Access to Justice Statistics (2026)

Most civil legal problems in the United States, from debt collection and evictions to family and estate matters, are handled without a lawyer. This page collects sourced statistics on how often Americans face civil legal problems, how rarely they get legal help, and why.

Figures come from the Legal Services Corporation's Justice Gap study, IAALS, Clio's Legal Trends data, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Center for State Courts, the World Justice Project, the American Bar Association and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Each statistic links to its source with a verbatim quote.

40 statistics, each linked to its source. Updated October 2026.

Key statistics

In 2021, low-income Americans did not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems, according to the Legal Services Corporation.: 92%; Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 74% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, according to the Legal Services Corporation's Justice Gap study.: 74%; Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2025, the average hourly rate for a lawyer in the United States was $349, according to Clio's Legal Trends data.: $349; Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2021, 46% of low-income Americans who did not seek legal help for one or more problems cited concerns about cost as a reason, according to the Legal Services Corporation.: 46%; Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
Research on debt collection lawsuits from 2010 to 2019 found that less than 10 percent of defendants had counsel, compared with nearly all plaintiffs, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.: less than 10%; The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts

How many Americans have civil legal problems?

In 2021, about 50 million Americans had household incomes below 125% of the poverty threshold, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 74% of low-income households experienced at least one civil legal problem in the past year, according to the Legal Services Corporation's Justice Gap study.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 39% of low-income households experienced five or more civil legal problems in the past year, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 55% of low-income Americans who personally experienced a civil legal problem said it substantially impacted their lives, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 50% of low-income households experienced a civil legal problem related to consumer issues, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 3: The Prevalence of Civil Legal Problems | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 33% of low-income households experienced a civil legal problem related to housing, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 3: The Prevalence of Civil Legal Problems | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 66% of the US population had experienced at least one legal issue in the past four years, according to IAALS and HiiL's US Justice Needs study.
IAALS, University of Denver, Justice Needs and Satisfaction in the United States of America
In 2021, just 49% of the legal problems Americans experienced in the past four years had been completely resolved, according to IAALS.
IAALS, University of Denver, Justice Needs and Satisfaction in the United States of America
IAALS estimated in 2021 that 120 million legal problems in the US do not reach a fair resolution every year.
IAALS, University of Denver, Justice Needs and Satisfaction in the United States of America

How many people handle legal problems without a lawyer?

In 2021, low-income Americans did not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, low-income Americans sought legal help for only 25% of the civil legal problems that substantially impacted them, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, low-income Americans sought legal help for 19% of all their civil legal problems in the past year, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, low-income Americans who sought legal help said they did not receive all the help they needed for 64% of those problems, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, low-income Americans did not think a lawyer could help with 44% of their civil legal problems, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help | The Justice Gap Report

Why don't people hire a lawyer?

In 2021, 46% of low-income Americans who did not seek legal help for one or more problems cited concerns about cost as a reason, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 61% of low-income Americans who sought legal help but did not get all they needed said one reason was that more help was too expensive, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Section 4: Seeking and Receiving Legal Help | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 53% of low-income Americans did not know if they could find and afford a lawyer if they needed one, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, 45% of people at or below 125% of the poverty line were confident they could find and afford a lawyer, compared with 73% of people at or above 400% of the poverty line, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report

Can legal aid meet the demand?

In 2021, low-income individuals approached organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation for help with an estimated 1.9 million civil legal problems, according to LSC.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, LSC-funded legal aid organizations had to turn away 49% of the requests they received due to limited resources, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, LSC-funded legal aid organizations had the resources to fully resolve only 56% of the problems they assisted with, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2021, LSC-funded organizations were unable to provide any or enough legal help for an estimated 1.4 million civil legal problems, or 71% of the problems brought to them, according to the Legal Services Corporation.
Legal Services Corporation, Executive Summary | The Justice Gap Report
In 2023, 84% of states had court-based self-help centers that had been operating for more than five years, according to a National Center for State Courts survey.
National Center for State Courts, Court-based self-help centers: National survey findings, recommendations & best practices

How much does a lawyer cost per hour?

