College Rankings

Best Sociology Schools

The top 25 of 416 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Sociology degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Sociology worth it?

The degree is notorious for being a punchline about employability, but the data tells a different story—if you play the game right. Because a sociology degree doesn't map to a single, licensed job title, graduates have to hustle to translate their skills into lucrative fields like human resources, market research, or policy analysis. The payoff is absolutely there, but it is highly polarized based on where you study. The winners in this space fall into two distinct camps: ultra-elite private schools where the alumni network guarantees high-paying corporate entry, and hyper-affordable commuter publics in major metropolitan areas where students can graduate debt-free and step straight into local government or civic roles. If you overpay for a mid-tier private school to study sociology, the math will punish you.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	Columbia University in the City of New York	NY	66	$58,541	$21,590	+$499K
2	University of California-Berkeley	CA	60	$40,774	$13,481†	+$354K
3	CUNY Brooklyn College	NY	59	$41,062	$3,103†	+$398K
4	CUNY Lehman College	NY	57	$42,710	$3,148†	+$415K
5	Dartmouth College	NH	56	$64,377	$29,519	+$526K
6	CUNY York College	NY	56	$40,515	$4,456†	+$387K
7	University of Washington-Seattle Campus	WA	56	$40,062	$14,091†	+$344K
8	California State University-East Bay	CA	56	$39,378	$9,320†	+$356K
9	San Francisco State University	CA	55	$40,763	$12,278†	+$359K
10	University of Virginia-Main Campus	VA	54	$45,786	$21,565†	+$372K
11	Barnard College	NY	53	$48,215	$28,800	+$367K
12	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	53	$40,401	$3,203†	+$391K
13	Sonoma State University	CA	53	$37,896	$12,885†	+$327K
14	California State University-Sacramento	CA	53	$37,040	$9,338†	+$333K
15	California State University-Channel Islands	CA	52	$36,557	$9,849†	+$326K
16	Ohio University-Eastern Campus	OH	52	$36,506	$3,925†	+$349K
17	Boston College	MA	51	$48,091	$41,704	+$314K
18	Duke University	NC	51	$45,551	$29,612	+$337K
19	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	51	$40,011	$11,900†	+$353K
20	University of Maryland-Baltimore County	MD	51	$39,435	$16,467†	+$328K
21	Ohio University-Chillicothe Campus	OH	51	$36,506	$5,755†	+$342K
22	Ohio University-Southern Campus	OH	51	$36,506	$5,993†	+$341K
23	Ohio University-Lancaster Campus	OH	51	$36,506	$5,650†	+$342K
24	Ohio University-Zanesville Campus	OH	51	$36,506	$5,746†	+$342K
25	University of California-San Diego	CA	51	$36,464	$12,470†	+$315K
26	University of Notre Dame	IN	51	$35,915	$26,780	+$252K
27	California State University-Los Angeles	CA	51	$34,092	$3,967†	+$325K
28	CUNY Queens College	NY	51	$31,975	$4,195†	+$303K
29	The College of New Jersey	NJ	50	$46,953	$27,646†	+$359K
30	Adams State University	CO	50	$46,948	$12,980†	+$418K
31	University of Kansas	KS	50	$42,703	$18,059†	+$355K
32	Metropolitan State University of Denver	CO	50	$42,022	$15,327†	+$359K
33	University of Michigan-Flint	MI	50	$41,460	$7,007†	+$387K
34	University of Nebraska at Omaha	NE	50	$40,871	$13,441†	+$355K
35	California State University-Fullerton	CA	50	$34,714	$6,555†	+$321K
36	University of California-Los Angeles	CA	50	$34,121	$12,548†	+$291K
37	University of Michigan-Ann Arbor	MI	50	$33,832	$13,138†	+$286K
38	CUNY Hunter College	NY	50	$30,246	$2,984†	+$291K
39	Santa Clara University	CA	49	$53,612	$50,062	+$336K
40	Bowdoin College	ME	49	$47,749	$14,398	+$420K
41	University of Rhode Island	RI	49	$42,554	$21,440†	+$340K
42	Colorado State University Pueblo	CO	49	$37,389	$10,051†	+$334K
43	Brigham Young University	UT	49	$35,404	$15,564	+$292K
44	California State University-Northridge	CA	49	$34,093	$7,021†	+$313K
