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Best Human Services Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

84 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Human Services, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Human Services graduate earns $37,292/yr across 84 schools.

What do Human Services graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why a Brooklyn Tech School Dominates Human Services

CUNY City Tech’s #1 rank isn't an accident; it's a direct result of its location and mission. Situated in the heart of New York City, the program provides a pipeline of graduates for one of the world's largest concentrations of social service agencies, nonprofits, and public health organizations. The school's focus on affordable, hands-on training means students graduate with low debt ($8,025) and practical skills, ready to work. This combination of low cost and direct access to a dense job market explains its top-tier debt-to-earnings ratio (5.34x) and overall score.

Florida's ROI Powerhouses: How Low Tuition Creates Massive Value

The most surprising story in this ranking is the incredible return on investment from Florida's state colleges. Florida State College at Jacksonville (#4) and Indian River State College (#11) deliver a staggering 33.0x and 34.5x ROI, respectively. They achieve this not with sky-high salaries, but with radically low tuition—just over $11,000 for a four-year degree. This proves a critical lesson for Human Services majors: in a field with modest starting salaries, minimizing your initial investment is the fastest path to financial freedom.

Human Services in the AI Era: Your Job is Safe, But Different

The 36% AI task exposure for this field sounds significant, but it doesn't mean your job is at risk. Instead, AI is poised to automate the most tedious administrative work—filing paperwork, scheduling appointments, and managing data. This frees you to focus on the uniquely human skills that define the profession: building trust with vulnerable clients, showing empathy in a crisis, and navigating complex social systems. Think of AI as your future administrative assistant, not your replacement.

Choose Your Debt Wisely: The Make-or-Break Financial Decision

This ranking reveals a stark financial choice. Public schools like CUNY City Tech (#1) and Metropolitan State University (#2) dominate the top because they pair strong outcomes with low debt. In contrast, some programs can create a debt trap. Purdue University Global graduates, for example, leave with an average debt of $52,937 while earning just $36,020. When your debt is higher than your annual salary, your degree becomes a financial burden, not an asset. The data is clear: for this field, public institutions often offer the most secure financial path.

