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

Ferris State reports the lowest median federal debt, $25,769, with first-year pay of $35,216.

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

The median across 7 Michigan human development and family studies bachelor's programs is $35,216 in the first year after graduating and $42,827 five years after.

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

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

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

7 programs report first-year pay
7 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 Michigan human development and family studies bachelor's program pays its graduates $35,216 in their first year, $1,673 more than the national median. Spring Arbor University reports the highest first-year pay ($37,401), and Ferris State the lowest median debt ($25,769).

Median first-year pay$35,216National $33,543

Median pay after 5 years$42,827National $45,741

Median federal debt$29,539National $25,000

Debt-to-earnings84%National 73%

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	Spring Arbor UniversitySpring Arbor · private nonprofit	$37,401	Not reported	$26,000	70%
2	Baker CollegeOwosso · private nonprofit	$36,494	$41,143	$43,076	118%
3	Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant · public	$35,318	$46,739	$27,209	77%
4	Ferris StateBig Rapids · public	$35,216	$35,302	$25,769	73%
5	Western Michigan UniversityKalamazoo · public	$35,209	$42,827	$29,539	84%
6	Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti · public	$33,911	Not reported	$33,885	100%
7	Michigan StateEast Lansing · public	$31,434	$47,493	$29,750	95%

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 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 human development and family studies, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Childcare Workers

$30,970

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $27,210Top 10%: $39,340

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$37,110

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $30,310Top 10%: $50,720

Social and Human Service Assistants

$39,160

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $30,780Top 10%: $57,100

Farm and Home Management Educators

$65,030

Median 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.

Bottom 10%: $47,950Top 10%: $104,340

Common questions

Spring Arbor University in Spring Arbor reports the highest median first-year pay, $37,401. Its median federal debt is $26,000.

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 Michigan 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