St Olaf College Social Work (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Social Work
- Private nonprofit college
- Northfield, MN
- About 19 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
St Olaf College social work graduates earn more than graduates of most social work programs nationally, $45,146 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,579. Several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Minnesota and national columns are the medians across all social work bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Minnesota social work program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Minnesota medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 7.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
85% of graduates (17 of 20) were working in Minnesota one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Minnesota outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $45,146 salary here buys what about $52,586 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
$67,450Median pay in Minnesota. 6,540 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$84,220Median pay in Minnesota. 5,430 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$73,970Median pay in Minnesota. 2,430 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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
$75,020Median pay in Minnesota. 3,590 people work in this job in Minnesota. 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 St Olaf College
Social Work ranks 6th of 20 bachelor's programs at St Olaf College by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($82,278), Nursing ($76,078), and Mathematics ($58,825).
Other social work bachelor's programs near Northfield
Common questions
The median graduate earns $45,146 one year after graduating. The median across social work bachelor's programs in Minnesota is $44,546.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 12 social work bachelor's programs in Minnesota. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 60% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 72%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Minnesota programs report higher pay.
Most do. 85% (17 of 20) were working in Minnesota 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 Minnesota 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