Update:
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Overall Ranking
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Resources
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Student Outcomes
Following up on my previous posts:
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Ultimate Bar Passage
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: First-Time Bar Passage
- Preview Of The 2025-26 U.S. News Law School Rankings: Admissions
The current 2024-25 methodology is:
Outcomes 10 months after graduation (weighted 33%):This measures the extent by which graduates obtain the most in-demand jobs – namely those that are long term, full time and requiring (or taking advantage of) bar passage. Once again, maximum credit was assigned for graduates with school-funded fellowships – as long as those fellowships were otherwise full-time, long-term jobs in which bar passage was required or the J.D. degree was an advantage. Maximum credit was also once again assigned to law school graduates pursuing additional graduate studies.
To improve measurement of this indicator – given the common year-to-year fluctuations associated with outcome measures and the small sizes of some graduating J.D. classes – this indicator was derived from the average of the 2021 and 2022 graduating class outcomes 10 months after graduation. Specifically, U.S. News took a nonweighted average by aggregating the score it previously computed from the 2021 graduating class with the newly calculated 2022 class score, then divided it by two. Previously, this indicator was based only on the most recent year.
For information purposes, U.S. News published a 10 months after graduation employment percentage outcome that equals the proportion of 2022 graduates in all the job types that U.S. News weighs 100% for the purpose of calculating a weighted average in the 10-month employment ranking indicator. However, the actual value used in the rankings is an index that also awards partial credit for other outcomes values, and is described below. As previously stated, U.S. News used data for two graduating classes in the calculations.
These partially weighted jobs that were some combination of particular factors, namely short term and part time, in many cases funded by the law school and/or not utilizing bar passage received less credit by varying amounts, determined by an allocation of some or all of these factors.
Law schools are required to report these highly differentiated outcome measures each year to the ABA. For a more detailed explanation, see Notes on Employment Rates below.
Below is a ranking of the unweighted average employment 10 months after graduation for classes of 2022 and 2023. For comparison, the average unweighted average employment 10 months after graduation for classes of 2021 and 2022 (and the ranking of that average) are included alongside. As noted below, U.S. News does not reveal the weights it gives to the 45 different job types, employment statuses, and durations.
| Rank | School | 2025-2026 Employment | 2024-2025 Employment |
| 1 | Texas A&M | 99.71% | 97.05% (9) |
| 2 | Virginia | 99.19% | 98.28% (3) |
| 3 | Penn | 99.04% | 98.65% (2) |
| 4 | Washington Univ. | 98.90% | 96.41% (11) |
| 5 | Duke | 98.48% | 98.74% (1) |
| 6 | SMU | 98.20% | 95.25% (17) |
| 7 | Wake Forest | 98.20% | 97.03% (10) |
| 8 | Northwestern | 98.17% | 97.78% (6) |
| 9 | North Carolina | 98.15% | 96.30% (13) |
| 10 | Chicago | 97.91% | 97.91% (5) |
| 11 | Columbia | 97.51% | 97.95% (4) |
| 12 | Michigan | 97.48% | 96.26% (14) |
| 13 | NYU | 97.37% | 97.66% (7) |
| 14 | Iowa | 97.26% | 95.11% (19) |
| 15 | UCLA | 97.11% | 96.04% (15) |
| 16 | Yale | 97.06% | 96.31% (12) |
| 17 | Minnesota | 96.83% | 95.19% (18) |
| 18 | George Mason | 96.68% | 93.25% (34) |
| 19 | Florida State | 96.59% | 92.18% (46) |
| 20 | Washington & Lee | 96.52% | 93.22% (35) |
