College Rankings

Best Human Development & Family Studies Schools

The top 25 of 161 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Human Development & Family Studies degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Human Development & Family Studies worth it?

If you are looking to get rich quick, look elsewhere—but if you want to do meaningful social work without drowning in student debt, this degree can absolutely be worth it. The catch is that graduates typically enter fields like community health, non-profit administration, or early childhood education, where starting salaries are famously modest. Because the earnings ceiling is lower than in corporate or tech fields, the financial value of this degree hinges entirely on keeping your tuition costs rock-bottom. The winners in this space are overwhelmingly regional public universities and commuter campuses that let you step into a stable, rewarding career without a crushing monthly loan payment. Paying a premium for a prestige brand in this field is almost always a financial mistake.

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#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	University of the District of Columbia	DC	65	$44,819	$10,648†	+$406K
2	California State University-East Bay	CA	65	$41,195	$9,320†	+$375K
3	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	59	$38,973	$3,925†	+$374K
4	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	58	$38,973	$5,755†	+$367K
5	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	58	$38,973	$5,993†	+$366K
6	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	58	$38,973	$5,650†	+$367K
7	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	58	$38,973	$5,746†	+$367K
8	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	56	$41,157	$15,678†	+$349K
9	University of Florida	FL	56	$35,759	$6,541†	+$331K
10	University of California-San Diego	CA	55	$33,489	$12,470†	+$285K
11	National Louis University	IL	53	$46,954	$12,641	+$419K
12	Cornell University	NY	53	$38,401	$28,690	+$269K
13	Sonoma State University	CA	53	$33,906	$12,885†	+$288K
14	George Mason University	VA	52	$45,140	$17,915†	+$380K
15	California State University-Sacramento	CA	51	$31,950	$9,338†	+$282K
16	California State University-Fullerton	CA	51	$31,857	$6,555†	+$292K
17	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	51	$31,642	$10,875†	+$273K
18	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	51	$29,762	$14,355†	+$240K
19	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	50	$41,717	$15,543†	+$355K
20	Washington State University	WA	50	$39,880	$14,971†	+$339K
21	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	49	$41,243	$17,447†	+$343K
22	University of Houston	TX	49	$37,964	$14,276†	+$323K
23	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	49	$37,458	$10,846†	+$331K
24	Portland State University	OR	49	$32,481	$9,552†	+$287K
25	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	49	$31,642	$13,807†	+$261K
26	Tufts University	MA	48	$44,345	$39,998	+$283K
27	Texas Tech University	TX	48	$39,096	$19,070†	+$315K
28	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	48	$36,743	$10,974†	+$324K
29	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	48	$35,025	$17,156†	+$282K
30	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	48	$33,118	$19,857†	+$252K
31	California State University-San Marcos	CA	48	$31,184	$10,229†	+$271K
32	California State University-Long Beach	CA	48	$30,205	$10,440†	+$260K
33	Florida State University	FL	48	$29,690	$11,297†	+$252K
34	Indiana State University	IN	47	$35,941	$10,873†	+$316K
35	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	47	$34,149	$17,354†	+$272K
36	Southeastern Oklahoma State University	OK	47	$32,997	$8,039†	+$298K
37	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	46	$39,924	$15,435†	+$338K
38	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	46	$35,436	$14,600†	+$296K
39	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	46	$35,322	$15,927†	+$290K
40	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	46	$34,610	$17,339†	+$277K
41	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	46	$31,642	$16,798†	+$249K
42	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	46	$31,642	$16,403†	+$251K
43	California State University-Northridge	CA	46	$28,150	$7,021†	+$253K
44	York College of Pennsylvania	PA	45	$39,158	$18,556	+$317K
45	Binghamton University	NY	45	$36,213	$21,620†	+$276K
46	Weber State University	UT	45	$35,861	$10,258†	+$318K
47	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	45	$35,234	$11,900†	+$305K
48	Ferris State University	MI	45	$35,216	$8,624†	+$318K
49	Texas Woman's University	TX	45	$30,619	$11,963†	+$258K
50	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	TX	45	$26,897	$4,831†	+$250K
51	Warner Pacific University	OR	44	$45,523	$25,629	+$353K
52	Connecticut College	CT	44	$41,609	$36,175	+$271K
53	Baker College	MI	44	$36,494	$13,157	+$312K
54	University of Arizona	AZ	44	$36,445	$16,674†	+$298K
55	SUNY Oneonta	NY	44	$36,143	$19,158†	+$285K
56	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	44	$33,878	$10,965†	+$295K
57	Kent State University at Stark	OH	44	$33,643	$10,897†	+$293K
58	Southern Nazarene University	OK	43	$41,062	$22,084	+$322K
59	Concordia University-Saint Paul	MN	43	$40,593	$18,462	+$332K
60	South Dakota State University	SD	43	$37,123	$19,841†	+$292K
61	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	43	$37,050	$17,490†	+$301K
62	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	43	$36,040	$15,664†	+$298K
63	University of Utah	UT	43	$35,467	$16,200†	+$290K
64	Texas State University	TX	43	$35,047	$16,805†	+$283K
65	Bowie State University	MD	43	$34,257	$19,298†	+$265K
66	University of Georgia	GA	43	$31,392	$13,936†	+$258K
67	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	42	$38,973	$21,637†	+$303K
68	Spring Arbor University	MI	42	$37,401	$19,353	+$297K
69	Central Michigan University	MI	42	$35,318	$17,597†	+$283K
70	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Fayette- Eberly	PA	42	$34,030	$14,596†	+$282K
71	West Virginia University	WV	42	$32,306	$15,634†	+$261K
72	Lesley University	MA	41	$38,516	$31,152	+$261K
