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Program ranking · CIP 44.07 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Social Work

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Social Work (CIP 44.07) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$70,273
Highest social work earnings
100
Colleges ranked
$54,000
#100 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $54,000 median earnings for Social Work bachelor's (CIP 44.07) completers. CUNY Hunter College leads at $70,273.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$70,273
#1 - CUNY Hunter College
$54,000
#100 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
605
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 social work programs by median completer earnings

Social Work bachelor's (CIP 44.07) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Social-work medians track public-sector and nonprofit pay scales - debt still matters even when PSLF or IDR can change the long-run repayment path.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 100

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 CUNY Hunter College NY $70,273 - 43
2 California State University-San Bernardino CA $69,201 $11,000 43
3 San Francisco State University CA $68,524 - 28
4 California State University-Long Beach CA $68,448 $11,716 72
5 University of California-Berkeley CA $67,393 $13,000 88
6 Adelphi University NY $66,162 $20,750 43
7 Texas Christian University TX $65,536 $22,500 28
8 Portland State University OR $63,456 $23,000 103
9 CUNY Lehman College NY $62,955 $14,000 133
10 St Catherine University MN $62,227 $28,020 32
11 Fresno Pacific University CA $61,951 $23,750 81
12 Eastern Connecticut State University CT $61,908 $21,500 39
13 Barry University FL $61,820 $29,375 31
14 College of Staten Island CUNY NY $61,558 - 25
15 College of Our Lady of the Elms MA $60,938 $28,250 46
16 CUNY York College NY $60,820 $8,080 81
17 CUNY Medgar Evers College NY $60,755 $10,750 66
18 Metropolitan State University MN $60,755 $17,698 61
19 Eastern Washington University WA $60,696 $15,768 51
20 University of Nevada-Las Vegas NV $60,344 $19,000 75
21 University of Nevada-Reno NV $60,320 $19,019 112
22 Morgan State University MD $60,082 $31,254 56
23 Salem State University MA $60,026 $24,991 48
24 State University of New York at Plattsburgh NY $59,925 $21,515 38
25 The University of Texas at Austin TX $59,850 $19,125 67
26 New York University NY $59,593 $25,000 31
27 University of Utah UT $59,551 $13,903 126
28 California State University-Los Angeles CA $59,545 $11,000 227
29 Bridgewater State University MA $59,510 $25,000 92
30 Stony Brook University NY $59,449 $20,098 62
31 Southern Connecticut State University CT $59,438 $22,500 64
32 Central Connecticut State University CT $59,309 $23,250 50
33 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $59,256 $13,400 51
34 University of Washington-Tacoma Campus WA $59,256 $13,400 47
35 Loyola University Chicago IL $59,206 $19,589 67
36 Monmouth University NJ $59,147 $27,000 36
37 Salisbury University MD $59,110 $22,250 103
38 Stockton University NJ $59,102 $25,000 83
39 Mercy University NY $59,024 $21,073 30
40 Heritage University WA $58,634 $13,620 61
41 Colorado State University Pueblo CO $58,449 $25,000 31
42 Texas Tech University TX $58,441 $25,750 32
43 University of Maryland-Baltimore County MD $58,412 $19,223 112
44 Ramapo College of New Jersey NJ $58,371 $20,750 57
45 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus NH $58,308 $27,000 54
46 California State University-Sacramento CA $58,280 $16,750 196
47 University of Hawaii at Manoa HI $58,097 $18,625 50
48 Texas A&M University-Central Texas TX $58,052 $22,843 26
49 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt CA $57,953 $18,250 60
50 Nazareth University NY $57,949 $24,739 28
51 Michigan State University MI $57,321 $24,432 54
52 Bowie State University MD $57,224 $23,500 25
53 California State University-Chico CA $57,146 $15,829 66
54 Saginaw Valley State University MI $56,961 $29,750 77
55 Delaware State University DE $56,937 $22,503 35
56 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL $56,917 $17,850 76
57 Minnesota State University-Mankato MN $56,858 $19,871 73
58 Rutgers University-Newark NJ $56,797 $22,692 88
59 Rutgers University-New Brunswick NJ $56,797 $22,692 83
60 Rutgers University-Camden NJ $56,797 $22,692 62
61 San Diego State University CA $56,674 $15,000 105
62 Coppin State University MD $56,599 $25,000 27
63 Brescia University KY $56,285 $35,500 44
64 Wayne State University MI $56,152 $23,000 96
65 Western Connecticut State University CT $56,058 $21,500 35
66 California State University-Fresno CA $56,038 $12,345 111
67 University of North Dakota ND $56,001 $22,250 72
68 Campbellsville University KY $55,942 $17,850 51
69 Florida International University FL $55,923 $16,049 78
70 Metropolitan State University of Denver CO $55,915 $21,917 95
71 Weber State University UT $55,801 $17,818 90
72 Oakland University MI $55,754 $25,000 91
73 The College of Saint Scholastica MN $55,743 $18,974 60
74 George Mason University VA $55,715 $19,250 65
75 Utah Valley University UT $55,713 $17,205 51
76 Westfield State University MA $55,699 $25,000 32
77 SUNY Brockport NY $55,602 $18,928 57
78 University of Kansas KS $55,582 $19,500 65
79 Aurora University IL $55,546 $21,579 203
80 La Salle University PA $55,431 $28,454 34
81 Virginia Commonwealth University VA $55,288 $22,000 96
82 Boise State University ID $55,188 $21,929 69
83 Illinois State University IL $55,089 $24,890 57
84 Capital University OH $55,078 $25,625 28
85 Northeastern State University OK $54,943 $23,250 31
86 University of Houston-Downtown TX $54,784 $21,948 62
87 Colorado State University-Fort Collins CO $54,720 $18,950 88
88 East Carolina University NC $54,666 $25,276 67
89 Keuka College NY $54,540 $29,660 95
90 Arizona State University Campus Immersion AZ $54,504 $17,750 190
91 University of Louisville KY $54,437 $20,500 61
92 University of Wisconsin-Madison WI $54,375 $20,500 71
93 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus OK $54,330 $22,960 60
94 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay WI $54,252 $19,168 35
95 University of Vermont VT $54,235 $19,250 29
96 University of Minnesota-Duluth MN $54,226 $22,973 38
97 University of Wisconsin-Superior WI $54,195 $23,611 27
98 Temple University PA $54,166 $26,000 64
99 Winona State University MN $54,056 $20,225 85
100 Northern Arizona University AZ $54,000 $20,000 162

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Social Work (CIP 44.07) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Social Work (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Social Work (CIP 44.07) bachelor's programs - human services (CIP 44.00) and public administration (CIP 44.04) are ranked separately when demand warrants.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.