Which North Carolina social work program has the lowest debt?

NC State reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,791, with first-year pay of $35,485.

How much do social work graduates earn in North Carolina?

The median across 15 North Carolina social work bachelor's programs is $31,695 in the first year after graduating and $46,216 five years after.

How many social work bachelor's programs are in North Carolina?

15 North Carolina programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 15 of them also report federal debt.

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

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

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median North Carolina social work bachelor's program pays its graduates $31,695 in their first year, $5,525 less than the national median. Mars Hill University reports the highest first-year pay ($41,643), and NC State the lowest median debt ($20,791).

Median first-year pay$31,695National $37,220

Median pay after 5 years$46,216National $49,258

Median federal debt$26,381National $26,579

Debt-to-earnings85%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	Mars Hill UniversityMars Hill · private nonprofit	$41,643	$43,413	$29,133	70%
2	UNC WilmingtonWilmington · public	$38,380	$48,183	$22,361	58%
3	Barton CollegeWilson · private nonprofit	$38,312	$44,410	$27,000	70%
4	Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee · public	$36,727	$46,183	$25,857	70%
5	East Carolina UniversityGreenville · public	$35,745	$50,327	$26,000	73%
6	NC StateRaleigh · public	$35,485	$48,322	$20,791	59%
7	Appalachian StateBoone · public	$32,725	$48,164	$22,184	68%
8	UNC PembrokePembroke · public	$31,695	$50,119	$27,000	85%
9	Shaw UniversityRaleigh · private nonprofit	$31,138	$48,588	$38,000	122%
10	North Carolina Central UniversityDurham · public	$30,615	$45,179	$31,000	101%
11	UNC GreensboroGreensboro · public	$30,509	$47,931	$26,000	85%
12	Fayetteville StateFayetteville · public	$29,726	$46,216	$32,500	109%
13	Winston-Salem StateWinston-Salem · public	$29,617	$45,131	$28,537	96%
14	UNC CharlotteCharlotte · public	$28,425	$49,921	$24,750	87%
15	NC A&TGreensboro · public	$27,508	$43,412	$30,000	109%

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

Debt and first-year pay at every North Carolina social work program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 15 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

$59,610

Median pay in North Carolina. 13,010 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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%: $42,870Top 10%: $76,950

Social and Community Service Managers

$79,590

Median pay in North Carolina. 4,970 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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%: $52,390Top 10%: $126,640

Healthcare Social Workers

$63,280

Median pay in North Carolina. 5,120 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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%: $40,650Top 10%: $85,070

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers

$58,210

Median pay in North Carolina. 3,690 people work in this job in North Carolina. 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%: $38,970Top 10%: $79,720

Common questions

Mars Hill University in Mars Hill reports the highest median first-year pay, $41,643. Its median federal debt is $29,133.

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 North Carolina 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