Which Massachusetts social work program has the lowest debt?

Gordon College reports the lowest median federal debt, $26,250, with first-year pay of $30,381.

How much do social work graduates earn in Massachusetts?

The median across 7 Massachusetts social work bachelor's programs is $40,161 in the first year after graduating and $53,450 five years after.

How many social work bachelor's programs are in Massachusetts?

7 Massachusetts programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 7 of them also report federal debt.

Social Work (Bachelor's) Programs in Massachusetts, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

7 programs report first-year pay
7 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Social Work

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median Massachusetts social work bachelor's program pays its graduates $40,161 in their first year, $2,942 more than the national median. Salem State reports the highest first-year pay ($45,450), and Gordon College the lowest median debt ($26,250).

Median first-year pay$40,161National $37,220

Median pay after 5 years$53,450National $49,258

Median federal debt$27,000National $26,579

Debt-to-earnings70%National 72%

All 7 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	Salem StateSalem · public	$45,450	$53,211	$27,000	59%
2	UMass BostonBoston · public	$45,227	$53,689	$27,947	62%
3	Bridgewater StateBridgewater · public	$41,187	$49,143	$27,000	66%
4	College of Our Lady of the ElmsChicopee · private nonprofit	$40,161	$53,977	$31,682	79%
5	Westfield StateWestfield · public	$38,596	$56,371	$27,000	70%
6	Simmons UniversityBoston · private nonprofit	$34,496	$59,343	$27,000	78%
7	Gordon CollegeWenham · private nonprofit	$30,381	$49,766	$26,250	86%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every Massachusetts social work program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 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 social work, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$75,570

Median pay in Massachusetts. 10,900 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $48,140Top 10%: $104,060

Social and Community Service Managers

$81,380

Median pay in Massachusetts. 8,800 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $60,520Top 10%: $130,060

Healthcare Social Workers

$76,440

Median pay in Massachusetts. 7,220 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $51,270Top 10%: $102,070

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$62,500

Median pay in Massachusetts. 7,440 people work in this job in Massachusetts. 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.

Bottom 10%: $48,260Top 10%: $100,670

Common questions

Salem State in Salem reports the highest median first-year pay, $45,450. Its median federal debt is $27,000.

Social Work (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked328 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 Massachusetts rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the social work 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