPA, Cost, and Jobs (2025)
Is California a good place to go to law school? Yes, if you can compete. 17 ABA-accredited schools call it home, the median-of-medians LSAT across them is 163, the GPA 3.7, and the cheapest sticker in the state is Western State at $54,840 a year.
Every ABA law school in California
Ranked by median LSAT, highest first. Every school's own page has the full 25th/50th/75th breakdown, cost, and job outcomes.
| School | LSAT 50th | GPA 50th | Accept. rate | Sticker/yr | FT/LT jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford | 173 | 4.0 | 6.1% | $77,454 | 95.5% |
| UCLA | 171 | 4.0 | 12.1% | $71,329 | 96.8% |
| Berkeley | 170 | 3.9 | 14.8% | $76,149 | 97.8% |
| Irvine | 169 | 3.8 | 14.9% | $71,325 | 92.7% |
| USC | 169 | 3.9 | 11.2% | $84,034 | 94.6% |
| Davis | 165 | 3.7 | 16% | $69,705 | 91.4% |
| Pepperdine | 164 | 3.9 | 23.4% | $72,920 | 97% |
| Chapman | 163 | 3.7 | 20.5% | $63,126 | 84.1% |
| Loyola Marymount | 163 | 3.7 | 26.1% | $70,360 | 94% |
| San Diego | 163 | 3.8 | 23.5% | $66,950 | 98.4% |
| UC San Francisco | 161 | 3.7 | 27.5% | $61,773 | 86.3% |
| Santa Clara | 159 | 3.5 | 52.6% | N/A on file | 79.2% |
| Southwestern | 157 | 3.5 | 36.5% | $63,160 | 76.9% |
| McGeorge | 156 | 3.5 | 54.4% | $62,678 | 83.6% |
| CA Western | 155 | 3.5 | 46.9% | $64,720 | 76.9% |
| San Francisco | 155 | 3.5 | 42.4% | $59,800 | 76.7% |
| Western State | 152 | 3.4 | 43.7% | $54,840 | 85.5% |
See what 1 extra LSAT point is worth in grants at each school above.
Reading the California market
California has more ABA law schools than any other state, 17 of them, stretching from Stanford's 173 median LSAT down to Western State's 152. Stanford, UCLA, and Berkeley sit at the top, all at 170 or above on median LSAT and all admitting under 15% of applicants. USC and UC Irvine follow close behind at a 169 median. Below that, a long middle tier runs from Davis and Pepperdine down through Loyola Marymount and San Diego, and the access tier, McGeorge, CA Western, San Francisco, and Western State, sits in the low-to-mid 150s on LSAT with acceptance rates north of 40%.
Cost climbs even faster than selectivity. Western State is the cheapest confirmed sticker in the state at $54,840 a year, and from there prices run straight up to USC's $84,034, a gap of nearly $30,000 annually. Discount rates vary widely too: Davis hands a grant to 98.8% of its class, the highest in the state, while Stanford discounts just 50.4%, low for a school at that price point. A high LSAT score against a school's median is worth even more here than in cheaper states, because the sticker prices leave less room for error.
Placement is strong across nearly the whole state. San Diego posts the best full-time, long-term rate at 98.4%, and Berkeley, UCLA, Pepperdine, and Stanford all clear 95%. The drop-off shows up at the bottom of the admissions tier: San Francisco, Southwestern, and CA Western all sit below 80%, a real gap from the schools above them.
Is California worth applying to in-state? For a competitive applicant aiming at the top tier, the outcomes justify the cost. For someone landing in the lower tier on numbers, the math gets tighter: tuition here doesn't drop much even as selectivity does, so a similarly priced option in a cheaper state might place you just as well for less debt. Run your numbers through the calculator before you commit to a California-only list.
FAQ
How many ABA-accredited law schools are in California?
California has 17 ABA-accredited law schools, ranging from Stanford at the top to a wide field of regional and access-tier schools.
What's the easiest law school to get into in California?
Western State has the lowest median LSAT in the state at 152, with a 3.4 median GPA and a 43.7% acceptance rate. Easiest still means real numbers, and Western State is selective against its own applicant pool.
What's the cheapest law school in California?
Western State posts the lowest confirmed sticker tuition in the state at $54,840 a year, still a significant cost, but the low end of California's range.
Which California law school has the best job placement?
San Diego posts the state's best full-time, long-term placement rate at 98.4%, ahead of Berkeley, UCLA, Pepperdine, and Stanford, all of which also clear 95%.
Is it worth going to law school in California if I don't plan to practice there?
It depends heavily on where you land on the admissions spectrum. A top-tier California degree, from Stanford, Berkeley, or UCLA, travels anywhere. Lower down the tier, California's high sticker prices don't come with a comparable outcomes edge over cheaper states, so run the cost math against your specific offers before assuming the state name alone is worth the premium.
Source: ABA Standard 509 Information Reports, 2015 to 2025, via LSAT Unplugged's 509 master. Verify against each school's own filing before relying on it. Last updated 2026-10-05.
