Family & Consumer Sciences
Students study the interdisciplinary foundations of family wellbeing, including nutrition, child development, consumer economics, and household management from a scientific perspective. Graduates typically pursue careers in community health education, social services, consumer advocacy, cooperative extension, and family life education. This major provides a holistic understanding of how families function and thrive.
What Family & Consumer Sciences graduates do
Your degree in family and consumer sciences prepares you for a career centered on education and community well-being. Many graduates become secondary school teachers, where your day involves leading hands-on labs on nutrition, guiding students through personal finance projects, and connecting with parents. Others work as farm and home management educators, traveling to communities to run workshops on topics like household budgeting, food preservation, or sustainable living practices.
Typically, you’ll start in a classroom or community outreach role. With experience and often an advanced degree, you can progress to become a postsecondary instructor, training future professionals at a college level. While K-12 teaching and educator roles face slight hiring headwinds, opportunities in higher education are growing, though competitive. AI is set to become a significant assistant in these fields, automating routine work like drafting lesson plans or analyzing community survey data. This won't eliminate your job, but it will change it, freeing you to focus on the human-centric skills that matter most: mentoring students, building trust with families, and providing hands-on guidance.
You may also want to evaluate Family & Consumer Sciences against Family & Consumer Economics, TESOL, and Housing & Interiors on salary and long-run job outlook.
Where Family & Consumer Sciences graduates work
Common career paths for Family & Consumer Sciences graduates, with median salaries, projected growth, and AI exposure per role. Roughly 67,500 combined openings per year across these roles.
| Role | Median Pay | Annual Openings | 10-yr Growth | AI Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Family and consumer sciences teachers, postsecondary
|
$77,280
$57K–$100K
|
200 | +3.4% | High · 54% |
|
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
|
$64,580
$58K–$83K
|
66,200 | -1.6% | Moderate · 33% |
|
Farm and home management educators
|
$58,120
$46K–$69K
|
1,100 | -2.5% | Moderate · 37% |
Best schools for Family & Consumer Sciences
Schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score (earnings × AI resilience × ROI × job-market size). Top 10 of 42.
| # | School | DW Score | 1-yr Earnings | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 |
Iowa State University
Ames, IA · Public
|
44 | $43,783 | 10.3x |
| 6 |
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX · Public
|
43 | $37,540 | 12.7x |
| 7 |
California State University-Northridge
Northridge, CA · Public
|
43 | $33,721 | 17.4x |
| 8 |
University of Wyoming
Laramie, WY · Public
|
41 | $37,887 | 14.5x |
| 9 |
California State University-Long Beach
Long Beach, CA · Public
|
38 | $32,008 | 15.8x |
| 10 |
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX · Public
|
37 | $35,501 | 9.5x |
| 11 |
California State University-Fresno
Fresno, CA · Public
|
37 | $32,634 | 14.9x |
| 12 |
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Princess Anne, MD · Public
|
36 | $37,301 | 10.4x |
| 13 |
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL · Public
|
36 | $35,059 | 9.2x |
| 14 |
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT · Public
|
36 | $31,910 | 13.3x |
| 15 |
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, LA · Public
|
35 | $38,010 | 9.2x |
| 16 |
University of New Mexico-Main Campus
Albuquerque, NM · Public
|
35 | $35,369 | 11.1x |
| 17 |
Morgan State University
Baltimore, MD · Public
|
35 | $31,331 | 13.3x |
| 18 |
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato, MN · Public
|
34 | $33,093 | 10.9x |
| 19 |
North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC · Public
|
34 | $31,586 | 14.7x |
| 20 |
CUNY Queens College
Queens, NY · Public
|
33 | $32,457 | 9.8x |
Highest Earnings Top 5
| Illinois State University
IL |
$48,974 |
| Iowa State University
IA |
$43,783 |
| Northwestern State University of Louisiana
LA |
$38,010 |
| University of Wyoming
WY |
$37,887 |
| Sam Houston State University
TX |
$37,540 |
Best ROI Top 5
| California State University-Sacramento
CA |
18.2x |
| California State University-Northridge
CA |
17.4x |
| San Francisco State University
CA |
17.2x |
| SUNY Oneonta
NY |
17.2x |
| California State University-Long Beach
CA |
15.8x |
Related majors
Similar fields of study often offered alongside Family & Consumer Sciences.
Frequently asked about Family & Consumer Sciences
What do Family & Consumer Sciences graduates make in their first year?
Across 42 schools, Family & Consumer Sciences graduates earn an average of $32,409 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $25,675 to $48,974 depending on the school.
What is the AI automation risk for Family & Consumer Sciences?
Family & Consumer Sciences is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with 50% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.
Where should I study Family & Consumer Sciences?
Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), SUNY Oneonta ranks #1 for Family & Consumer Sciences with a score of 47/100 and graduate earnings of $34,288/yr.
What's the outlook for a Family & Consumer Sciences degree?
The average 10-year earnings multiple is 10.7x tuition. This is a strong return on investment. The spread between the best and worst programs is wide, so individual school selection has a major impact.