45	University of Florida-Online	FL	49	$33,611	$4,815†	+$317K
46	Minnesota State University Moorhead	MN	48	$42,984	$17,997†	+$358K
47	Boston University	MA	48	$38,457	$24,402	+$287K
48	Rhode Island College	RI	48	$36,742	$9,478†	+$330K
49	University of Florida	FL	48	$33,611	$6,541†	+$310K
50	University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus	CT	48	$31,913	$10,875†	+$276K
51	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	CA	48	$30,401	$16,665†	+$237K
52	Western Colorado University	CO	47	$43,178	$16,425†	+$366K
53	Iowa State University	IA	47	$40,602	$18,589†	+$332K
54	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	47	$40,569	$17,707†	+$335K
55	Mount Saint Mary's University	CA	47	$40,451	$21,413	+$319K
56	University of Southern Indiana	IN	47	$40,255	$12,923†	+$351K
57	Salem State University	MA	47	$39,822	$15,996†	+$334K
58	The University of Texas at Austin	TX	47	$39,621	$19,857†	+$317K
59	Eastern Illinois University	IL	47	$39,547	$12,786†	+$344K
60	George Mason University	VA	47	$38,916	$17,915†	+$318K
61	Texas Woman's University	TX	47	$38,438	$11,963†	+$337K
62	The University of Texas at Arlington	TX	47	$37,338	$13,951†	+$318K
63	California State University-Dominguez Hills	CA	47	$34,350	$8,615†	+$309K
64	Shepherd University	WV	47	$33,190	$11,363†	+$286K
65	CUNY City College	NY	47	$28,825	$3,776†	+$273K
66	Wake Forest University	NC	46	$46,257	$28,719	+$348K
67	Chicago State University	IL	46	$42,687	$12,335†	+$378K
68	Lamar University	TX	46	$38,042	$9,366†	+$343K
69	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania	PA	46	$35,932	$18,134†	+$287K
70	University of Wisconsin-Madison	WI	46	$35,889	$17,354†	+$289K
71	University of North Florida	FL	46	$35,728	$10,154†	+$317K
72	Western Michigan University	MI	46	$35,399	$15,273†	+$293K
73	Saint Xavier University	IL	46	$35,103	$10,970	+$307K
74	California State University-San Marcos	CA	46	$34,541	$10,229†	+$304K
75	University of Illinois Chicago	IL	46	$34,435	$10,974†	+$300K
76	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	46	$34,150	$15,678†	+$279K
77	University of Nevada-Las Vegas	NV	46	$33,553	$10,359†	+$294K
78	University of Connecticut-Avery Point	CT	46	$31,913	$13,807†	+$264K
79	National University	CA	45	$46,505	$22,878	+$374K
80	University of Northern Iowa	IA	45	$41,250	$15,901†	+$349K
81	Washington State University	WA	45	$39,801	$14,971†	+$338K
82	Old Dominion University	VA	45	$37,946	$14,638†	+$321K
83	University of California-Merced	CA	45	$37,092	$11,983†	+$323K
84	Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	45	$36,826	$14,600†	+$310K
85	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL	45	$35,415	$14,889†	+$295K
86	Purdue University Northwest	IN	45	$35,334	$6,079†	+$329K
87	University of California-Santa Barbara	CA	45	$34,372	$16,109†	+$279K
88	University of California-Irvine	CA	45	$34,050	$14,251†	+$283K
89	Indiana University-Kokomo	IN	45	$32,740	$3,968†	+$312K
90	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	IL	45	$31,548	$14,355†	+$258K
91	Brigham Young University-Idaho	ID	45	$31,353	$8,221	+$281K
92	California State University-San Bernardino	CA	45	$30,126	$4,564†	+$283K
93	Colgate University	NY	44	$51,788	$28,786	+$403K
94	King's College	PA	44	$48,529	$23,093	+$393K
95	Kansas State University	KS	44	$42,985	$19,406†	+$352K
96	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	44	$42,108	$19,139†	+$345K
97	Arizona State University Campus Immersion	AZ	44	$40,029	$14,967†	+$340K
98	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	44	$38,972	$16,778†	+$323K
99	Fort Hays State University	KS	44	$38,075	$12,569†	+$330K
100	Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus	OH	44	$38,034	$16,197†	+$316K
101	SUNY College at Potsdam	NY	44	$36,500	$13,624†	+$311K
102	Worcester State University	MA	44	$33,636	$13,381†	+$283K
103	University of South Florida	FL	44	$33,516	$9,812†	+$296K
