Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Social Work

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

Programs tracked: 338

Avg grad salary: $42,871

Total graduates: 17,818

Top Colleges for Social Work — 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	NYU New York, NY	$64,289	$26,837	18	$25,000	9.4%
2	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	$63,320	$40,530	61	$17,905	85.3%
3	La Sierra University Riverside, CA	$60,961	$42,213	23	$35,500	93.3%
4	UC Berkeley Berkeley, CA	$60,405	$44,906	90	$13,719	11.7%
5	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	$59,826	$42,925	64	$11,276	47.1%
6	CUNY York College Jamaica, NY	$58,778	$44,742	76	$9,500	59.4%
7	Simmons University Boston, MA	$58,336	$34,496	19	$27,000	66.0%
8	Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX	$57,255	$33,819	18	$24,000	42.6%
9	College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island, NY	$56,620	$31,021	16	N/A	N/A
10	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	$56,474	$48,750	19	$17,259	96.2%
11	St Catherine University Saint Paul, MN	$55,686	$44,257	50	$30,912	94.1%
12	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV	$55,652	$44,427	55	$21,686	96.3%
13	California State University-San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA	$54,364	$39,145	48	$13,018	98.3%
14	University at Albany Albany, NY	$54,302	$32,913	16	$23,000	69.9%
15	University of Washington Seattle, WA	$53,568	$40,969	59	$17,396	42.5%
16	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA	$53,568	$40,969	59	$17,396	83.0%
17	UIUC Champaign, IL	$53,310	$36,815	39	$19,344	43.7%
18	Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ	$52,763	$31,210	33	$24,491	73.2%
19	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	$52,571	$40,316	83	$22,500	74.2%
20	Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA	$52,521	$27,016	18	$27,500	64.6%
21	Heritage University Toppenish, WA	$52,334	$37,164	56	$14,007	N/A
22	Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY	$52,184	$39,373	30	$26,000	85.5%
23	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	$51,751	$27,080	22	$24,610	69.7%
24	Bowie State University Bowie, MD	$51,598	$32,989	21	$31,000	83.5%
25	Salisbury University Salisbury, MD	$51,043	$34,917	73	$23,552	88.6%
26	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	$51,042	$37,519	46	$24,844	75.5%
27	CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY	$50,858	$42,300	119	$12,690	55.4%
28	California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	$50,567	$37,477	254	$11,000	91.9%
29	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	$50,549	$38,559	61	$24,188	88.8%
30	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	$50,432	$37,290	279	$18,000	93.6%
31	Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, CT	$50,415	$33,862	34	$23,935	81.1%
32	Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, CT	$50,362	$29,471	22	$22,325	80.5%
33	Azusa Pacific University Azusa, CA	$50,143	$33,089	23	$24,643	79.5%
34	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	$50,113	$34,447	113	$12,449	93.2%
35	University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI	$50,045	$45,870	23	$26,303	81.6%
36	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO	$50,031	$44,015	47	$29,578	99.1%
37	Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE	$49,895	$40,080	28	$34,750	83.8%
38	University of North Dakota Grand Forks, ND	$49,870	$49,695	78	$26,000	77.1%
39	Morgan State University Baltimore, MD	$49,525	$39,059	54	$35,000	83.0%
40	Lubbock Christian University Lubbock, TX	$49,439	$32,952	22	$36,750	73.2%
41	Viterbo University La Crosse, WI	$49,400	$46,384	20	$31,000	73.3%
42	Michigan State East Lansing, MI	$49,259	$34,089	28	$26,169	83.9%
43	Western Connecticut State University Danbury, CT	$49,110	$33,033	34	$24,527	81.4%
44	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	$49,043	$37,494	20	$19,500	87.4%
45	Westfield State University Westfield, MA	$48,979	$38,596	51	$27,000	80.7%
46	Bemidji State University Bemidji, MN	$48,772	$47,192	49	$27,000	70.7%
47	Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ	$48,702	$47,734	16	$25,721	78.9%
48	Winona State University Winona, MN	$48,600	$44,546	109	$27,000	68.5%
49	The College of Saint Scholastica Duluth, MN	$48,482	$45,371	65	$37,059	93.8%
50	College of Our Lady of the Elms Chicopee, MA	$48,462	$40,161	47	$31,682	87.7%
51	Our Lady of the Lake University San Antonio, TX	$48,423	$38,209	19	$27,250	N/A
52	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	$48,414	$37,749	80	$27,000	88.2%
53	James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA	$48,309	$31,687	50	$18,989	76.3%
54	Texas Woman's University Denton, TX	$48,113	$40,340	54	$24,000	95.0%
55	Hope College Holland, MI	$48,054	$37,270	23	$26,670	75.8%
56	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN	$48,016	$43,726	90	$27,996	95.0%
57	Nazareth University Rochester, NY	$47,905	$38,126	23	$26,250	79.5%
58	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN	$47,860	$47,637	67	$29,615	96.5%
59	Saginaw Valley State University University Center, MI	$47,583	$38,503	68	$31,000	72.9%
60	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA	$47,507	$35,693	47	$23,286	98.8%

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

Choosing the Best Social Work 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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