The Law School Admission Council website includes an option to conduct a detailed search of all ABA-accredited law schools according to user-specified criteria, including financial information. To find the lowest-cost law schools listed by LSAC, individuals can select the option to filter search results by full-time tuition and fees. Selecting "less than $15,000" as the search criterion under tuition and fees leads to a list of 36 institutions. Among these schools, tuition costs range just under $8,000 for the lowest-cost options to just under $15,000 annually. LSAC lists the 2010 annual in-state tuition for the University of Puerto Rico School of Law at $6,345, Southern University Law Center at $7,978, the University of the District of Columbia's David A. Clarke School of Law at $7,980, and North Carolina Central University School of Law at $8,097.
Prospective law students who plan to attend Juris Doctor programs in the states where they already live may often find lower tuition costs at public law schools, also known as state schools. According to the ABA, public law schools charged an average of $18,472 for in-state tuition and fees in 2009. To qualify for the lowest, in-state tuition rates, however, prospective students must meet each public law school's state residency requirements. The ABA provides a list of all accredited public law schools in the United States on its website.
Individuals who do not live in the state where a public law school operates may still find slightly lower tuition costs than those charged by private law schools. The ABA reports that non-resident students paid an average cost of $30,413 in tuition and fees to attend state schools across the United States in 2009. The same ABA report publishes the average 2009 cost of tuition and fees for private law schools as $35,743. While non-residents may not be able to pay the lowest possible tuition costs when compared with residents of the state, public law schools may still charge slightly lower costs overall when compared with private law schools.
When prospective law students consider the options for their legal educations, they may focus on their financial options and make matriculation decisions at least partly based on the financial costs. However, prospective students may also benefit from researching each law school's financial stability and potential budget cuts. A 2009 "National Law Journal" article discusses the budget concerns faced by both private and public law schools. Public law schools, which often offer the lowest tuition costs for in-state residents, rely on state budgets for at least some of their funding. Tough economic conditions may lead to reduced funds from state legislatures, which in turn can lead to increased professor-student class ratios or fewer library acquisitions.