---
title: Is a Social Work degree worth the debt?
cip: 4407
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Social Work degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **349** colleges (349 of 349 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $31,737 ($32,332 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,000 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.72× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $29,297–$34,258 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Associate's | $25,284 | $11,478 | 0.45× | 14 | 14/14 |
| Bachelor's | $31,737 | $23,000 | 0.72× | 349 | 349/349 |
| Master's | $44,536 | $39,487 | 0.86× | 272 | 272/272 |
| Doctoral | $78,174 | $78,880 | 0.97× | 5 | 5/5 |
| Professional | $51,022 | $55,825 | 1.07× | 3 | 3/3 |
| Grad cert. | $44,535 | $39,602 | 0.96× | 5 | 5/5 |

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

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of California-Berkeley (CA) | $42,882 | $13,000 |
| Bethel University (MN) | $42,826 | $22,500 |
| Monmouth University (NJ) | $42,523 | $27,000 |
| St Catherine University (MN) | $42,462 | $28,020 |
| University of Massachusetts-Boston (MA) | $41,911 | $26,072 |
| Metropolitan State University (MN) | $41,859 | $17,698 |
| Minot State University (ND) | $41,171 | $16,750 |
| Winona State University (MN) | $40,999 | $20,225 |
| Seton Hall University (NJ) | $40,667 | $23,783 |
| University of Nevada-Reno (NV) | $39,764 | $19,019 |
| Augsburg University (MN) | $39,739 | $24,783 |
| Minnesota State University Moorhead (MN) | $39,480 | $19,909 |
| Minnesota State University-Mankato (MN) | $39,358 | $19,871 |
| The College of Saint Scholastica (MN) | $39,169 | $18,974 |
| University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (WI) | $38,916 | $19,168 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/social-work.jsonld` · `/education/fields/social-work.json`