Uplift Legal Funding released a reports on which states are the worst for aspiring lawyers based on degree cost, job prospects, academic success and well-being. The company ranked South Carolina as the 8th worst.
The company assigned each state a score out of ten based on local job prospects, degree affordability, academic success rate, college experience, cost of living, and emotional well-being – to name the ideal place to pursue a career in law.
Job prospects considered each state's mean annual wage, specialization, and employment opportunities per 1k jobs (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics), while emotional well-being was based on mental health, happiness, and occupational stress levels.
Degree affordability analyzed local law school stats, including the percentage of first-year students who receive financial aid, in-state tuition costs, and college living expenses. Academic success was based on college selectivity, GPA medians, and bar pass rates.
College experience assigned each state a night out affordability score and compiled Princeton Review scores for academic experience and ‘quality of life'. The cost of living accounted for average student loan debt, disposable income, and typical state rent costs.
New York scored the best overall, ranking particularly highly for job prospects, academic success rate and college experience, making it the best choice for budding lawyers. The typical lawyer earns $188,900 in The Empire State, the third-highest salary behind California and Massachusetts. New York scored full marks for sector specialization and job opportunities, as there's a high demand for law services and lawyers in the state. On the other end of the scale, the states that performed the poorest in the ranking include Idaho, which scored particularly poorly for job prospects and emotional well-being. The state offered one of the lowest annual wages at $96,810 – 49% less than New York – and has fewer job opportunities, while the state's workers reported particularly high levels of occupational stress, suggesting a poor work-life balance and low levels of job satisfaction. The bottom ten states for aspiring lawyers:
