Employment and Salary Information

  1. Careers
  2. Employment Statistics
  3. Employment and Salary Information

To further assist our prospective students as they consider enrolling in law school, we have published employment and salary information for the classes of 2023, 2022, and 2021. 

Employment Status

 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 
 NumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentage
Total Graduates427 410 460 
Employment Status Known427100%410100%460100%
Employed41797.7%40699%45198%
   Bar Passage Required141396.7%39796.8%44697%
   JD Advantage130.7%71.7%30.7%
   Other Professional: Full-time110.2%10.2%20.4%
   Other Professional: Part-time100.0%10.2%00.0%
Enrolled in Graduate Degree Program FT00.0%00.0%10.2%
Employed-Start Date Deferred10.2%00.0%00.0%
Unemployed-Seeking71.6%30.7%51.1%
Unemployed-Not Seeking20.5%10.2%30.7%

1 This is a percentage of employed students divided by total graduates.
* These numbers have been updated to reflect the number of ABA reported graduates.

Employed Graduates: Further Detail, Class of 2023

 TotalFull-Time Part-Time 
  Long-TermShort-TermLong-TermShort-Term
Total Employed Graduates417414300
     Bar Passage Required413409300
     J.D. Advantage33000
     Professional: Full-time11000
     Professional: Part-time 00000
     Undeterminable00000

Law School/University Funded Positions

 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 
 NumberPercentage of EmployedNumberPercentage of EmployedNumberPercentage of Employed
Law School/University Funded Positions241%71.7%61.3%

2 These fellowships in public interest law and government service are funded at a minimum of $45,000 and last a minimum of one year. A J.D. degree is required and fellows are eligible for Columbia Law School's Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP). 

Percentage of Employed Graduates by Employment Type

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
Law Firm81.3%84.5%80%
     Firm size 1-100.0%0.3%0.6%
     Firm size 11-250.6%0.9%0.0%
     Firm size 26-501.2%0.6%1.4%
     Firm size 51-1000.9%1.5%0.8%
     Firm size 101-2502.1%2.3%4.4%
     Firm size 251-50013%11.4%9.7%
     Firm size 500+ 82.3%83.1%83.1%
Business0.7%0.7%0.9%
Government3.6%4.2%4.7%
Public Interest7.2%5.4%7.8%
Judicial Clerkship36.7%4.9%6.7%
     Federal5.3%4.2%5.8%
     State1.4%0.5%0.7%
     International0.0%0.2%0.2%
Education0.5%0.0%0.0%
Employer type unknown0.0%0.0%0.0%

3 The judicial clerkship percentage includes only those graduates who clerked for a judge as a first job after graduation. 

Employment by Geographic Location

 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 
 NumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentage
Mid-Atlantic
(NJ, NY, PA)		30573.1%30575.1%31369.4%
Pacific
(AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)		368.6%256.2%449.8%
South Atlantic
(DC, DE, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)		4510.8%327.9%398.6%
New England
(CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)		102.4%112.7%153.3%
East North Central
(IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)		51.2%61.5%51.1%
West South Central
(AR, LA, OK, TX)		51.2%51.2%112.4%
Non-US locations81.9%92.2%153.3%
Mountain
(AZ, CO, ID, MT, NM, NV, UT, WY)		20.5%61.5%61.3%
West North Central
(IA, KS, MN, MO, ND, NE, SD)		00.0%30.7%00.0%
East South Central
(AL, KY, MS, TN)		00.0%30.7%30.7%
U.S. Territories10.2%10.2%00.0%

Employment Concentration, Public and Private Employers

 Class of 2023 Class of 2022 Class of 2021 
LocationNumberPercentageNumberPercentageNumberPercentage
New York30071.9%29973.6%30868.3%
District of Columbia368.6%276.7%245.3%
California317.4%245.9%408.9%
Non-US locations81.9%92.2%153.3%

Salaries of Employed Graduates4

All Employed Graduates

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported99.3% reported99.8% reported
75th Percentile$225,000$215,000$215,000
25th Percentile$225,000$215,000$215,000
Median$225,000$215,000$215,000
Mean$196,198$190,539$185,192

Law Firm

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported99.7% reported100% reported
75th Percentile$225,000$215,000$215,000
25th Percentile$225,000$215,000$215,000
Median$225,000$215,000$215,000
Mean$223,336$211,411$212,600

Judicial Clerkship

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported100% reported96.7% reported
75th Percentile$80,000$75,000$72,750
25th Percentile$73,889$66,000$64,822
Median$78,000$67,382$70,000
Mean$76,604$68,386$67,754

Government

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported100% reported100% reported
75th Percentile$75,000$73,500$73,962
25th Percentile$65,000$60,000$69,000
Median$74,553$72,000$70,225
Mean$69,365$69,462$79,548

Public Interest

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported100% reported100% reported
75th Percentile$74,000$73,593$70,000
25th Percentile$59,603$60,000$47,000
Median$66,000$68,000$64,260
Mean$65,407$66,193$61,100

Business

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported*100% reported*100% reported*
75th Percentile---
25th Percentile---
Median---
Mean---

Education

 Class of 2023Class of 2022Class of 2021
 100% reported*100% reported*100% reported*
75th Percentile---
25th Percentile---
Median---
Mean---

4 Salaries of graduates employed in full-time, long-term positions.

*Salary analysis is not available since fewer than 5 salaries were reported.