Majors

Best Colleges for Human Development and Family Studies, by Earnings

235 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Human Development and Family Studies, about 9,533 degrees a year. Across the 137 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $47,390 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Cornell University	NY	$73,066	90	8.8%
2	University of Virginia	VA	$71,638	42	16.8%
3	University of Maryland	MD	$65,136	90	44.8%
4	Florida State University	FL	$62,663	246	24.2%
5	Binghamton University	NY	$62,506	118	38.6%
6	George Mason University	VA	$61,565	15	87.5%
7	University of California-San Diego	CA	$61,262	53	26.7%
8	University of Georgia	GA	$59,664	135	37.7%
9	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$59,166	144	26.6%
10	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	$59,044	158	45.2%
11	Washington State University	WA	$58,834	135	86.6%
12	Virginia Tech	VA	$58,340	209	54.8%
13	California State University-East Bay	CA	$57,898	216	97.4%
14	University of Connecticut	CT	$57,888	145	52.4%
15	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	$57,888	1	86.7%
16	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	$57,888	1	83%
17	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	$57,888	1	88.3%
18	Towson University	MD	$57,295	8	82%
19	Concordia University-Saint Paul	MN	$55,294	40	78.9%
20	University of New Hampshire	NH	$55,186	84	88.2%
21	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$55,181	21	74.7%
22	University of Houston	TX	$54,871	102	73.9%
23	Central Washington University	WA	$54,858	5	90.6%
24	SUNY Oneonta	NY	$53,836	36	69.6%
25	Michigan State University	MI	$53,740	80	84.8%
26	Merrimack College	MA	$53,734	107	70%
27	Montclair State University	NJ	$53,575	177	87.9%
28	California State University-San Marcos	CA	$53,568	163	95.1%
29	Syracuse University	NY	$53,522	27	45.9%
30	Bowie State University	MD	$53,181	21	72.4%
31	Oregon State University	OR	$53,109	163	77.3%
32	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus	OR	$53,109	6	63.1%
33	Illinois State University	IL	$52,748	32	88.2%
34	University of Vermont	VT	$52,698	16	65.3%
35	Sonoma State University	CA	$52,672	26	93.4%
36	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	$52,593	18	78.4%
37	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$52,084	87	73.7%
38	Texas Tech University	TX	$51,921	184	72.7%
39	University of Arizona	AZ	$51,857	96	86.1%
40	Fresno Pacific University	CA	$51,756	104	64.1%
41	Temple University	PA	$51,610	19	80.4%
42	University of Florida	FL	$51,497	71	24.2%
43	University of Rhode Island	RI	$51,416	88	72.2%
44	California State University-Monterey Bay	CA	$51,118	69	97.4%
45	Ohio State University	OH	$50,921	101	60.6%
46	Samford University	AL	$50,809	29	82.4%
47	York College of Pennsylvania	PA	$50,652	18	73.7%
48	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	$50,583	100	75%
49	Abilene Christian University	TX	$50,525	21	66%
50	Portland State University	OR	$50,427	57	90.9%
51	Louisiana State University	LA	$50,422	37	73.3%
52	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$50,396	101	42.4%
53	Texas State University	TX	$50,151	64	89.3%
54	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	$50,123	60	77.3%
55	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	$50,052	103	95%
56	Stevenson University	MD	$49,902	20	78.9%
57	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	$49,785	96	41.6%
58	Purdue University	IN	$49,649	57	49.9%
59	Eastern Washington University	WA	$49,391	26	90.8%
60	Western Michigan University	MI	$49,286	52	84.6%
61	Texas Woman's University	TX	$49,210	91	96.1%
62	Northern Illinois University	IL	$49,147	63	69.8%
63	West Virginia University	WV	$48,893	18	89%
64	University of North Texas	TX	$48,172	50	72.2%
65	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$48,043	44	87.7%
66	Southern Nazarene University	OK	$47,976	25
67	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$47,874	45	86.6%
68	Kansas State University	KS	$47,528	86	81.7%
69	Southern University at New Orleans	LA	$47,390	14	78.9%
70	Baylor University	TX	$46,979	29	51.3%
71	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$46,966	99	46.3%
72	East Carolina University	NC	$46,941	52	89.2%
73	University of Missouri	MO	$46,853	52	78.5%
74	Messiah University	PA	$46,813	21	79%
75	University of Idaho	ID	$46,758	16	75.5%
76	South Dakota State University	SD	$46,487	56	98.3%
77	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	$46,420	33	78.1%
78	Ball State University	IN	$46,269	29	85.5%
79	University of Arkansas	AR	$46,268	48	74.3%
80	Iowa State University	IA	$46,253	48	88.7%
81	Auburn University	AL	$46,242	72	45.9%
82	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	$46,140	98	88.5%
83	Point Loma Nazarene University	CA	$46,119	55	83.7%
84	Pennsylvania State University	PA	$45,943	79	60.6%
85	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	$45,943	34	91.2%
86	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine	PA	$45,943	17	98.1%
87	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton	PA	$45,943	15	98.5%
88	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	PA	$45,943	14	97.6%
89	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State York	PA	$45,943	12	97.4%
90	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Mont Alto	PA	$45,943	11	98.2%
91	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona	PA	$45,943	10	98.1%
92	Central Michigan University	MI	$45,881	86	89.8%
93	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	$45,821	16	49.9%
94	Madonna University	MI	$45,795	1	63.4%
95	The University of Alabama	AL	$45,751	117	76.6%
96	Oklahoma Christian University	OK	$45,738	9	96.5%
97	University of La Verne	CA	$45,712	16	71.2%
98	Baker College	MI	$45,610	30	81.9%
99	Georgia Southern University	GA	$45,505	57	87.9%
100	National Louis University	IL	$45,388	56	95.1%

Showing the top 100 of 137 colleges that report earnings. 98 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Human Development and Family Studies graduates?

Cornell University ($73,066), University of Virginia ($71,638), University of Maryland ($65,136), Florida State University ($62,663), Binghamton University ($62,506) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Human Development and Family Studies majors make?

The median across 137 colleges is $47,390 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $28,906 to $73,066.

Which colleges have the biggest Human Development and Family Studies programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of California-Davis (335), Brigham Young University (266), Florida State University (246), California State University-East Bay (216), Virginia Tech (209).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.