Ramapo College of New Jersey Social Work (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Social Work
- Public college
- Mahwah, NJ
- About 68 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Ramapo College of New Jersey social work graduates earn less than graduates of most social work programs nationally, $31,210 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,491 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,579. Several New Jersey programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New Jersey and national columns are the medians across all social work bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Ramapo College of New Jersey graduates earn more than the national figure and about $4,631 more than the New Jersey median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New Jersey social work program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New Jersey 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 86% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $260 a month, or 10.0% 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.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
88% of graduates (29 of 33) were working in New Jersey one year after graduating. Prices in the New York area are about 13% above the national average, so a $31,210 salary here buys what about $27,727 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 social work, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
$76,280Median pay in New Jersey. 7,360 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Social and Community Service Managers
$95,290Median pay in New Jersey. 5,530 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Healthcare Social Workers
$82,690Median pay in New Jersey. 4,310 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 16,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers
$66,590Median pay in New Jersey. 2,420 people work in this job in New Jersey. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About Ramapo College of New Jersey
Social Work ranks 15th of 19 bachelor's programs at Ramapo College of New Jersey by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($95,153), Computer and Information Science ($69,363), and Accounting ($66,615).
Other social work bachelor's programs near Mahwah
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,210 one year after graduating and $58,059 five years after. The median across social work bachelor's programs in New Jersey is $38,140.
The median federal loan balance is $24,491, which ranks 2nd lowest of 6 social work bachelor's programs in New Jersey. That works out to about $260 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 78% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. Compare the cost with other New Jersey programs before deciding.
Most do. 88% (29 of 33) were working in New Jersey 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 New Jersey 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 social work 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