Best colleges for Social Work in New York
Program-level earnings — not school prestige — rank these. Among the New York programs in the federal field-of-study file, CUNY Hunter College leads: its Social Work graduates earn a median $70,273 four years after finishing, against the field's $51,790 national median. (Scorecard field-of-study, 2026.)
| # | College | Grad earnings, 4 yrs | Vs field median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CUNY Hunter College | $70,273 | +$18,483 |
| 2 | Iona University | $66,417 | +$14,627 |
| 3 | Fordham University | $66,349 | +$14,559 |
| 4 | Adelphi University | $66,162 | +$14,372 |
| 5 | Dominican University New York | $64,672 | +$12,882 |
How big is the earnings gap between New York Social Work programs?
$5,601 separates the top and bottom of this list — $70,273 at CUNY Hunter College against $64,672 at Dominican University New York, four years after finishing. Same field, same state, same federal measure: where you study moves pay by that much.
Do New York Social Work graduates earn more than the national median?
The state's strongest program pays $18,483 above the $51,790 national median for the field. Program-level medians come from federal tax records of graduates who received aid, so they track actual pay rather than advertised salaries.