In 2025, the average hourly rate for a lawyer in the United States was $349, according to Clio's Legal Trends data.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average blended hourly rate that US law firms charged, combining lawyer and non-lawyer time, was $311, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average hourly rate for non-lawyers such as paralegals at US law firms was $187, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average hourly rate for a family law lawyer in the US was $344, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average hourly rate for a wills and estates lawyer in the US was $371, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average hourly rate for a real estate lawyer in the US was $377, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the average hourly rate for a bankruptcy lawyer in the US was $460, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)
In 2025, the District of Columbia had the highest average lawyer hourly rate at $492, while West Virginia had the lowest at $196, according to Clio.
Clio, How Much Should I Charge as a Lawyer? (Legal Trends, updated March 2026)

How often do people face court without a lawyer?

In 2013, about 4 million debt collection lawsuits were filed in US state courts, up from less than 1.7 million in 1993, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts
In 2013, debt collection suits made up an estimated 1 in 4 civil cases in US state courts, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts
Research on debt collection lawsuits from 2010 to 2019 found that less than 10 percent of defendants had counsel, compared with nearly all plaintiffs, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts
In the decade before 2020, courts resolved more than 70 percent of debt collection lawsuits with default judgments for the plaintiff in jurisdictions with available data, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, How Debt Collectors Are Transforming the Business of State Courts

How does the US rank on access to civil justice?

In 2025, the United States ranked 37th of 143 countries on civil justice in the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index.
World Justice Project, WJP Rule of Law Index: United States, Civil Justice (2025)
In 2025, the United States ranked 112th of 143 countries on whether people can access and afford civil justice, according to the World Justice Project.
World Justice Project, WJP Rule of Law Index: United States, Civil Justice (2025)
In 2025, the United States ranked 51st of 51 high-income countries on whether people can access and afford civil justice, according to the World Justice Project.
World Justice Project, WJP Rule of Law Index: United States, Civil Justice (2025)
In 2025, there were 1.37 million lawyers in the United States, up from 1.35 million the previous year, according to the American Bar Association.
American Bar Association, ABA Profile of the Legal Profession
In May 2025, the median annual wage for lawyers in the US was $159,670, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lawyers: Occupational Outlook Handbook

Frequently asked questions

What is the justice gap?

The justice gap is the difference between Americans' civil legal needs and the help available. In 2021, low-income Americans did not get any or enough legal help for 92% of their substantial civil legal problems, according to the Legal Services Corporation.

How much does a lawyer cost per hour in the US?

According to Clio, the average hourly rate for a US lawyer was $349 in 2025. Averages varied by practice area, for example $344 for family law, $371 for wills and estates and $377 for real estate.

Why do people handle legal problems without a lawyer?

Cost is a major reason. In 2021, 46% of low-income Americans who did not seek legal help for one or more problems cited cost, and 53% of low-income Americans did not know if they could find and afford a lawyer, according to the Legal Services Corporation. Low-income Americans also did not think a lawyer could help with 44% of their civil legal problems.

How many debt collection defendants have a lawyer?

Research on debt collection lawsuits from 2010 to 2019 found that less than 10 percent of defendants had counsel, compared with nearly all plaintiffs, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. Courts resolved more than 70 percent of these suits with default judgments for the plaintiff in jurisdictions with data.

Can legal aid help everyone who asks?

No. In 2021, LSC-funded legal aid organizations had to turn away 49% of the requests for help they received due to limited resources, according to the Legal Services Corporation. Low-income individuals approached these organizations for help with an estimated 1.9 million civil legal problems that year.

Cite this page

You are welcome to use these statistics. Please cite the original source of each number and link to this page:

Oakclause. "Access to Justice Statistics (2026)." Updated October 2026. https://www.oakclause.com/statistics/access-to-justice-statistics

How we compiled these statistics

Every number comes from a published source that we opened and checked, mostly government agencies, academic research and established surveys. Each statement names the year the data refers to, and we keep the newest edition we could find. We do not combine numbers from different sources into new figures. Read our editorial policy.