| 21 | Boston Univ. | 96.38% | 92.23% (45) |
| 22 | Vanderbilt | 96.19% | 95.11% (20) |
| 23 | Georgia | 96.10% | 97.21% (8) |
| 24 | Notre Dame | 95.91% | 93.17% (37) |
| 25 | Georgetown | 95.78% | 94.70% (24) |
| 26 | Texas | 95.77% | 94.12% (28) |
| 27 | Kentucky | 95.74% | 94.67% (25) |
| 28 | Harvard | 95.70% | 94.09% (30) |
| 29 | Alabama | 95.67% | 92.64% (42) |
| 30 | Boston College | 95.65% | 93.36% (33) |
| 31 | Florida | 95.43% | 93.05% (40) |
| 32 | Stanford | 95.43% | 94.36% (27) |
| 33 | Cornell | 95.31% | 94.96% (22) |
| 34 | Wisconsin | 95.14% | 91.95% (47) |
| 35 | Baylor | 94.78% | 91.60% (50) |
| 36 | Utah | 94.57% | 94.12% (29) |
| 37 | UC-Berkeley | 94.37% | 95.05% (21) |
| 38 | George Washington | 93.83% | 90.13% (61) |
| 39 | St. John’s | 93.78% | 91.93% (48) |
| 40 | Penn State-Dickinson | 93.62% | 89.31% (70) |
| 41 | Drexel | 93.52% | 92.38% (44) |
| 42 | Penn State-Univ. Park | 93.50% | 89.34% (68) |
| 43 | USC | 93.38% | 95.38% (16) |
| 44 | Fordham | 93.35% | 93.92% (31) |
| 45 | Wayne State | 93.34% | 93.17% (38) |
| 46 | Ohio State | 93.23% | 94.55% (26) |
| 47 | San Diego | 93.22% | 88.23% (80) |
| 48 | UC-Irvine | 93.15% | 87.96% (83) |
| 49 | Kansas | 93.08% | 94.93% (23) |
| 50 | Pepperdine | 92.86% | 91.36% (52) |
| Rank | School | 2025-2026 Employment | 2024-2025 Employment |
| 51 | Nebraska | 92.86% | 90.40% (58) |
| 52 | UC-Davis | 92.83% | 90.29% (59) |
| 53 | Villanova | 92.65% | 93.05% (39) |
| 54 | Temple | 92.49% | 90.99% (55) |
| 55 | South Carolina | 92.44% | 90.75% (57) |
| 56 | Emory | 92.35% | 89.13% (71) |
| 57 | Colorado | 92.31% | 89.39% (67) |
| 58 | Oklahoma | 92.24% | 93.19% (36) |
| 59 | Catholic | 92.24% | 86.59% (97) |
| 60 | Missouri-Columbia | 92.22% | 91.48% (51) |
| 61 | Chapman | 92.19% | 89.82% (62) |
| 62 | UNLV | 92.06% | 87.78% (86) |
| 63 | Marquette | 91.98% | 89.75% (63) |
| 64 | Connecticut | 91.86% | 86.91% (93) |
| 65 | Illinois | 91.64% | 92.80% (41) |
| 66 | BYU | 91.59% | 89.10% (72) |
| 67 | Arizona State | 91.52% | 93.67% (32) |
| 68 | William & Mary | 91.39% | 88.74% (75) |
| 69 | University of Arizona | 91.32% | 88.88% (74) |
| 70 | Stetson | 91.12% | 89.64% (64) |
| 71 | Indiana (Maurer) | 91.11% | 91.86% (49) |
| 72 | Cincinnati | 91.04% | 89.41% (66) |
| 73 | St. Thomas (MN) | 91.02% | 90.91% (56) |
| 74 | Dayton | 90.67% | 91.09% (54) |
| 75 | Drake | 90.56% | 91.33% (53) |
| 76 | Cardozo | 90.51% | 90.28% (60) |
| 77 | Samford | 90.41% | 86.74% (95) |
| 78 | Texas Tech | 90.27% | 92.59% (43) |
| 79 | Missouri-Kansas City | 90.25% | 82.25% (128) |
| 80 | Duquesne | 90.17% | 87.82% (85) |
| 81 | Montana | 90.12% | 87.75% (87) |
| 82 | Regent | 90.01% | 86.31% (100) |
| 83 | Tulane | 89.95% | 87.27% (91) |
| 84 | Maine | 89.91% | 80.39% (138) |
| 85 | Tennessee | 89.67% | 88.49% (76) |
| 86 | Georgia State | 89.53% | 86.44% (98) |
| 87 | Pittsburgh | 89.43% | 84.95% (109) |
| 88 | SUNY-Buffalo | 89.35% | 85.19% (105) |
| 89 | St. Louis | 89.24% | 89.33% (69) |
| 90 | Louisiana State | 89.22% | 86.07% (102) |
| 91 | Northeastern | 89.18% | 88.95% (73) |
| 92 | Albany | 89.05% | 86.89% (94) |
| 93 | South Dakota | 88.98% | 80.80% (135) |
| 94 | Loyola-L.A. | 88.88% | 89.64% (65) |
| 95 | Mercer | 88.83% | 87.70% (88) |
| 96 | Hofstra | 88.80% | 86.35% (99) |
| 97 | Houston | 88.80% | 85.46% (104) |
| 98 | West Virginia | 88.50% | 88.08% (81) |
| 99 | New York Law School | 88.41% | 84.01% (118) |
| 100 | University of Washington | 88.37% | 88.34% (77) |
| 101 | Tulsa | 88.28% | 87.84% (84) |
| 102 | Belmont | 88.26% | 84.49% (112) |
| 103 | Loyola-Chicago | 87.81% | 83.49% (120) |
| 104 | Wyoming | 87.80% | 85.09% (107) |
| 105 | Rutgers | 87.66% | 85.13% (106) |
| 106 | Seton Hall | 87.52% | 88.05% (82) |
| 107 | Mississippi | 87.35% | 84.20% (115) |
| 108 | Maryland | 87.35% | 87.65% (89) |
| 109 | Detroit Mercy | 87.28% | 88.27% (79) |
