First professional · Saint Paul, Minnesota

Is Law at Mitchell Hamline School of Law worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $79,853; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $98,279; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $111,530; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $118k (likely $118k – $118k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $32k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in MN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.1 years (likely 6.1–8.2); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$165k (likely −$264k – −$99k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $253k (likely $71k – $432k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.