Which California human development and family studies program has the lowest debt?

CSUN reports the lowest median federal debt, $11,250, with first-year pay of $28,150.

How much do human development and family studies graduates earn in California?

The median across 14 California human development and family studies bachelor's programs is $31,904 in the first year after graduating and $50,980 five years after.

Human Development and Family Studies (Bachelor's) Programs in California, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Q: How many human development and family studies bachelor's programs are in California?

14 California programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 14 of them also report federal debt.

14 programs report first-year pay
14 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median California human development and family studies bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,904 in their first year, $1,640 less than the national median. Cal State East Bay reports the highest first-year pay ($41,195), and CSUN the lowest median debt ($11,250).

Median first-year pay$31,904National $33,543

Median pay after 5 years$50,980National $45,741

Median federal debt$18,250National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings54%National 73%

All 14 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Cal State East BayHayward · public	$41,195	$62,078	$18,000	44%
2	Pacific Oaks CollegePasadena · private nonprofit	$39,077	$50,248	$27,715	71%
3	Cal State Monterey BaySeaside · public	$34,089	Not reported	$12,408	36%
4	Sonoma StateRohnert Park · public	$33,906	$57,628	$18,250	54%
5	UC San DiegoLa Jolla · public	$33,489	$63,343	$19,342	58%
6	Fresno Pacific UniversityFresno · private nonprofit	$32,957	$43,775	$24,549	74%
7	Sacramento StateSacramento · public	$31,950	$51,711	$16,500	52%
8	Cal State FullertonFullerton · public	$31,857	$49,529	$12,500	39%
9	Cal State San MarcosSan Marcos · public	$31,184	$49,769	$17,193	55%
10	Chico StateChico · public	$30,441	$46,310	$18,361	60%
11	Cal State Long BeachLong Beach · public	$30,205	$52,033	$15,000	50%
12	Mount Saint Mary's UniversityLos Angeles · private nonprofit	$28,453	$52,285	$26,500	93%
13	CSUNNorthridge · public	$28,150	$46,221	$11,250	40%
14	Point Loma Nazarene UniversitySan Diego · private nonprofit	$27,037	$55,127	$16,300	60%

3 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every California human development and family studies program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 14 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$40,020

Median pay in California. 52,780 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $35,340Top 10%: $52,670

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$47,400

Median pay in California. 55,700 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $37,870Top 10%: $65,350

Social and Human Service Assistants

$51,090

Median pay in California. 58,730 people work in this job in California. 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.

Bottom 10%: $39,040Top 10%: $74,250

Farm and Home Management Educators

$98,770

Median pay in California. 40 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 3% from 2025 to 2035, with about 800 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

Bottom 10%: $56,400Top 10%: $108,770

Common questions

Cal State East Bay in Hayward reports the highest median first-year pay, $41,195. Its median federal debt is $18,000.

Human Development and Family Studies (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked143 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the human development and family studies bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024