Majors

Best Colleges for Social Work, by Earnings

540 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Social Work, about 19,336 degrees a year. Across the 410 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $51,670 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Providence College	RI	$70,356	13	50.9%
2	CUNY Hunter College	NY	$70,273	54	53.8%
3	La Sierra University	CA	$69,244	12	91.5%
4	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	$69,201	54	93.7%
5	San Francisco State University	CA	$68,524	24	96.4%
6	California State University-Long Beach	CA	$68,448	69	46.3%
7	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	$67,458	18	78%
8	University of California-Berkeley	CA	$67,393	81	11%
9	Iona University	NY	$66,417	15	86.9%
10	Fordham University	NY	$66,349	7	59.3%
11	Adelphi University	NY	$66,162	41	65.9%
12	Texas Christian University	TX	$65,536	24	44.5%
13	The Catholic University of America	DC	$65,185	8	82.8%
14	Dominican University New York	NY	$64,672	8	63.3%
15	Seton Hall University	NJ	$63,559	13	73.3%
16	Portland State University	OR	$63,456	94	90.9%
17	Simmons University	MA	$62,992	22	70%
18	CUNY Lehman College	NY	$62,955	140	56.6%
19	Centenary University	NJ	$62,373	6	83.1%
20	St Catherine University	MN	$62,227	39	91.9%
21	George Fox University	OR	$62,201	17	93.5%
22	Fresno Pacific University	CA	$61,951	132	64.1%
23	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	$61,908	42	83%
24	Creighton University	NE	$61,829	18	79.8%
25	Barry University	FL	$61,820	13	77.2%
26	Anna Maria College	MA	$61,652	9	50.3%
27	College of Staten Island CUNY	NY	$61,558	31	92.3%
28	Skidmore College	NY	$61,428	16	21.1%
29	College of Our Lady of the Elms	MA	$60,938	44	85.3%
30	Syracuse University	NY	$60,920	20	45.9%
31	CUNY York College	NY	$60,820	47	64.1%
32	Metropolitan State University	MN	$60,755	63	98.7%
33	CUNY Medgar Evers College	NY	$60,755	47	86.1%
34	Eastern Washington University	WA	$60,696	50	90.8%
35	Augsburg University	MN	$60,546	23	82%
36	Walla Walla University	WA	$60,449	13
37	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	$60,344	104	96.2%
38	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$60,320	84	73.7%
39	Siena University	NY	$60,100	20	69%
40	Morgan State University	MD	$60,082	53	82.2%
41	Salem State University	MA	$60,026	31	95.9%
42	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	$59,925	25	78.4%
43	University of Texas at Austin	TX	$59,850	84	26.6%
44	Widener University	PA	$59,654	8	70.9%
45	New York University	NY	$59,593	22	7.7%
46	Saint Martin's University	WA	$59,559	14	89.8%
47	University of Utah	UT	$59,551	114	86%
48	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	$59,545	279	91.3%
49	Bridgewater State University	MA	$59,510	72	87.8%
50	University at Albany	NY	$59,475	21	69.1%
51	University of Saint Joseph	CT	$59,465	18	78.6%
52	Stony Brook University	NY	$59,449	69	49%
53	Southern Connecticut State University	CT	$59,438	61	91.5%
54	Long Island University	NY	$59,425	21	86.2%
55	East Central University	OK	$59,384	16	58.2%
56	Central Connecticut State University	CT	$59,309	46	73.3%
57	University of Washington	WA	$59,256	53	39.1%
58	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	$59,256	47	82.5%
59	Loyola University Chicago	IL	$59,206	56	81.6%
60	Monmouth University	NJ	$59,147	36	89%
61	Molloy University	NY	$59,130	17	81.7%
62	Salisbury University	MD	$59,110	102	87.5%
63	Stockton University	NJ	$59,102	54	88.9%
64	Mercy University	NY	$59,024	33	85.8%
65	Heritage University	WA	$58,634	54
66	Colorado State University Pueblo	CO	$58,449	42	94.9%
67	Texas Tech University	TX	$58,441	22	72.7%
68	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	$58,412	84	72.4%
69	Sacred Heart University	CT	$58,384	18	65.4%
70	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	$58,371	68	70.6%
71	University of New Hampshire	NH	$58,308	46	88.2%
72	Baylor University	TX	$58,293	34	51.3%
73	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$58,280	186	94%
74	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	$58,097	51	86.6%
75	Texas A&M University-Central Texas	TX	$58,052	24	100%
76	Madonna University	MI	$58,037	8	63.4%
77	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	$57,953	66	98.2%
78	Nazareth University	NY	$57,949	19	74.7%
79	Daemen University	NY	$57,850	7	68.3%
80	Valparaiso University	IN	$57,609	14	89.4%
81	Seattle University	WA	$57,349	6	76.9%
82	Michigan State University	MI	$57,321	57	84.8%
83	University of Portland	OR	$57,253	9	89.2%
84	Bowie State University	MD	$57,224	32	72.4%
85	Viterbo University	WI	$57,159	11	72.4%
86	California State University-Chico	CA	$57,146	63	92.7%
87	Saginaw Valley State University	MI	$56,961	62	72.1%
88	Delaware State University	DE	$56,937	31	46.6%
89	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	$56,917	87	42.4%
90	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$56,858	59	88.4%
91	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$56,797	86	71.4%
92	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$56,797	81	58.1%
93	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	$56,797	67	66.3%
94	University of Alaska Anchorage	AK	$56,698	28
95	San Diego State University	CA	$56,674	123	36.2%
96	Saint Edward's University	TX	$56,637	16	81.4%
97	Coppin State University	MD	$56,599	18	45.8%
98	Bemidji State University	MN	$56,345	34	56%
99	Saint Louis University	MO	$56,306	29	75%
100	Brescia University	KY	$56,285	41	35.2%

Showing the top 100 of 410 colleges that report earnings. 130 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 Social Work graduates?

Providence College ($70,356), CUNY Hunter College ($70,273), La Sierra University ($69,244), California State University-San Bernardino ($69,201), San Francisco State University ($68,524) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Social Work majors make?

The median across 410 colleges is $51,670 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $19,099 to $70,356.

Which colleges have the biggest Social Work programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: Grand Canyon University (363), California State University-Los Angeles (279), Liberty University (231), California State University-Sacramento (186), Arizona State University (183).

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 "Social Work". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.