Best Legal Studies Schools Near Durham, NC (2026)

Durham, North Carolina has 2 accredited schools offering legal studies programs, with tuition ranging from $22,465 to $34,176 per year for indexed programs. Durham has a population of about 288,465. Median household income is $79,234 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 55.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area, the top-earning legal studies-related role is Lawyer at a median $132,790 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


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

No school data available.

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all North Carolina schools on the North Carolina legal studies page.


Durham is part of the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area (BLS area code 20500). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to North Carolina statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Paralegal and Legal Assistant$52,500Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$53,791
Lawyer$132,790Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$136,055
Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant$47,490Durham-Chapel Hill, NC$48,658

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.


Durham at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population288,465Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$79,234Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+55.7%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)97.6 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024


Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering legal studies programs near Durham. The closest is William Peace University in Raleigh, NC (19.9 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Liberty University (95.9 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying legal studies-related roles near Durham are: Lawyer ($132,790), Paralegal and Legal Assistant ($52,500), Legal Secretary and Administrative Assistant ($47,490). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with North Carolina statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Chapel Hill instead of Durham?

Chapel Hill, NC is 8.4 miles from Durham and has its own set of local legal studies programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Durham’s median household income of $79,234 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Durham while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and North Carolina 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 Durham

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

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.