2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Professions (Income $30-$48k) in California

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 61,993 people earned their degree in legal professions, making the major the 17th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, legal professions graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $43,199 and had an average of $58,026 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 8,704 legal professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,471 and $91,716 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 431 legal professions graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in legal professions. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality legal professions programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the legal professions program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Legal Professions Schools

The legal professions school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Professions (Income $30-$48k) in California

#1

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley, California

#2 in overall quality

$9,130 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 184 bachelors’s legal professions degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UC Berkeley, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Legal Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of California - Berkeley is $9,130 for california bachelor’s degree legal professions students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Legal Professions at University of California - Berkeley

#2

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, California

#4 in overall quality

$11,793 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school situated in Santa Cruz, California. It awarded 155 bachelors’s legal professions degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree legal professions students whose families make $30-$48k list, UC Santa Cruz has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Legal Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UC Santa Cruz is $11,793 for California Bachelor’s Degree Legal Professions students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Legal Professions at University of California - Santa Cruz

#3

University of La Verne

La Verne, California

#6 in overall quality

$23,427 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of La Verne. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Legal Professions Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. La Verne, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s legal professions degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.

ULV also took the #6 spot in our “Best Legal Professions Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $23,427 for california bachelor’s degree legal professions students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend ULV.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full ULV Legal Professions Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Professions (Income $30-$48k) in the Far Western US Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Professions (Income $30-$48k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The wub.

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