College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is a Human Resources Management and Services degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Bachelor's, aggregated across 178 colleges (178 of 178 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$43,896

Graduates only, early career.$44,316 two years out.

Median federal debt

$23,325

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

0.53×

53% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is under a year's early-career pay.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Bachelor's programs in Human Resources Management and Services report early-career pay between $40,294 and $47,976 — a spread of $7,682 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $40,294 median $43,896 75th pct $47,976

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Certificate 7 colleges $42,574 $7,125 0.17×

Associate's 22 colleges $35,755 $21,801 0.55×

Bachelor's 178 colleges $43,896 $23,325 0.53×

Master's 158 colleges $54,550 $41,000 0.77×

Doctoral 5 colleges $90,061 $124,042 1.41×

Grad cert. 19 colleges $46,095 $30,750 0.67×

Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Concordia University-Chicago IL $74,135 $22,495 debt

Northwestern University IL $69,350 $33,332 debt

Cornell University NY $65,696 $14,000 debt

University of Michigan-Ann Arbor MI $61,347 $14,225 debt

Bryant University RI $59,894 $26,000 debt

San Jose State University CA $59,001 —

Waldorf University IA $58,151 $28,125 debt

University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $56,925 —

University of Massachusetts Global CA $56,794 $23,617 debt

Colorado State University Global CO $55,055 $25,000 debt

Benedictine University IL $54,576 $29,048 debt

Southern Nazarene University OK $54,575 $18,750 debt

Pace University NY $53,863 —

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota MN $53,758 —

Capella University MN $53,132 $25,063 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Human Resources Management and Services, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard