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.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$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.

CUNY Hunter College

$70,273
California State Univers…

$69,201
San Francisco State Univ…

$68,524
California State Univers…

$68,448
University of California…

$67,393
Adelphi University

$66,162
Texas Christian University

$65,536
Portland State University

$63,456
CUNY Lehman College

$62,955
St Catherine University

$62,227
Fresno Pacific University

$61,951
Eastern Connecticut Stat…

$61,908
Barry University

$61,820
College of Staten Island…

$61,558
College of Our Lady of

$60,938

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.

The full top 100

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
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.