Free tool · federal data

What does this major pay at different colleges?

Pick a major, a degree level and a state. You get what graduates of each college's program earned four years after graduating and what they borrowed in federal loans, from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, with the national median for the same program as the yardstick.

Side by side

Is it worth it? The federal figures, side by side

Federal data cannot decide that for you, but it puts what graduates earned beside what they borrowed. Programs appear in the order you added them, with no ranking.

Median earnings four years after graduating, federal debt, monthly payment and peer comparisons for California State University-Stanislaus Social Work.
MeasureCalifornia State University-StanislausSocial Work, master's · CARemove
Median earnings, 4 years after graduating$84,837 (121 graduates)
Federal debt borrowed at this college (median)$35,500
Monthly payment, 10-year plan$404
Payment as a share of median monthly earningsbefore taxroughly 6%
National median, same program and degree$65,123
Typical program nearbythe state, or its Census division when the state has fewer than 3 programs$81,437 (California, 22 programs)
Total federal debt counting every college attendeda second federal measure; it includes loans from colleges attended before this one—

Earnings: College Scorecard field-of-study data, 2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, for graduates who received federal aid, worked and were not enrolled. Debt: graduates of 2018-19 and 2019-20. The monthly payment is a standard 10-year plan on the median debt borrowed at that college. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education.College cost is not shown here; each college's profile has its net price.

Add up to four programs with "Compare" in the list below.

Your results

Social Work, master's programs nationwide

Nationally, master's graduates in Social Work earn a median $65,123 four years after graduating. Among 244 programs with federal earnings data, California State University-East Bay (CA) graduates had the highest median, $96,198 (2017-19 graduates, measured 2022-23, College Scorecard).

Programs with data
244
Highest median
$96,198
National median
$65,123
The link opens this exact comparison.
Social Work, master's programs nationwide: median earnings four years after graduating and median federal debt, in order of earnings.
CollegeStateMedian earnings, 4 yrs aftervs national medianDebt borrowed at this college (median)Add to the side-by-side comparison
California State University-East BayCA$96,198+48%$35,394Compare
California State University-Monterey BayCA$95,950+47%$25,500Compare
San Francisco State UniversityCA$94,452+45%$23,688Compare
California State University-BakersfieldCA$86,527+33%—Compare
University of California, Los AngelesCA$85,426+31%$53,583Compare
California State University-StanislausCA$84,837+30%$35,500In comparison
California State University-Dominguez HillsCA$84,628+30%$38,800Compare
California State University-SacramentoCA$84,100+29%$33,556
California State University-Long BeachCA$82,395+27%$30,414Compare
California State University-NorthridgeCA$81,505+25%$32,228Compare
California State University-San BernardinoCA$81,476+25%$37,400Compare
California State University-FullertonCA$81,397+25%$31,100Compare
California State University-FresnoCA$80,905+24%$23,688
Loma Linda UniversityCA$80,685+24%$61,500Compare
San Diego State UniversityCA$78,813+21%$22,395
California State University-Los AngelesCA$78,135+20%$29,958
CUNY Lehman CollegeNY$77,884+20%$29,986
Azusa Pacific UniversityCA$77,518+19%$48,971Compare
California State University-San MarcosCA$77,471+19%$41,000Compare
University of Washington-Seattle CampusFigure covers 3 campusesWA$77,163+18%$51,250Compare
Portland State UniversityOR$77,091+18%$47,784Compare
College of Staten Island CUNYNY$76,568+18%$31,250Compare
CUNY Hunter CollegeNY$76,071+17%$41,000Compare
Columbia University in the City of New YorkNY$75,980+17%$82,150Compare
Bridgewater State UniversityMA$75,783+16%$40,772Compare

The 25 highest of 244 programs. Ordered by median earnings four years after graduating: one federal measure, not a ranking of program quality.

Add this table to your website (counselors, libraries, aid offices)

Copy the HTML below into any web page. It is plain HTML with no script and no tracking; it shows the ten programs above with their period and source, and links back to this comparison.

Same major, other degree levels: Bachelor's · Associate's · Undergraduate certificate · Professional degree · Doctoral · Post-baccalaureate certificate

What these numbers are

Earnings: graduates of 2017-18 and 2018-19, earnings measured in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars. Only programs with at least 30 graduates in the earnings cohort are listed, and a multi-state system whose figure pools campuses in several states is left out of state lists. Median earnings of graduates who received federal student aid, worked, and were not enrolled in school; debt is the median federal loans borrowed at this college by graduates who borrowed (Direct Subsidized, Unsubsidized and Grad PLUS; not Parent PLUS, private loans or interest). Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education. Federal program group: Social Work. Earnings reflect who enrolls and where graduates work as well as the program itself.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data, 10 June 2026. Download every program (CSV).