by our College Data Analytics Team
[Legal Studies](/majors/legal-studies-and-professions/general-legal-studies/legal-studies/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for legal studies students.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the legal studies degrees they offer, see the list below.
For return on investment in legal studies, no school beat Hamline University this year. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Hamline University is a mid-sized private not-for-profit university. The average in-state cost of tuition and fees is $50,004. Typical student debt for legal studies graduates is $23,250. Early-career legal studies graduates make about $40,059. That is a strong return on a $23,250 median debt. Roughly 88% of applicants are accepted.
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 3 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.