Quick answer: A law degree is the Juris Doctor, three years after a bachelor’s at an ABA-approved school, followed by a state bar examination. Lawyers earn a median $159,670 with a 90th percentile of $351,600 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). It cannot be completed fully online in most states. For paralegals, the honest question is whether the seven-year path is worth it against a role that already pays a median $62,890.
| Metric | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $159,670 | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Wage range | $78,360 (10th pct) - $351,600 (90th pct) | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Employment | 754,500 lawyers | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Projected change (2024-34) | 4.1%, about 31,500 openings per year | BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34 |
| Typical credential | Juris Doctor, three years after a bachelor’s | Program catalogs |
| Accreditation | ABA approval via the Section of Legal Education | American Bar Association |
| License | State bar admission following a bar examination | State bars |
| SOC codes covered | 23-1011 lawyers; 23-2011 paralegals; 23-1012 judicial law clerks; 23-2093 title examiners | BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
This site covers the paralegal route in its trade school silo, which makes the legal ladder one of the few where we sell the entry rung and can speak to the rung above it from the same data.
| Rung | SOC | Median | 10th pct | 90th pct | Employment | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title examiners and abstractors | 23-2093 | $58,650 | $38,170 | $90,830 | 48,580 | +2.0% |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 23-2011 | $62,890 | $44,740 | $101,500 | 392,880 | +0.2% |
| Judicial law clerks | 23-1012 | $64,920 | $46,180 | $113,140 | 13,290 | - |
| Arbitrators and mediators | 23-1022 | $75,530 | $47,220 | $155,440 | 9,210 | +4.3% |
| Lawyers | 23-1011 | $159,670 | $78,360 | $351,600 | 754,500 | +4.1% |
Wages and employment: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Projections: BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
The gap between paralegal and lawyer is the largest single step on this page: $62,890 to $159,670. It is also the most expensive to cross. Three years of full-time study with little or no income, at a cost that varies enormously by school, plus a bar examination that not everyone passes on the first attempt.
Notice the paralegal projection: 0.2 percent change over ten years, with 39,300 annual openings. Almost all of that hiring is replacement rather than growth. That is a stable field, not an expanding one, and it is a reasonable argument for either decision - stability if you stay, limited upward movement if you do not.
| Stage | What it is | Typical timing |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s degree | No required major; law schools accept any field | Four years |
| LSAT or accepted alternative | Drives admission and scholarship offers | Year before applying |
| ABA-approved JD program | Doctrinal courses, legal writing, clinics and externships | Three years full-time, four part-time |
| Bar examination | Administered by the state; content and format vary | After graduation |
| Character and fitness review | Background review required for admission | Alongside the bar |
| State bar admission | Plus continuing legal education thereafter | Ongoing |
Most of this cannot be done at a distance. The ABA limits distance education in a JD, and states set their own rules about which degrees confer bar eligibility. Programs marketed as fully online law degrees frequently do not lead to bar admission in the state where the student lives. Confirm eligibility with the state bar before paying anything.
Paralegals and legal assistants - 392,880 of them, in a field projected to change 0.2 percent this decade. This group already knows the work, which is the single biggest advantage an applicant can bring, and also the best reason some of them decide not to go: they have seen the hours.
Title examiners, abstractors and legal secretaries who have drifted into substantive legal work without the credential to be paid for it. For this group the paralegal credential itself is often the higher-return move, not the JD.
People early enough to plan the whole path. If you are choosing an undergraduate degree, note that no particular major is required. What matters is grades and the LSAT, which means the major you will do well in is usually the right one.
If you are in the second group, read the paralegal career guide before this page. If you are in the first, keep reading.
The distance from the 10th percentile of $78,360 to the 90th of $351,600 is not random variation. It reflects genuinely different jobs sharing one occupation code.
Practice setting is the largest driver. Large-firm associates, government attorneys, public defenders, in-house counsel and solo practitioners are all counted here, and their pay scales are not comparable to one another. Practice area is the second: transactional and litigation work in commercial fields is paid differently from family, immigration and criminal defense work. Geography is the third, and it interacts with the first two rather than acting alone.
The practical consequence: the median is a poor forecast for any individual. Before committing, find out what attorneys in the setting and market you actually intend to work in are paid, and weigh that against what the degree will cost you at the specific schools you would attend.
The case for: a median of $159,670, a 90th percentile of $351,600, 31,500 openings a year, a licensure path that is clearly defined, and a credential that transfers across industries better than most professional degrees (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The case against: seven years of education, three of them with little income, an admission process where the LSAT largely determines both entry and cost, a bar examination that is a real barrier, and a 10th percentile of $78,360 that reflects how many lawyers do not work in the high-paying settings the median implies. The paralegal route reaches $62,890 in a fraction of the time and cost.
Is college worth it covers the general tradeoff. Individual outcomes may vary.
The national median annual wage for lawyers is $159,670 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The bottom 10 percent earn $78,360 or less and the top 10 percent earn $351,600 or more, across employment of 754,500. That spread is one of the widest on this site, and where you land in it depends heavily on the type of practice rather than on the degree.
Partly, and less than marketing suggests. The ABA limits how much of a JD may be completed at a distance, and hybrid programs that comply with those limits still require in-person components. A fully online JD is generally not the path to bar eligibility in most states. Verify a program's ABA status directly before enrolling.
The JD is three years full-time after a bachelor's degree, so about seven years of higher education before licensure. Part-time programs typically run four years. Bar preparation and admission add several months after graduation.
Yes, and paralegals are among the best-prepared applicants law schools see. Paralegal work is not a prerequisite and does not shorten the JD, but knowing what practice actually looks like before committing three years is a real advantage. Expect a bachelor's plus three years of law school plus the bar. Individual outcomes may vary.
ABA approval, granted through the American Bar Association's Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar. Most states require an ABA-approved degree for bar eligibility, so a program without it may not lead to licensure at all. Confirm the current rules with the bar in the state where you intend to practice.
Modestly. Employment of lawyers is projected to change by 4.1% from 2024 to 2034, with about 31,500 openings per year (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Paralegal employment is projected to change by 0.2% over the same period despite 39,300 annual openings, nearly all of them replacement.
For many people, yes. Paralegals earn a median $62,890 across 392,880 jobs and reach it through a certificate or associate degree rather than seven years of study (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The lawyer median is far higher, but so are the time, the debt and the admission difficulty.
The LSAT is the standard law school admission test, and most ABA-approved schools require it or an accepted alternative. Scores drive both admission and scholarship money, which makes preparation one of the highest-return uses of time in this whole path.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
State pay, licensing and metro-level data for this degree. Wage and employment figures on every state page come from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Alabama * Arizona * Arkansas * California * Colorado * Connecticut * District of Columbia * Florida * Georgia * Hawaii * Idaho * Illinois * Indiana * Iowa * Kansas * Kentucky * Louisiana * Maine * Maryland * Massachusetts * Michigan * Minnesota * Mississippi * Missouri * Montana * Nebraska * Nevada * New Jersey * New Mexico * New York * North Carolina * North Dakota * Ohio * Oklahoma * Oregon * Pennsylvania * South Carolina * South Dakota * Tennessee * Texas * Utah * Virginia * Washington * West Virginia * Wisconsin * Wyoming
About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