104	Princeton University	NJ	44	$32,914	$6,128	+$305K
105	Stony Brook University	NY	44	$32,912	$18,784†	+$254K
106	University of California-Davis	CA	44	$32,137	$14,741†	+$262K
107	California State University-Long Beach	CA	44	$31,270	$10,440†	+$271K
108	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	NC	44	$30,623	$11,655†	+$260K
109	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	CA	44	$30,432	$11,531†	+$258K
110	Brandeis University	MA	43	$45,287	$35,736	+$310K
111	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	43	$42,048	$23,805†	+$325K
112	North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	43	$40,451	$15,543†	+$342K
113	Oregon State University-Cascades Campus	OR	43	$39,193	$18,048†	+$320K
114	State University of New York at Plattsburgh	NY	43	$39,079	$17,156†	+$322K
115	Central Washington University	WA	43	$36,466	$18,476†	+$291K
116	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus	OK	43	$35,917	$15,300†	+$298K
117	Michigan State University	MI	43	$35,055	$19,680†	+$272K
118	University of Central Florida	FL	43	$34,926	$10,411†	+$308K
119	Florida State University	FL	43	$33,783	$11,297†	+$293K
120	University of Connecticut-Stamford	CT	43	$31,913	$16,798†	+$252K
121	University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus	CT	43	$31,913	$16,403†	+$254K
122	California State University-Stanislaus	CA	43	$27,919	$6,067†	+$255K
123	Trinity College	CT	42	$50,077	$34,832	+$361K
124	Winona State University	MN	42	$43,505	$17,503†	+$365K
125	Syracuse University	NY	42	$38,632	$38,793	+$231K
126	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	42	$38,034	$17,339†	+$311K
127	University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point	WI	42	$37,888	$14,559†	+$321K
128	SUNY Old Westbury	NY	42	$37,826	$11,282†	+$333K
129	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO	42	$36,810	$13,310†	+$315K
130	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	42	$36,411	$14,158†	+$307K
131	University of Utah	UT	42	$36,308	$16,200†	+$298K
132	Pacific Lutheran University	WA	42	$35,317	$19,589	+$275K
133	Northern Illinois University	IL	42	$35,150	$13,391†	+$298K
134	Framingham State University	MA	42	$33,885	$16,114†	+$274K
135	University of North Texas	TX	42	$33,334	$15,649†	+$271K
136	University of Georgia	GA	42	$32,530	$13,936†	+$270K
137	Frostburg State University	MD	42	$32,165	$16,715†	+$255K
138	Dominican University	IL	42	$31,657	$11,745	+$270K
139	Florida International University	FL	42	$31,147	$9,288†	+$274K
140	University of Houston	TX	42	$30,723	$14,276†	+$250K
141	California State University-Fresno	CA	42	$30,378	$7,000†	+$276K
142	Florida Atlantic University	FL	42	$29,679	$8,752†	+$262K
143	Tufts University	MA	41	$47,859	$39,998	+$319K
144	Northeastern University	MA	41	$41,624	$30,915	+$293K
145	Oregon State University	OR	41	$39,193	$19,604†	+$314K
146	University of Colorado Boulder	CO	41	$37,958	$25,346†	+$278K
147	Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania	PA	41	$37,461	$15,699†	+$312K
148	Colorado State University-Fort Collins	CO	41	$37,335	$21,279†	+$288K
149	Texas State University	TX	41	$37,263	$16,805†	+$305K
150	Christopher Newport University	VA	41	$36,977	$23,015†	+$278K
151	University of Nebraska-Lincoln	NE	41	$36,809	$17,747†	+$297K
152	Cornell University	NY	41	$36,709	$28,690	+$252K
153	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee	WI	41	$36,452	$15,014†	+$304K
154	Kean University	NJ	41	$36,432	$12,447†	+$315K
155	University of Mary Washington	VA	41	$35,499	$20,667†	+$272K
156	University of North Carolina at Pembroke	NC	41	$34,051	$10,260†	+$299K
157	Ramapo College of New Jersey	NJ	41	$34,034	$18,173†	+$268K
158	Central Connecticut State University	CT	41	$33,724	$16,857†	+$270K
159	Fayetteville State University	NC	41	$33,544	$7,892†	+$304K
160	Austin Peay State University	TN	41	$31,699	$9,735†	+$278K