73	Iowa State University	IA	41	$36,364	$18,589†	+$289K
74	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	41	$36,214	$21,279†	+$277K
75	Western Michigan University	MI	41	$35,209	$15,273†	+$291K
76	University of North Texas	TX	41	$34,499	$15,649†	+$282K
77	California State University-Monterey Bay	CA	41	$34,089	$13,663†	+$286K
78	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	41	$33,654	$24,953†	+$237K
79	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus	OR	41	$33,543	$18,048†	+$263K
80	Fresno Pacific University	CA	41	$32,957	$13,630	+$275K
81	Purdue University Northwest	IN	41	$26,384	$6,079†	+$240K
82	Montclair State University	NJ	40	$34,109	$15,566†	+$279K
83	Eastern Michigan University	MI	40	$33,911	$15,407†	+$277K
84	Southern University at New Orleans	LA	40	$33,687	$14,810†	+$278K
85	Kent State University at Salem	OH	40	$33,643	$13,799†	+$281K
86	Oregon State University	OR	40	$33,543	$19,604†	+$257K
87	California State University-Chico	CA	40	$30,441	$14,480†	+$246K
88	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	39	$35,491	$18,309†	+$282K
89	Stevenson University	MD	39	$34,273	$26,505	+$237K
90	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Scranton	PA	39	$34,030	$17,910†	+$269K
91	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State DuBois	PA	39	$34,030	$17,428†	+$271K
92	Ball State University	IN	39	$32,836	$14,940†	+$269K
93	University of Connecticut	CT	39	$31,642	$25,097†	+$216K
94	Northern Illinois University	IL	39	$28,342	$13,391†	+$230K
95	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	38	$34,533	$21,565†	+$259K
96	Kansas State University	KS	38	$34,241	$19,406†	+$265K
97	University of Rhode Island	RI	38	$34,205	$21,440†	+$256K
98	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Shenango	PA	38	$34,030	$18,095†	+$268K
99	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State York	PA	38	$34,030	$19,047†	+$264K
100	Illinois State University	IL	38	$33,682	$19,398†	+$259K
101	University of Northern Iowa	IA	38	$32,614	$15,901†	+$263K
102	Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies	MO	38	$32,588	$14,601	+$267K
103	Eastern Kentucky University	KY	38	$27,514	$11,040†	+$231K
104	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	38	$25,965	$8,889†	+$224K
105	Syracuse University	NY	37	$36,858	$38,793	+$213K
106	University of Idaho	ID	37	$34,340	$14,831†	+$284K
107	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Mont Alto	PA	37	$34,030	$19,454†	+$262K
108	Pennsylvania State University-World Campus	PA	37	$34,030	$19,550†	+$262K
109	East Tennessee State University	TN	37	$33,301	$15,983†	+$269K
110	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	37	$33,015	$20,268†	+$249K
111	University of Arkansas	AR	37	$31,758	$18,209†	+$245K
112	Eastern Washington University	WA	37	$28,589	$13,886†	+$230K
113	Utah Valley University	UT	37	$20,971	$6,376†	+$184K
114	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona	PA	36	$34,030	$22,213†	+$251K
115	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine	PA	36	$34,030	$22,585†	+$250K
116	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	36	$32,146	$23,805†	+$226K
117	Michigan State University	MI	36	$31,434	$19,680†	+$236K
118	Southern Wesleyan University	SC	36	$31,326	$15,464	+$251K
119	Mount Saint Mary's University	CA	36	$28,453	$21,413	+$199K
120	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	PA	35	$34,030	$23,330†	+$247K
121	Kent State University at Kent	OH	35	$33,643	$20,787†	+$253K
122	University of Central Missouri	MO	35	$32,574	$14,462†	+$268K
123	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	35	$30,835	$13,946†	+$253K
124	Appalachian State University	NC	35	$30,062	$16,836†	+$233K
125	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	35	$27,918	$12,090†	+$231K
126	Merrimack College	MA	34	$33,640	$37,927	+$185K
127	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	34	$32,769	$17,613†	+$257K
128	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	34	$32,300	$18,976†	+$247K
129	Temple University	PA	34	$31,452	$28,198†	+$202K
130	Louisiana Tech University	LA	34	$26,591	$11,864†	+$218K
131	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	33	$34,030	$32,875†	+$209K
132	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	33	$32,175	$24,022†	+$226K
133	University of Maine	ME	33	$30,983	$17,510†	+$240K
134	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	33	$30,675	$16,804†	+$240K
135	East Carolina University	NC	33	$29,607	$15,739†	+$233K
136	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	33	$29,539	$19,151†	+$219K
137	Georgia Southern University	GA	33	$29,387	$15,267†	+$233K
138	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	LA	33	$29,094	$13,530†	+$237K
139	Northwestern State University of Louisiana	LA	33	$27,373	$13,606†	+$219K
140	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences	MO	32	$32,588	$22,766	+$235K
141	University of Southern Mississippi	MS	32	$31,020	$21,708†	+$223K
142	The University of Alabama	AL	32	$30,264	$22,420†	+$213K
143	Curry College	MA	32	$29,532	$29,207	+$178K
144	Messiah University	PA	31	$32,943	$26,502	+$223K
145	Baylor University	TX	31	$32,137	$41,104	+$157K
146	Auburn University	AL	31	$30,502	$24,323†	+$208K
147	Abilene Christian University-Undergraduate Online	TX	31	$30,278	$23,698	+$208K
148	Central Washington University	WA	31	$27,006	$18,476†	+$196K
149	Brigham Young University-Idaho	ID	31	$21,619	$8,221	+$183K
150	Abilene Christian University	TX	30	$30,278	$26,182	+$198K
151	Point University	GA	30	$25,578	$25,335	+$154K
152	University of Vermont	VT	30	$25,249	$19,343†	+$175K
153	Liberty University	VA	29	$31,083	$29,357	+$193K
154	Point Loma Nazarene University	CA	29	$27,037	$38,729	+$115K
155	Utah State University	UT	29	$26,561	$14,936†	+$206K
156	Grambling State University	LA	29	$23,073	$19,809†	+$151K
157	St. Joseph's University-New York	NY	29	$21,796	$19,035	+$142K
158	Benedict College	SC	29	$21,607	$18,250	+$143K
159	Mississippi State University	MS	29	$21,243	$17,595†	+$142K
160	John Brown University	AR	28	$24,935	$20,397	+$168K
161	Brigham Young University	UT	27	$25,342	$15,564	+$191K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

