Best Legal Services Schools Near Newark, NJ (2026)

Newark, New Jersey has 63 accredited schools offering legal services programs, with tuition ranging from $5,280 to $62,796 per year for indexed programs. Newark has a population of about 307,188. Median household income is $48,416 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 17.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, the top-earning legal services-related role is Lawyer at a median $208,880 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer legal services programs near Newark, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Newark city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Newark. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

Essex County College

Newark, NJ 1.1 miles from Newark BOC Score 43.1
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
  • Accredited
Graduation rate 20%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $37,230
Avg net price $4,436/yr
Tuition
In‑state$5,415
Out‑of‑state$9,523
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 36

Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all New Jersey schools on the New Jersey legal services page.


Newark is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (BLS area code 35620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to New Jersey statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Paralegal and Legal Assistant$75,330New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$66,901
Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant$75,920New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$67,425
Lawyer$208,880New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$185,506

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.


Newark at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population307,188Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$48,416Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+17.4%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)112.6 (above U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024


Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 63 accredited schools offering legal services programs near Newark. The closest is Essex County College in Newark, NJ (1.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (10.1 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying legal services-related roles near Newark are: Lawyer ($208,880), Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant ($75,920), Paralegal and Legal Assistant ($75,330). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with New Jersey statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Kearny instead of Newark?

Kearny, NJ is 3.4 miles from Newark and has its own set of local legal services programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Newark’s median household income of $48,416 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Newark while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and New Jersey public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.


Other Programs Available in Newark

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Newark:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.