161	Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus	NM	41	$29,167	$4,904†	+$272K
162	Occidental College	CA	40	$42,653	$38,263	+$273K
163	Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts	MA	40	$38,631	$16,068†	+$322K
164	McDaniel College	MD	40	$37,728	$21,916	+$290K
165	SUNY College at Geneseo	NY	40	$37,600	$18,211†	+$303K
166	California State University-Chico	CA	40	$36,992	$14,480†	+$312K
167	Northeastern Illinois University	IL	40	$36,686	$14,109†	+$310K
168	San Diego State University	CA	40	$35,136	$15,364†	+$290K
169	Arkansas Tech University	AR	40	$32,924	$12,970†	+$277K
170	University of Maryland Eastern Shore	MD	40	$31,853	$13,338†	+$265K
171	Northern Arizona University	AZ	40	$31,410	$14,158†	+$257K
172	University of Delaware	DE	40	$29,714	$17,799†	+$226K
173	The University of Texas at El Paso	TX	40	$29,066	$9,403†	+$253K
174	Miami University-Oxford	OH	39	$43,150	$28,384†	+$318K
175	University of Cincinnati-Main Campus	OH	39	$42,507	$25,648†	+$322K
176	Chapman University	CA	39	$39,278	$46,555	+$207K
177	The University of Montana	MT	39	$39,160	$16,784†	+$324K
178	Kennesaw State University	GA	39	$36,212	$15,048†	+$302K
179	Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies	MO	39	$35,881	$10,566	+$317K
180	Texas A&M University-College Station	TX	39	$35,848	$21,315†	+$273K
181	Bridgewater State University	MA	39	$35,680	$16,383†	+$291K
182	University of Southern California	CA	39	$35,580	$32,740	+$225K
183	William Paterson University of New Jersey	NJ	39	$35,528	$18,745†	+$280K
184	Morehead State University	KY	39	$34,511	$9,793†	+$306K
185	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	39	$33,837	$22,345†	+$249K
186	University at Albany	NY	39	$33,433	$17,167†	+$266K
187	Ball State University	IN	39	$32,973	$14,940†	+$270K
188	The University of Texas at San Antonio	TX	39	$32,787	$10,836†	+$285K
189	Wayne State University	MI	39	$31,381	$12,766†	+$263K
190	Emory University	GA	39	$30,516	$22,585	+$215K
191	University of California-Riverside	CA	39	$29,367	$14,304†	+$236K
192	Bates College	ME	38	$42,170	$29,351	+$304K
193	Mount St. Mary's University	MD	38	$40,196	$22,655	+$311K
194	American University	DC	38	$40,119	$41,943	+$233K
195	Saint Leo University	FL	38	$39,498	$21,293	+$310K
196	Northwestern University	IL	38	$38,402	$29,167	+$267K
197	College of the Holy Cross	MA	38	$36,583	$38,782	+$211K
198	Keene State College	NH	38	$36,581	$17,887†	+$294K
199	Columbus State University	GA	38	$34,899	$13,115†	+$297K
200	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	38	$34,344	$18,745†	+$268K
201	Texas A&M University-San Antonio	TX	38	$33,945	$11,196†	+$295K
202	Illinois State University	IL	38	$33,636	$19,398†	+$259K
203	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	WI	38	$33,529	$16,210†	+$270K
204	SUNY Oneonta	NY	38	$33,072	$19,158†	+$254K
205	Centenary University	NJ	38	$32,049	$20,503	+$238K
206	Manhattanville University	NY	38	$31,551	$20,991	+$232K
207	New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	38	$31,376	$8,889†	+$278K
208	Portland State University	OR	38	$28,708	$9,552†	+$249K
209	Oakland University	MI	38	$20,126	$9,120†	+$165K
210	Mount Holyoke College	MA	37	$40,675	$26,441	+$301K
211	South Dakota State University	SD	37	$40,236	$19,841†	+$323K
212	McKendree University	IL	37	$40,015	$24,717	+$301K
213	Bowie State University	MD	37	$38,893	$19,298†	+$312K
214	Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University	VA	37	$38,768	$24,953†	+$288K
215	Suffolk University	MA	37	$37,802	$29,618	+$260K
216	University of Central Oklahoma	OK	37	$37,727	$18,309†	+$304K
217	John Carroll University	OH	37	$36,845	$28,746	+$253K
218	University of San Diego	CA	37	$36,476	$30,365	+$243K
219	Clemson University	SC	37	$36,320	$22,253†	+$274K
220	University of New Mexico-Main Campus	NM	37	$35,796	$15,489†	+$296K