Programs Ranked

Avg Earnings

$37,292/yr

Avg DW Score

35/100

AI Risk

Moderate

36% task exposure

All Human Services Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, NY · Public	55 60–56	$42,839/yr	17.3x
2	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN · Public	54 57–54	$45,751/yr	12.2x
3	Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA · Public	53 56–53	$45,641/yr	11.0x
4	Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL · Public	50 58–51	$39,173/yr	33.0x
5	California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA · Public	50 60–51	$37,501/yr	18.3x
6	Goodwin University East Hartford, CT · Private nonprofit	48 50–48	$51,659/yr	4.8x
7	Colorado State University Global Aurora, CO · Public	48 53–49	$43,336/yr	12.1x
8	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	47 53–48	$41,938/yr	10.4x
9	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA · Public	46 54–46	$39,487/yr	12.3x
10	Northeastern University Professional Programs Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	46 49–46	$45,799/yr	—
11	Indian River State College Fort Pierce, FL · Public	43 55–44	$36,107/yr	34.5x
12	University of Phoenix-Arizona Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	43 51–44	$39,554/yr	11.0x
13	Post University Waterbury, CT · Private for-profit	42 48–43	$41,124/yr	6.4x
14	Simpson College Indianola, IA · Private nonprofit	42 45–42	$46,184/yr	1.5x
15	Cambridge College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	42 46–42	$44,287/yr	5.0x
16	Rasmussen University-Minnesota St. Cloud, MN · Private for-profit	42 49–43	$40,125/yr	8.2x
17	University of Baltimore Baltimore, MD · Public	41 50–42	$39,099/yr	9.0x
18	Towson University Towson, MD · Public	41 52–42	$36,616/yr	10.6x
19	Rasmussen University-North Dakota Fargo, ND · Private for-profit	41 48–41	$40,125/yr	6.9x
20	Rasmussen University-Illinois Rockford, IL · Private for-profit	41 48–41	$40,125/yr	6.4x
21	Rasmussen University-Wisconsin Green Bay, WI · Private for-profit	41 49–42	$40,125/yr	7.4x
22	Indiana Institute of Technology-College of Professional Studies Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit	41 49–42	$40,180/yr	9.8x
23	Rasmussen University-Florida Ocala, FL · Private for-profit	40 47–41	$40,125/yr	5.6x
24	St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit	40 45–40	$43,105/yr	2.1x
25	Rasmussen University-Kansas Topeka, KS · Private for-profit	40 47–41	$40,125/yr	5.5x
26	Gordon State College Barnesville, GA · Public	39 53–41	$33,648/yr	26.8x
27	University of Phoenix-Hawaii Kapolei, HI · Private for-profit	39 47–39	$39,554/yr	—
28	University of Phoenix-California Ontario, CA · Private for-profit	39 47–39	$39,554/yr	—
29	University of Phoenix-Nevada Las Vegas, NV · Private for-profit	39 47–39	$39,554/yr	—
30	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	38 53–40	$33,351/yr	16.4x
31	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	38 41–38	$45,799/yr	1.4x
32	Touro University New York, NY · Private nonprofit	38 44–38	$41,021/yr	4.2x
33	Central Washington University Ellensburg, WA · Public	38 49–39	$36,644/yr	10.8x
34	University of North Georgia Dahlonega, GA · Public	38 52–39	$34,032/yr	18.6x
35	University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV · Public	37 50–38	$34,359/yr	11.6x
36	Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit	37 46–38	$38,461/yr	4.8x
37	Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, GA · Public	37 52–37	$30,437/yr	18.0x
38	Indiana Wesleyan University-National & Global Marion, IN · Private nonprofit	37 47–38	$37,366/yr	10.7x
39	Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA · Private nonprofit	36 44–37	$39,389/yr	4.9x
40	Syracuse University Syracuse, NY · Private nonprofit	36 42–37	$41,551/yr	0.6x
41	Walden University Minneapolis, MN · Private for-profit	35 46–36	$36,492/yr	7.8x
42	University of Oregon Eugene, OR · Public	35 47–37	$35,678/yr	7.2x
43	Lincoln University Lincoln University, PA · Public	35 48–36	$34,374/yr	8.8x
44	Purdue University Global West Lafayette, IN · Public	35 46–36	$36,020/yr	9.3x
45	Grand View University Des Moines, IA · Private nonprofit	34 41–34	$40,750/yr	2.4x
46	Monroe College Bronx, NY · Private for-profit	34 45–35	$36,940/yr	4.2x
47	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	33 47–34	$32,812/yr	7.3x
48	Indiana Institute of Technology Fort Wayne, IN · Private nonprofit	33 40–34	$40,180/yr	2.5x
49	Grace Christian University Wyoming, MI · Private nonprofit	33 45–34	$35,205/yr	4.9x
50	Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY · Private nonprofit	33 44–34	$37,274/yr	4.5x
51	East Central University Ada, OK · Public	33 48–34	$32,083/yr	12.2x
52	Chestnut Hill College Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	33 40–34	$40,336/yr	2.1x
53	Pennsylvania College of Technology Williamsport, PA · Public	33 45–34	$35,787/yr	4.0x
54	Ottawa University-Kansas City Overland Park, KS · Private nonprofit	32 45–33	$35,168/yr	—
55	Ottawa University-Milwaukee Brookfield, WI · Private nonprofit	32 45–33	$35,168/yr	—
56	Ottawa University-Online Overland Park, KS · Private nonprofit	32 45–33	$35,168/yr	—
57	Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ · Private for-profit	31 43–32	$35,433/yr	5.4x
58	Columbia College Columbia, MO · Private nonprofit	31 41–32	$37,571/yr	3.5x
59	Judson University Elgin, IL · Private nonprofit	30 40–31	$37,671/yr	2.6x
60	Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit	30 45–31	$30,564/yr	10.9x
61	Northern Illinois University Dekalb, IL · Public	29 44–30	$29,062/yr	8.2x
62	University of the Cumberlands Williamsburg, KY · Private nonprofit	29 44–31	$32,938/yr	8.9x
63	East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN · Public	29 44–31	$32,437/yr	9.1x
64	Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion Marion, IN · Private nonprofit	28 38–29	$37,366/yr	2.1x
65	Ottawa University-Ottawa Ottawa, KS · Private nonprofit	28 41–29	$35,168/yr	1.5x
66	Doane University Crete, NE · Private nonprofit	28 37–29	$38,613/yr	1.5x
67	Lees-McRae College Banner Elk, NC · Private nonprofit	28 41–29	$34,811/yr	1.8x
68	Ottawa University-Surprise Surprise, AZ · Private nonprofit	28 41–29	$35,168/yr	1.5x
69	Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL · Private nonprofit	27 38–28	$36,312/yr	2.5x
70	Lancaster Bible College Lancaster, PA · Private nonprofit	27 41–28	$33,664/yr	1.8x
71	Fisher College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	26 38–27	$35,289/yr	2.3x
72	Elmira College Elmira, NY · Private nonprofit	26 39–28	$35,437/yr	2.2x
73	Quincy University Quincy, IL · Private nonprofit	25 39–26	$32,726/yr	1.3x
74	Missouri Baptist University Saint Louis, MO · Private nonprofit	25 36–26	$36,365/yr	1.5x
75	Lenoir-Rhyne University Hickory, NC · Private nonprofit	25 40–27	$32,732/yr	1.6x
76	Wayland Baptist University Plainview, TX · Private nonprofit	25 40–26	$33,082/yr	3.6x
77	Bluefield University Bluefield, VA · Private nonprofit	24 38–25	$33,808/yr	2.6x
78	Anderson University Anderson, SC · Private nonprofit	23 36–24	$34,478/yr	1.8x
79	Shorter University Rome, GA · Private nonprofit	22 36–22	$30,167/yr	2.9x
80	Wingate University Wingate, NC · Private nonprofit	22 37–23	$32,843/yr	2.0x
81	Southern Wesleyan University Central, SC · Private nonprofit	22 36–23	$32,290/yr	2.4x
82	Southeastern University Lakeland, FL · Private nonprofit	20 35–21	$32,373/yr	1.7x
83	Lindsey Wilson College Columbia, KY · Private nonprofit	20 35–21	$29,318/yr	2.3x
84	Drury University Springfield, MO · Private nonprofit	19 34–20	$30,564/yr	1.7x

Scores calculated using College Scorecard, BLS, and AI task-exposure data. See full methodology →

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best school for Human Services?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, CUNY New York City College of Technology ranks #1 for Human Services with a score of 55/100 and graduate earnings of $42,839/yr.

How much do Human Services graduates earn?

Across 84 schools, Human Services graduates earn an average of $37,292/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $51,659/yr.

Is Human Services a good major for AI resistance?

Human Services has an average AI task exposure of 36%, rated "Moderate". This field has moderate AI exposure — some career paths are more resilient than others.