Michigan State Human Development and Family Studies (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services
- Public university
- East Lansing, MI
- About 80 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Michigan State human development and family studies graduates earn about what human development and family studies graduates earn nationally, $31,434 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $29,750 in federal loans, more than at 83% of human development and family studies programs in the country. Several Michigan programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Michigan and national columns are the medians across all human development and family studies bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Michigan State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,666 more than the Michigan median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Michigan human development and family studies program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Michigan medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 51% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $3,851 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $315 a month, or 12.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 57 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $28,015.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
87% of graduates (102 of 117) were working in Michigan one year after graduating. Prices in the Lansing area are about 5% below the national average, so a $31,434 salary here buys what about $33,092 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to human development and family studies, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Childcare Workers
$30,970Median pay in Michigan. 14,010 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 150,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$37,110Median pay in Michigan. 10,950 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 66,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: associate's degree.
Social and Human Service Assistants
$39,160Median pay in Michigan. 12,450 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 48,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Farm and Home Management Educators
$65,030Median pay in Michigan. 330 people work in this job in Michigan. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Michigan State
Human Development and Family Studies ranks 61st of 79 bachelor's programs at Michigan State by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer and Information Science ($86,192), Computer Engineering ($83,934), and Electrical Engineering ($83,874).
Other human development and family studies bachelor's programs near East Lansing
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,434 one year after graduating and $47,493 five years after. The median across human development and family studies bachelor's programs in Michigan is $35,216.
The median federal loan balance is $29,750, which ranks 5th lowest of 7 human development and family studies bachelor's programs in Michigan. That works out to about $315 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 95% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 73%. Compare the cost with other Michigan programs before deciding.
Most do. 87% (102 of 117) were working in Michigan one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Michigan comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the human development and family studies program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024