221	The University of Tennessee-Knoxville	TN	37	$35,723	$18,976†	+$281K
222	University of Wisconsin-Parkside	WI	37	$35,710	$11,772†	+$310K
223	Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Harrisburg	PA	37	$35,016	$23,330†	+$257K
224	University of Missouri-St Louis	MO	37	$34,942	$15,071†	+$289K
225	University of Arizona	AZ	37	$34,671	$16,674†	+$280K
226	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	37	$34,344	$19,703†	+$265K
227	Arkansas State University	AR	37	$34,105	$12,366†	+$292K
228	Western Kentucky University	KY	37	$32,762	$10,990†	+$284K
229	University of Mount Saint Vincent	NY	37	$31,763	$21,696	+$231K
230	Indiana University-Indianapolis	IN	37	$30,939	$11,668†	+$263K
231	SUNY Buffalo State University	NY	37	$28,676	$11,346†	+$241K
232	Grinnell College	IA	37	$28,216	$17,648	+$212K
233	Roanoke College	VA	36	$38,983	$24,503	+$292K
234	St. John's University-New York	NY	36	$38,216	$29,999	+$262K
235	Rider University	NJ	36	$36,705	$24,792	+$268K
236	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	36	$36,506	$21,637†	+$279K
237	Tennessee Technological University	TN	36	$35,293	$14,246†	+$296K
238	Millersville University of Pennsylvania	PA	36	$34,883	$20,787†	+$266K
239	University of West Georgia	GA	36	$34,393	$12,786†	+$293K
240	University of Arkansas	AR	36	$33,566	$18,209†	+$263K
241	Montclair State University	NJ	36	$32,268	$15,566†	+$260K
242	Texas Tech University	TX	36	$32,207	$19,070†	+$246K
243	East Carolina University	NC	36	$31,928	$15,739†	+$256K
244	University of Connecticut	CT	36	$31,913	$25,097†	+$219K
245	Morgan State University	MD	36	$31,470	$14,985†	+$255K
246	Midwestern State University	TX	36	$29,922	$11,656†	+$253K
247	Clayton State University	GA	36	$29,834	$8,365†	+$265K
248	University of California-Santa Cruz	CA	36	$28,495	$17,890†	+$213K
249	Texas A & M International University	TX	36	$23,384	$3,637†	+$219K
250	Georgetown University	DC	35	$40,079	$40,815	+$238K
251	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	35	$38,523	$21,067†	+$301K
252	Franklin College	IN	35	$37,759	$22,855	+$286K
253	La Salle University	PA	35	$36,319	$19,409	+$286K
254	University of Northern Colorado	CO	35	$36,077	$17,760†	+$290K
255	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	35	$35,510	$17,303†	+$286K
256	University of La Verne	CA	35	$35,403	$20,161	+$273K
257	Tennessee State University	TN	35	$34,884	$15,796†	+$286K
258	Hofstra University	NY	35	$34,832	$34,176	+$212K
259	University of Memphis	TN	35	$34,822	$12,397†	+$299K
260	Georgia Southern University	GA	35	$34,627	$15,267†	+$285K
261	West Virginia University	WV	35	$34,063	$15,634†	+$278K
262	University of Missouri-Columbia	MO	35	$33,386	$20,268†	+$253K
263	University of Houston-Downtown	TX	35	$31,555	$10,542†	+$273K
264	University of Idaho	ID	35	$31,440	$14,831†	+$255K
265	University of North Georgia	GA	35	$30,576	$9,823†	+$266K
266	Indiana University-Bloomington	IN	35	$30,296	$16,264†	+$238K
267	University of Pittsburgh-Bradford	PA	35	$30,274	$15,350†	+$241K
268	McNeese State University	LA	35	$30,183	$12,493†	+$252K
269	Savannah State University	GA	35	$28,747	$8,172†	+$255K
270	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	35	$24,501	$13,171†	+$192K
271	Randolph-Macon College	VA	34	$39,656	$27,866	+$285K
272	Central College	IA	34	$38,034	$23,377	+$287K
273	Assumption University	MA	34	$37,279	$29,498	+$255K
274	Saint Michael's College	VT	34	$36,605	$25,239	+$265K
275	Loyola Marymount University	CA	34	$35,993	$48,381	+$166K
276	Providence College	RI	34	$35,983	$48,523	+$166K
277	Wichita State University	KS	34	$35,236	$13,194†	+$300K
278	SUNY at Purchase College	NY	34	$35,124	$18,913†	+$276K
279	Cleveland State University	OH	34	$34,490	$14,764†	+$286K
280	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	34	$34,344	$24,406†	+$246K
281	Loyola University Chicago	IL	34	$34,004	$36,079	+$196K