| 110 | Denver | 87.23% | 86.25% (101) |
| 111 | Richmond | 87.11% | 86.98% (92) |
| 112 | Florida Int’l | 86.85% | 87.32% (90) |
| 113 | Akron | 86.64% | 83.36% (121) |
| 114 | Howard | 86.26% | 82.67% (124) |
| 115 | Cleveland State | 86.25% | 84.92% (110) |
| 116 | Brooklyn | 86.23% | 83.05% (123) |
| 117 | Washburn | 86.18% | 84.07% (117) |
| 118 | Pace | 85.89% | 86.65% (96) |
| 119 | Indiana (McKinney) | 85.79% | 84.18% (116) |
| 120 | Northern Illinois | 85.64% | 79.81% (140) |
| 121 | Lewis & Clark | 85.61% | 88.32% (78) |
| 122 | UC-San Francisco | 85.55% | 85.51% (103) |
| 123 | American | 85.52% | 82.46% (126) |
| 124 | Suffolk | 85.30% | 85.07% (108) |
| 125 | Chicago-Kent | 85.13% | 83.36% (122) |
| 126 | Oregon | 84.70% | 84.24% (114) |
| 127 | Miami | 84.55% | 84.82% (111) |
| 128 | Loyola-New Orleans | 84.48% | 82.55% (125) |
| 129 | Northern Kentucky | 83.15% | 78.33% (143) |
| 130 | Ave Maria | 83.12% | 80.60% (137) |
| 131 | South Texas | 83.08% | 76.90% (150) |
| 132 | Michigan State | 82.09% | 83.50% (119) |
| 133 | Case Western | 81.94% | 82.38% (127) |
| 134 | Hawaii | 81.85% | 76.70% (152) |
| 135 | Campbell | 81.65% | 81.22% (132) |
| 136 | New Mexico | 81.20% | 80.86% (134) |
| 137 | Massachusetts | 81.14% | 74.22% (161) |
| 138 | Elon | 81.10% | 84.37% (113) |
| 139 | Idaho | 80.98% | 77.74% (144) |
| 140 | Toledo | 80.75% | 79.55% (141) |
| 141 | Arkansas-Little Rock | 80.57% | 75.84% (157) |
| 142 | Gonzaga | 80.56% | 81.78% (130) |
| 143 | New Hampshire | 80.54% | 81.21% (133) |
| 144 | Seattle | 80.43% | 82.08% (129) |
| 145 | Syracuse | 79.91% | 76.96% (149) |
| 146 | Baltimore | 79.54% | 76.12% (155) |
| 147 | Mississippi College | 79.39% | 76.18% (154) |
| 148 | DePaul | 79.37% | 80.79% (136) |
| 149 | Willamette | 78.82% | 77.48% (147) |
| 150 | Arkansas-Fayetteville | 78.31% | 74.31% (159) |
| 151 | St. Mary’s | 78.29% | 76.39% (153) |
| 152 | Louisville | 78.28% | 78.91% (142) |
| 153 | Quinnipiac | 77.99% | 76.00% (156) |
| 154 | Oklahoma City | 77.89% | 81.40% (131) |
| 155 | Creighton | 77.56% | 74.22% (162) |
| 156 | Touro | 77.29% | 70.48% (171) |
| 157 | Roger Williams | 76.52% | 72.50% (168) |
| 158 | Liberty | 76.34% | 77.50% (146) |
| 159 | St. Thomas (FL) | 76.33% | 72.77% (167) |
| 160 | Vermont | 75.99% | 72.78% (166) |
| 161 | Memphis | 75.84% | 76.78% (151) |
| 162 | Appalachian | 75.79% | 66.93% (179) |
| 163 | Southern Illinois | 75.64% | 74.36% (158) |
| 164 | Southwestern | 75.64% | 77.56% (145) |
| 165 | Western New England | 75.12% | 68.11% (175) |
| 166 | Widener (PA) | 74.97% | 77.43% (148) |
| 167 | Illinois-Chicago | 74.86% | 73.34% (163) |
| 168 | Lincoln Memorial | 74.57% | 74.26% (160) |
| 169 | Western State | 74.46% | 68.43% (173) |
| 170 | Charleston | 74.22% | 70.00% (172) |
| 171 | New England | 74.01% | 73.14% (164) |
| 172 | Ohio Northern | 73.54% | 79.98% (139) |
| 173 | Faulkner | 73.28% | 65.76% (183) |
| 174 | North Dakota | 73.14% | 67.73% (177) |
| 175 | Widener (DE) | 73.10% | 66.10% (182) |
| 176 | North Texas | 72.32% | 68.35% (174) |
| 177 | Cal-Western | 71.47% | 66.61% (181) |
| 178 | Pacific | 71.36% | 72.78% (165) |
| 179 | Santa Clara | 71.24% | 66.90% (180) |
| 180 | CUNY | 70.90% | 71.81% (169) |
| 181 | Mitchell | Hamline | 70.18% | 64.45% (185) |
| 182 | District of Columbia | 69.30% | 62.00% (187) |
| 183 | San Francisco | 68.83% | 67.02% (178) |
| 184 | Capital | 68.57% | 60.73% (189) |
| 185 | Nova | 67.90% | 65.12% (184) |
| 186 | Texas Southern | 66.97% | 58.85% (190) |
| 187 | Florida A&M | 66.84% | 61.02% (188) |
| 188 | Barry | 65.86% | 67.85% (176) |
| 189 | North Carolina Central | 65.24% | 53.88% (192) |
| 190 | John Marshall (GA) | 64.16% | 71.75% (170) |
| 191 | Cooley | 62.97% | 63.90% (186) |
| 192 | Southern | 56.52% | 57.76% (191) |
| 193 | Puerto Rico | 52.15% | 47.60% (193) |
| 194 | Inter-American (PR) | 46.36% | 40.30% (194) |
