Which New York social work program has the lowest debt?

CUNY York College reports the lowest median federal debt, $9,500, with first-year pay of $44,742.

How much do social work graduates earn in New York?

The median across 15 New York social work bachelor's programs is $38,126 in the first year after graduating and $57,591 five years after.

How many social work bachelor's programs are in New York?

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

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

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

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York social work bachelor's program pays its graduates $38,126 in their first year, $907 more than the national median. CUNY York College reports the highest first-year pay ($44,742), and CUNY York College the lowest median debt ($9,500).

Median first-year pay$38,126National $37,220

Median pay after 5 years$57,591National $49,258

Median federal debt$25,000National $26,579

Debt-to-earnings67%National 72%

All 15 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	CUNY York CollegeJamaica · public	$44,742	$63,534	$9,500	21%
2	Medgar Evers CollegeBrooklyn · public	$44,311	$58,038	$15,096	34%
3	Lehman CollegeBronx · public	$42,300	$57,482	$12,690	30%
4	Hunter CollegeNew York · public	$42,227	Not reported	$9,608	23%
5	Keuka CollegeKeuka Park · private nonprofit	$40,642	$51,974	$40,593	100%
6	Buffalo StateBuffalo · public	$39,695	$49,513	$23,312	59%
7	Mercy UniversityDobbs Ferry · private nonprofit	$39,373	$56,162	$26,000	66%
8	Nazareth UniversityRochester · private nonprofit	$38,126	$54,294	$26,250	69%
9	Roberts Wesleyan UniversityRochester · private nonprofit	$37,100	Not reported	$26,596	72%
10	SUNY BrockportBrockport · public	$37,054	$45,923	$23,354	63%
11	University at AlbanyAlbany · public	$32,913	$57,591	$23,000	70%
12	College of Staten IslandStaten Island · public	$31,021	$59,976	Not reported	Not reported
13	SUNY FredoniaFredonia · public	$28,723	$49,105	$24,340	85%
14	NYUNew York · private nonprofit	$26,837	$67,149	$25,000	93%
15	SUNY PlattsburghPlattsburgh · public	$24,676	$54,345	$23,990	97%

College of Staten Island reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay. 9 more programs report debt but not pay, so they aren't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York social work program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 social work, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$65,100

Median pay in New York. 30,170 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $48,400Top 10%: $100,100

Social and Community Service Managers

$95,980

Median pay in New York. 19,340 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $64,120Top 10%: $149,550

Healthcare Social Workers

$73,070

Median pay in New York. 20,440 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $47,750Top 10%: $103,730

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$79,380

Median pay in New York. 14,820 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $54,650Top 10%: $122,340

Common questions

CUNY York College in Jamaica reports the highest median first-year pay, $44,742. Its median federal debt is $9,500.

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 New York 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