282	Hamline University	MN	34	$33,894	$20,744	+$256K
283	SUNY Brockport	NY	34	$33,566	$16,353†	+$270K
284	Grand Valley State University	MI	34	$32,132	$16,317†	+$256K
285	New Jersey City University	NJ	34	$32,082	$16,053†	+$257K
286	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	NC	34	$31,897	$15,435†	+$257K
287	East Texas A&M University	TX	34	$31,620	$11,841†	+$269K
288	James Madison University	VA	34	$31,513	$23,322†	+$222K
289	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	NC	34	$27,400	$10,965†	+$230K
290	Columbia College	MO	33	$37,758	$22,715	+$287K
291	Arcadia University	PA	33	$36,919	$29,466	+$251K
292	Montana State University	MT	33	$36,595	$22,499†	+$276K
293	Gettysburg College	PA	33	$36,396	$31,490	+$238K
294	University of San Francisco	CA	33	$36,183	$41,431	+$196K
295	Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus	PA	33	$35,016	$32,875†	+$219K
296	DePaul University	IL	33	$33,644	$30,902	+$213K
297	Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	33	$33,365	$17,447†	+$264K
298	University of Vermont	VT	33	$31,798	$19,343†	+$241K
299	University of Massachusetts-Amherst	MA	33	$31,686	$22,383†	+$227K
300	University of South Carolina Aiken	SC	33	$29,438	$11,641†	+$248K
301	University at Buffalo	NY	33	$28,593	$20,995†	+$202K
302	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI	33	$27,859	$15,664†	+$216K
303	Wilkes University	PA	32	$36,814	$27,743	+$257K
304	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	32	$36,295	$15,927†	+$299K
305	Saint Norbert College	WI	32	$35,981	$26,172	+$255K
306	Auburn University	AL	32	$35,378	$24,323†	+$256K
307	Augsburg University	MN	32	$34,543	$23,873	+$250K
308	Gonzaga University	WA	32	$33,675	$35,119	+$196K
309	State University of New York at Oswego	NY	32	$33,258	$16,236†	+$268K
310	Western Washington University	WA	32	$33,039	$21,193†	+$246K
311	University of Louisville	KY	32	$32,818	$17,988†	+$256K
312	Utah State University	UT	32	$32,730	$14,936†	+$268K
313	Fordham University	NY	32	$32,511	$44,338	+$148K
314	Pennsylvania Western University	PA	32	$32,325	$18,256†	+$250K
315	Stonehill College	MA	32	$32,057	$33,016	+$189K
316	Southern Connecticut State University	CT	32	$32,013	$20,857†	+$237K
317	University of Central Arkansas	AR	32	$31,867	$16,511†	+$253K
318	Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University	FL	32	$31,167	$13,739†	+$257K
319	University of North Alabama	AL	32	$30,591	$12,170†	+$257K
320	University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown	PA	32	$30,274	$18,202†	+$230K
321	University of Oregon	OR	32	$30,050	$22,182†	+$212K
322	Eastern Michigan University	MI	32	$29,919	$15,407†	+$238K
323	Kent State University at Stark	OH	32	$29,183	$10,897†	+$248K
324	Francis Marion University	SC	32	$28,982	$11,386†	+$244K
325	Middlebury College	VT	32	$28,368	$31,483	+$158K
326	Harris-Stowe State University	MO	32	$28,268	$9,922†	+$243K
327	Longwood University	VA	32	$27,948	$19,066†	+$203K
328	Albright College	PA	32	$24,310	$20,024	+$163K
329	Western Carolina University	NC	32	$23,374	$13,315†	+$180K
330	Beloit College	WI	31	$36,222	$21,526	+$276K
331	Smith College	MA	31	$35,252	$27,579	+$242K
332	Skidmore College	NY	31	$35,128	$32,297	+$222K
333	University of Kentucky	KY	31	$34,922	$18,851†	+$274K
334	William Penn University	IA	31	$34,099	$22,601	+$251K
335	Rosemont College	PA	31	$33,537	$20,150	+$255K
336	McMurry University	TX	31	$32,956	$19,581	+$251K
337	Appalachian State University	NC	31	$31,559	$16,836†	+$248K
338	Lander University	SC	31	$31,243	$15,363†	+$251K
339	Nicholls State University	LA	31	$30,583	$12,947†	+$254K
340	Rowan University	NJ	31	$29,863	$22,408†	+$209K
341	University of Central Missouri	MO	31	$28,238	$14,462†	+$225K
342	State University of New York at New Paltz	NY	31	$26,901	$18,809†	+$194K
343	Baylor University	TX	30	$37,753	$41,104	+$213K
