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2024 Best Law Schools in the Great Lakes Region

26 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
5,018 Law Degrees Awarded
$65,903 Avg Early-Career Salary
Ranked #28 in popularity, law is one of the most sought-after degree programs in the nation. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 26 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for law students pursuing a degree. Combined, these schools handed out 5,018 degrees in law to qualified students.

Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Law School

Best Law Schools in the Great Lakes Region Your choice of law school matters, so we have put together these rankings to help you make your decision. We derive our Best Overall Law School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.

Pick Your Law Degree Level

Doctor's Degrees in Law

When choosing the right school for you, it's important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we've created a number of major-specific rankings, including this Best Law Schools in the Great Lakes Region list to help you make the college decision. You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.

In addition to College Factual's rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.

More information on how we come up with our rankings can be found here: College Factual's Data Methodology.

Best Schools for Law in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of law degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.

10 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in Law

1
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
290 Law Degrees Awarded
$187,194 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in law needs to check out Northwestern University. Northwestern is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Evanston. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 290 law students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Those law students who get their degree from Northwestern University earn $121,291 more than the average law student.

More information about a degree in law from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
218 Law Degrees Awarded
2.8% Growth in Graduates

University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the United States for getting a degree in law. Located in the large city of Chicago, UChicago is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were about 218 law students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Law degree recipients from University of Chicago receive an earnings boost of about $115,103 over the typical earnings of law graduates.

More information about a degree in law from University of Chicago

3
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
326 Law Degrees Awarded
$146,285 Median Starting Salary

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a good option for students pursuing a degree in law. U-M is a fairly large public university located in the city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #29 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.

There were approximately 326 law students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year. Those law students who get their degree from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive $80,382 more than the standard law graduate.

More information about a degree in law from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
211 Law Degrees Awarded
13.3% Growth in Graduates

University of Notre Dame is a good decision for students pursuing a degree in law. Located in the suburb of Notre Dame, Notre Dame is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were approximately 211 law students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent year we have data available. Those law students who get their degree from University of Notre Dame receive $21,735 more than the average law grad.

More information about a degree in law from University of Notre Dame

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
278 Law Degrees Awarded
$40,979 Median Starting Salary

WMU-Cooley Law School is a small private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Lansing.

There were roughly 278 law students who graduated with this degree at WMU-Cooley Law School in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the law program state that they receive average early career wages of $40,979.

More information about a degree in law from Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School

6
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
229 Law Degrees Awarded
$57,402 Median Starting Salary

Located in the city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were about 229 law students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the law program make an average of $57,402 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in law from University of Wisconsin - Madison

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
132 Law Degrees Awarded
3.8% Growth in Graduates

UC is a fairly large public university located in the large city of Cincinnati. A Best Colleges rank of #166 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UC is a great university overall.

There were approximately 132 law students who graduated with this degree at UC in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the law program report average early career wages of $56,247.

More information about a degree in law from University of Cincinnati - Main Campus

8
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 Law Degrees Awarded
$56,114 Median Starting Salary

Case Western is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Cleveland. A Best Colleges rank of #63 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Case Western is a great university overall.

There were about 114 law students who graduated with this degree at Case Western in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the law program make an average of $56,114 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in law from Case Western Reserve University

9
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
264 Law Degrees Awarded
11.7% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #137 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Loyola Chicago is a great university overall.

There were about 264 law students who graduated with this degree at Loyola Chicago in the most recent year we have data available. Those law students who get their degree from Loyola University Chicago make $3,442 more than the standard law student.

More information about a degree in law from Loyola University Chicago

10
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
233 Law Degrees Awarded
3.0% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of Chicago, Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit school with a medium-sized student population. This school ranks 9th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were about 233 law students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Tech in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the law program make about $64,681 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in law from Illinois Institute of Technology

Best Law Colleges by State

Explore the best law schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

StateCollegesDegrees Awarded
Michigan3221,285
Ohio3141,015
Illinois3041,700
Indiana294599
Wisconsin273463

View All Rankings >

One of 4 majors within the Legal Professions area of study, Law has other similar majors worth exploring.

Law Focus Areas

MajorAnnual Graduates
Law5,018

View All Law Focus Areas >

Majors Similar to Law

Related MajorAnnual Graduates
Legal Support Services2,067
Legal Research1,517
Non-Professional General Legal Studies460
Legal Professions (Other)352

View All Law Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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