Cost of attendance
In-depth analysis on law school costs including tuition, grants, debt, cost of living, and more.
Law School Tuition in the United States, 1988 - 1991
Tuition, also known as "nominal tuition" or "sticker price," continues to climb at U.S. law schools. The following chart reflects the average nominal tuition prices for each category over 39 years, from 1985 to 2023, for all ABA-Approved law schools.
Inflation has been a factor in rising law school prices, but law school tuition increases exceed the inflation rate between 1988 and 1991. In 1988, the average private school tuition was $9,652 (1988 dollars), which would have cost a student $11,081 in 1991. Instead, average tuition was $12,738 (1991 dollars). In other words, private law school was 1.15 times as expensive in 1991 as it was in 1988 after adjusting for inflation.
In 1988, the average public school tuition was $2,608 (1988 dollars) for residents, which would have cost a student $2,994 in 1991. Instead, average tuition was $3,591 (1991 dollars) for residents. In other words, public school was 1.2 times as expensive in 1991 as it was in 1988 after adjusting for inflation.
Nationwide averages from 1985 to 2013 come from the American Bar Association. Starting in 2014, LST calculates the nationwide average from individual schools, using data the schools reported to the American Bar Association. LST uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for inflation, which covers 89% of the total U.S. population. For an explanation of various indices to compare tuition over time, see this paper. LST uses normal averages rather than weighted averages for the nationwide averages in 2014 and later. The ABA uses normal averages from 1985 to 2013.
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