344	Drury University	MO	30	$35,881	$20,831	+$275K
345	Kutztown University of Pennsylvania	PA	30	$34,490	$21,331†	+$260K
346	Winthrop University	SC	30	$33,877	$15,343†	+$277K
347	The University of Tampa	FL	30	$33,872	$36,211	+$194K
348	The College of Wooster	OH	30	$32,462	$23,458	+$231K
349	Salisbury University	MD	30	$32,091	$17,743†	+$250K
350	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	30	$31,819	$17,613†	+$248K
351	North Central College	IL	30	$29,714	$21,044	+$213K
352	Emporia State University	KS	30	$29,313	$16,261†	+$228K
353	Kent State University at Ashtabula	OH	30	$29,183	$12,205†	+$243K
354	Central Michigan University	MI	30	$28,785	$17,597†	+$217K
355	Cheyney University of Pennsylvania	PA	30	$28,128	$14,265†	+$224K
356	Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College	LA	30	$27,846	$19,151†	+$202K
357	Sam Houston State University	TX	30	$24,612	$16,404†	+$181K
358	New York University	NY	30	$22,697	$37,050	+$79K
359	Temple University	PA	29	$33,427	$28,198†	+$221K
360	Virginia Commonwealth University	VA	29	$32,781	$23,433†	+$234K
361	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	29	$32,323	$16,804†	+$256K
362	Georgia State University	GA	29	$28,968	$15,931†	+$226K
363	Augusta University	GA	29	$28,860	$13,787†	+$233K
364	College of Charleston	SC	29	$28,801	$18,960†	+$212K
365	Idaho State University	ID	29	$27,854	$12,193†	+$230K
366	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	CO	29	$27,226	$15,788†	+$209K
367	Stockton University	NJ	29	$24,814	$20,670†	+$165K
368	Coastal Carolina University	SC	29	$24,738	$13,966†	+$192K
369	Whitworth University	WA	28	$32,727	$26,534	+$221K
370	Doane University	NE	28	$32,351	$26,364	+$218K
371	Franklin and Marshall College	PA	28	$31,444	$36,425	+$169K
372	Morehouse College	GA	28	$31,391	$39,013	+$158K
373	Binghamton University	NY	28	$30,455	$21,620†	+$218K
374	California Baptist University	CA	28	$30,430	$26,285	+$199K
375	Augustana College	IL	28	$30,290	$22,736	+$212K
376	University of Maine	ME	28	$30,283	$17,510†	+$233K
377	Biola University	CA	28	$30,092	$31,495	+$175K
378	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	28	$29,220	$20,109†	+$212K
379	Purdue University Fort Wayne	IN	28	$27,749	$13,171†	+$225K
380	University of Redlands	CA	27	$33,421	$30,031	+$214K
381	Bloomfield College of Montclair State University	NJ	27	$32,268	$28,014†	+$211K
382	Bowling Green State University-Main Campus	OH	27	$31,484	$24,022†	+$219K
383	Wheaton College (Massachusetts)	MA	27	$29,953	$29,822	+$180K
384	Hope College	MI	27	$29,181	$27,182	+$183K
385	University of Wyoming	WY	27	$27,059	$13,599†	+$216K
386	North Carolina A & T State University	NC	27	$24,661	$10,846†	+$203K
387	University of South Carolina-Columbia	SC	26	$30,517	$22,811†	+$214K
388	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	WI	26	$30,111	$16,550†	+$235K
389	Azusa Pacific University	CA	26	$29,683	$22,212	+$208K
390	Willamette University	OR	26	$29,312	$25,121	+$193K
391	University of Hawaii at Hilo	HI	26	$24,414	$11,856†	+$197K
392	Lane College	TN	26	$23,591	$10,904	+$192K
393	University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus	PA	25	$30,274	$30,434†	+$181K
394	Duquesne University	PA	25	$29,661	$37,730	+$146K
395	Troy University	AL	25	$26,803	$16,527†	+$202K
396	University of Louisiana at Lafayette	LA	25	$26,306	$13,530†	+$209K
397	University of North Carolina Asheville	NC	25	$18,869	$12,250†	+$140K
398	University of Alabama at Birmingham	AL	24	$28,137	$18,749†	+$206K
399	Fort Lewis College	CO	24	$27,553	$17,296†	+$206K
400	Moravian University	PA	24	$26,583	$30,670	+$143K
401	Loyola University New Orleans	LA	24	$26,581	$23,696	+$171K
402	Lee University	TN	24	$25,127	$18,878	+$176K
403	Connecticut College	CT	24	$22,636	$36,175	+$82K
404	Kent State University at Kent	OH	23	$29,183	$20,787†	+$209K
405	Boise State University	ID	23	$26,809	$21,610†	+$182K
