There are many ways to rank law schools, but the way that the National Jurist’s preLaw Magazine does it is quite interesting. Rather than concentrating on the prestige factors that usually dominate law school ranking systems, this ranking focuses solely on factors that provide the “best value” for students. That said, this is a list that is typically dominated by public schools, with a smattering of private schools mixed in. Curiously, a private school found its way to the top of the National Jurist ranking for a few years — but that has come to an end, and a new value victor reigns supreme in 2026.
Before we get to the Top 20 ranking, let’s discuss the methodology used to suss out which law schools are providing the best value for students. The National Jurist’s ranking takes into account a law school’s tuition, students’ cost of living expenses, students’ average indebtedness upon graduation (collectively weighted 50%), the percentage of graduates who got a job after graduation (35%), and bar passage rates (two-year difference between first-time pass rate and average state pass rate; two-year ultimate pass rate; and two-year first-time raw pass rate) (15%).
As noted previously, based on these inputs, the ranking tends to skew heavily towards public schools, but private schools made a showing in this year’s ranking. One private school cracked the Top 20, while nine others followed behind later.
Without further ado, here are the National Jurist’s Top 20 Best Value Law Schools:
- University of Georgia
- Brigham Young University
- University of Florida
- Florida State University
- University of Alabama
- University of Kansas
- Georgia State University
- University of Nebraska
- University of Missouri
- University of Illinois
- University of North Carolina
- University of Iowa
- Texas A&M Law
- Texas Tech University
- University of Kentucky
- University of Utah
- Ohio State University
- University of Oklahoma
- Temple University
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Click here to see the full ranking.
Georgia Law reclaimed the No. 1 spot in this year’s Best Value rankings, a success Dean Usha Rodrigues attributes to the school’s commitment to expanding access while keeping student debt in check. “Our mission is to be a school that combines excellence and access,” she said. “The goal is for our students to graduate and be able to follow their passions wherever they take them. And we feel good about the fact that we can do that not just for certain students, but for all our students.”
The lesson to be learned here is simple: if you want to keep your debt low, consider enrolling at a public law school. If you don’t mind up to a six-figure debt load, enroll in the best law school you can get into (let’s say the top 50), because those are the schools where you’ll be able to get jobs that will allow you to service your loans.
Congrats to the law schools that offer their students the “best value.”
Best value law schools [preLaw Magazine / National Jurist]
UGA School of law, BYU Law earn top spots for 2026 best value law schools [preLaw Magazine / National Jurist]
Staci Zaretsky is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.