| 195 | Pontifical Catholic (PR) | 23.97% | 20.20% (195) |
In recent years, enhanced ABA reporting rules have led to more information becoming available from law schools about the many types of positions law students take after they graduate. Each year, schools are required to report to the ABA how many of their most recent graduates had various types of jobs lined up after graduation.
As in previous years, the ABA mandated that schools report law school and university positions separately from all other nonuniversity-funded positions to make the difference between the two types of jobs very clear. U.S. News continued to use this standard for data collection for the classes of 2021 and 2022 for 10 months after graduation, which is the ABA-required time frame. The ABA chose that 10-month time frame to provide enough time for J.D. graduates to take the bar exam in the state of their choosing, get results and look for a job.
These ABA standards require law schools to go into great detail by reporting 45 different job types, as well as employment status and duration. That includes, for example, whether each graduate’s employment was long term – defined as lasting at least a year – or short term, whether it was full or part time, and whether it required passage of a bar exam.
U.S. News collected these same statistics when schools were surveyed for the annual rankings and gathered the same data on members of the class who were employed 10 months after graduation. U.S. News also collected data on students’ jobs when the law school was unable to determine length of employment or full- or part-time status, as well as when employment status was unknown.
U.S. News incorporated this rich 10 months after graduation data into its computation of the employment measure for the classes of 2021 and 2022 at 10 months after graduation. Placement success was calculated by assigning various weights to the number of graduates employed in 45 of these different types of post-J.D. jobs, employment statuses and durations.
Full weight was given for graduates who had these types of jobs. The 100% weighted jobs were those who had a full-time job that lasted at least a year and for which bar passage was required, or a full-time job that lasted at least a year where a J.D. degree was an advantage.
Plus, we continue to give full weight to school-funded full-time, long-term fellowships where bar passage is required or where the J.D. degree is an advantage. We also give full weight to those enrolled in graduate studies in the ABA employment outcomes grid.
Less weight went to full-time, long-term jobs that were professional or nonprofessional and did not require bar passage, and to positions whose start dates were deferred. The lowest weight applied to jobs categorized as both part time and short term, and those jobs for which a law school was unable to determine length of employment or whether they were full time.
In terms of all law school and university positions, U.S. News continues to apply a discount for some law school-funded jobs which aren’t fully weighted in our rankings calculations.
These weighted employment figures were divided by the number of graduates, then used to produce a weighted employment value for the 2021 and 2022 graduating J.D. classes and then averaged. They were used in the ranking formula only and are not published.
To reduce the year-to-year volatility in this indicator given the small sizes of some graduating J.D. classes, this 10 months after graduation indicator was based on the average of the 2021 and 2022 graduating classes’ outcomes 10 months after graduation. Previously, this indicator was based only on the most recent year.
Actual rates for the other types of positions of each school’s latest graduating class of 2022 appear in the profiles.
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