406	Vassar College	NY	23	$26,356	$39,343	+$106K
407	Seattle Pacific University	WA	23	$25,958	$24,488	+$162K
408	Ithaca College	NY	22	$24,026	$33,926	+$105K
409	St Bonaventure University	NY	22	$23,475	$27,074	+$126K
410	East Tennessee State University	TN	21	$24,468	$15,983†	+$181K
411	Claflin University	SC	21	$24,139	$17,800	+$170K
412	Drew University	NJ	21	$20,658	$24,280	+$109K
413	Vermont State University	VT	21	$20,464	$18,212†	+$132K
414	Hobart William Smith Colleges	NY	21	$20,228	$31,563	+$76K
415	Gordon College	MA	21	$18,487	$24,883	+$85K
416	Albertus Magnus College	CT	20	$27,217	$34,028	+$136K

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

Columbia University takes the top spot not just because of its Ivy League pedigree, but because of its geography and departmental DNA. Sociology graduates in Morningside Heights don't just study urban dynamics; they are recruited directly into Manhattan's massive media, marketing, and management consulting sectors, where understanding demographic trends is highly lucrative. Columbia's historical dominance in social research—anchored by institutions like the Lazarsfeld Center for the Social Sciences—gives its undergrads a heavy quantitative and methodological edge that corporate employers love.

But the most striking story in this ranking is the absolute dominance of the City University of New York (CUNY) system. CUNY Brooklyn, Lehman, York, and John Jay all crush household names like Duke and Boston College. Why? It comes down to rock-bottom tuition colliding with the nation's largest municipal job market. John Jay, for instance, is a legendary pipeline into New York's criminal justice system, city agencies, and vast non-profit sector. Similarly, the heavy presence of California State University (CSU) and Ohio University regional campuses proves that you don't need prestige to win in this field. These schools offer stripped-down, highly affordable pathways into stable regional employment—like state government, social work, and HR administration—allowing graduates to build comfortable lives without the crushing weight of student loans.

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the study of human behavior within groups, institutions, and entire societies. Graduates spend their days analyzing demographic data, designing community programs, or managing human resources, applying their understanding of social dynamics to solve complex problems in government, corporate marketing, and non-profits.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between sociology and psychology?

Psychology focuses on the individual mind and behavior, often leading to clinical or counseling careers. Sociology zooms out to look at systems, groups, and societal trends. If you want to treat a person's anxiety, study psychology; if you want to understand how economic shifts affect a community's overall anxiety levels, study sociology.

Do I need to be good at math for a sociology degree?

You don't need to be an advanced mathematician, but you absolutely must embrace statistics and data analysis. The highest-earning sociology graduates are those who lean into quantitative research methods. Employers in market research, policy analysis, and tech want sociologists who can run surveys, analyze large datasets, and interpret the results.

Why do so many regional public schools rank so high for this major?

Because sociology salaries often start in the moderate range, keeping your college costs low is the single most important factor for your return on investment. If you graduate with massive debt, a standard entry-level salary at a non-profit or city agency won't cover your loan payments. Regional public universities keep the net price so low that even a modest starting salary yields a massive financial win over your lifetime.