Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 156

Avg grad salary: $38,589

Total graduates: 13,712

Top Colleges for Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	$61,634	$38,401	59	$15,500	8.2%
2	UIUC Champaign, IL	$53,297	$29,762	56	$19,600	43.7%
3	California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA	$53,103	$41,195	167	$18,000	96.8%
4	Tufts University Medford, MA	$52,337	$44,345	20	$16,170	10.1%
5	UT Austin Austin, TX	$51,787	$33,118	120	$21,500	29.1%
6	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$50,796	$41,157	115	$19,533	44.8%
7	University of the District of Columbia Washington, DC	$50,715	$44,819	32	$43,500	N/A
8	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	$50,448	$31,642	152	$23,059	53.9%
9	University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton, CT	$50,448	$31,642	152	$23,059	86.5%
10	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford, CT	$50,448	$31,642	152	$23,059	86.5%
11	University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford, CT	$50,448	$31,642	152	$23,059	80.2%
12	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury, CT	$50,448	$31,642	152	$23,059	87.0%
13	UC San Diego La Jolla, CA	$49,899	$33,489	60	$19,342	24.5%
14	Sonoma State University Rohnert Park, CA	$49,815	$33,906	32	$18,250	94.7%
15	Baylor University Waco, TX	$48,704	$32,137	27	$21,350	51.0%
16	Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA	$48,423	$33,654	111	$21,500	57.0%
17	Merrimack College North Andover, MA	$48,385	$33,640	67	$27,000	73.6%
18	Florida State University Tallahassee, FL	$48,264	$29,690	166	$20,000	25.4%
19	Stevenson University Owings Mills, MD	$47,639	$34,273	32	$27,000	83.2%
20	National Louis University Chicago, IL	N/A	$46,954	70	$28,096	93.1%
21	University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI	$46,149	$34,149	113	$21,250	43.4%
22	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	$45,860	$32,146	72	$27,000	86.9%
23	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	$45,788	$39,096	189	$23,250	70.9%
24	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, OK	$45,585	$41,243	99	$23,858	70.9%
25	University of Houston Houston, TX	$45,141	$37,964	127	$22,450	69.5%
26	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	N/A	$45,140	17	$24,300	88.8%
27	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$45,064	$35,759	89	$17,296	24.0%
28	Binghamton University Vestal, NY	$44,767	$36,213	94	$19,500	37.7%
29	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY	$44,711	$36,143	43	$23,250	70.2%
30	Pacific Oaks College Pasadena, CA	$44,499	$39,077	123	$27,715	10.0%
31	Washington State University Pullman, WA	$44,320	$39,880	139	$24,019	85.4%
32	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY	$44,252	$36,858	38	$22,981	41.7%
33	Point Loma Nazarene University San Diego, CA	$44,168	$27,037	61	$16,300	81.8%
34	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	$44,071	$34,610	177	$23,250	50.8%
35	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	$44,039	$31,950	470	$16,500	93.6%
36	Abilene Christian University Abilene, TX	$43,979	$30,278	17	$26,000	63.9%
37	Abilene Christian University-Undergraduate Online Addison, TX	$43,979	$30,278	17	$26,000	100.0%
38	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$43,796	$30,205	208	$15,000	47.1%
39	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	$43,785	$31,434	117	$29,750	83.9%
40	University of Arizona Tucson, AZ	$43,457	$36,445	86	$20,400	85.7%
41	Portland State University Portland, OR	$43,264	$32,481	63	$23,334	90.9%
42	Bowie State University Bowie, MD	$42,778	$34,257	42	$26,125	83.5%
43	State University of New York at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY	$42,440	$35,025	34	$25,420	75.2%
44	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	$42,343	$35,322	124	$21,875	85.3%
45	Purdue University West Lafayette, IN	$42,338	$35,436	65	$15,304	50.3%
46	California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, CA	$42,137	$31,857	557	$12,500	86.7%
47	Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, CO	$41,685	$36,214	238	$23,000	89.6%
48	Connecticut College New London, CT	N/A	$41,609	16	N/A	38.3%
49	Southern Nazarene University Bethany, OK	$41,533	$41,062	26	$38,563	N/A
50	Iowa State University Ames, IA	$41,105	$36,364	147	$24,958	89.1%
51	University of Utah Salt Lake City, UT	$41,041	$35,467	70	$15,500	87.2%
52	Texas State University San Marcos, TX	$40,898	$35,047	126	$22,295	89.5%
53	Oregon State University Corvallis, OR	$40,876	$33,543	256	$26,000	78.8%
54	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR	$40,876	$33,543	256	$26,000	68.4%
55	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus Chillicothe, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	N/A
56	Ohio University-Eastern Campus Saint Clairsville, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	N/A
57	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus Lancaster, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	N/A
58	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	84.8%
59	Ohio University-Southern Campus Ironton, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	N/A
60	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Zanesville, OH	$40,855	$38,973	71	$27,000	N/A

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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