The University of the District of Columbia takes the #1 spot because it offers an incredibly affordable pipeline straight into the nation’s largest hub for social policy and advocacy. UDC graduates don't just work in local community centers; they are embedded in the Washington, D.C. ecosystem of federal agencies, massive NGOs, and national family advocacy groups, translating into stronger earnings and career mobility than typical social services roles.

The most dominant trend on this list, however, is the triumph of the regional public campus. Ohio University claims five of the top seven spots entirely through its regional branches—like Chillicothe, Lancaster, and Zanesville. These campuses offer drastically reduced tuition compared to main flagship campuses, and their graduates feed directly into rural health, addiction recovery, and family services across Appalachia and the Midwest, where demand for social workers is acute and the cost of living is highly manageable.

The most surprising appearance is Cornell University at #12. It is exceptionally rare to see an Ivy League institution on a value-based ranking for a social services major, but Cornell’s College of Human Ecology is a globally recognized powerhouse in developmental psychology and policy research. Even so, Cornell is outperformed by eleven public or regional schools, simply because the premium price tag of an elite private education eats into the financial returns of a field that rarely pays Wall Street salaries.

What is Human Development & Family Studies?

Human Development & Family Studies is the science of how people grow, learn, and interact across their entire lifespan, from infancy to old age. Graduates spend their days on the front lines of social services, community health, and education, doing everything from managing early intervention programs for toddlers to coordinating care for seniors. It is a deeply human-centric field focused on improving the systems that support families in crisis, transition, or everyday development.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between HDFS and Social Work?

HDFS is broader and more research-focused, looking at the psychology and sociology of human growth across the lifespan. Social Work is a distinct professional track heavily focused on clinical practice, case management, and preparing for state licensure. HDFS grads often work in similar settings to social workers, but they tend to focus more on program coordination, education, or policy rather than direct clinical casework.

Do I need a master's degree to get a good job?

Not necessarily, but it dictates your career ceiling. A bachelor's degree is the standard entry credential for roles like family support specialist, preschool director, or community health worker. However, if your ultimate goal is to become a licensed clinical social worker, marriage and family therapist, or school counselor, you will eventually need to head back to graduate school for specialized clinical training.

Why do so many regional and branch campuses rank so high?

It comes down to the math of the social services sector. Because entry-level salaries in community and family services are relatively capped, the only way to maximize the financial value of the degree is to minimize the cost of getting it. Branch campuses like UConn Waterbury or the Ohio University regional network offer the exact same curriculum as their flagship counterparts but at a fraction of the net price, making them the smartest financial play for this specific career path.