Best Social programs in California, ranked by enrollment
Assist other social and human service providers in providing client services in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, or social work, including support for families.
66 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,562 people a year. The job pays a median of $51,090 in California across about 58,730 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
1 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Human Services, Generalmain feeder CIP 44.0000In California → | 1,562 | 100.0% | 66 | $35,168 | $29,279 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 66 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California State University - Fullerton Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 205 | Human Services, General | — | 70% | — | 91% |
| 2 | California State University - Monterey Bay Seaside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 75 | Human Services, General | $37,501 | 59% | — | 97% |
| 3 | California State University - Dominguez Hills Carson, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 69 | Human Services, General | — | 43% | — | 93% |
| 4 | Allan Hancock College Santa Maria, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 63 | Human Services, General | — | 26% | — | — |
| 5 | Folsom Lake College Folsom, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Human Services, General | — | 44% | — | — |
| 6 | Moreno Valley College Moreno Valley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 61 | Human Services, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 7 | Southwestern College Chula Vista, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Human Services, General | — | 35% | — | — |
| 8 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Human Services, General | — | 31% | — | — |
| 9 | San Diego City College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Human Services, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 10 | Columbia College Sonora, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 49 | Human Services, General | — | 27% | — | — |
| 11 | Fresno City College Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 45 | Human Services, General | — | 24% | — | — |
| 12 | Long Beach City College Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Human Services, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 13 | Santa Ana College Santa Ana, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Human Services, General | — | 31% | — | — |
| 14 | College of the Redwoods Eureka, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Human Services, General | — | 34% | — | — |
| 15 | Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 34 | Human Services, General | — | 25% | — | — |
| 16 | Solano Community College Fairfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 30 | Human Services, General | — | 36% | — | — |
| 17 | Cabrillo College Aptos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Human Services, General | — | 38% | — | — |
| 18 | Cuyamaca College El Cajon, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Human Services, General | — | 41% | — | — |
| 19 | Cypress College Cypress, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 29 | Human Services, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 20 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 28 | Human Services, General | — | 37% | — | — |
| 21 | Modesto Junior College Modesto, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Human Services, General | — | 30% | — | — |
| 22 | San Bernardino Valley College San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 27 | Human Services, General | — | 28% | — | — |
| 23 | Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Human Services, General | — | 48% | — | — |
| 24 | Contra Costa College San Pablo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Human Services, General | — | 28% | — | — |
| 25 | Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Human Services, General | — | 21% | — | — |
All 66 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California State University - Fullerton | Fullerton | Public | 205 | 1 |
| California State University - Monterey Bay | Seaside | Public | 75 | 1 |
| California State University - Dominguez Hills | Carson | Public | 69 | 1 |
| Allan Hancock College | Santa Maria | Public | 63 | 1 |
| Folsom Lake College | Folsom | Public | 61 | 1 |
| Moreno Valley College | Moreno Valley | Public | 61 | 1 |
| Southwestern College | Chula Vista | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Cerritos College | Norwalk | Public | 50 | 1 |
| San Diego City College | San Diego | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Columbia College | Sonora | Public | 49 | 1 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 45 | 1 |
| Long Beach City College | Long Beach | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Santa Ana College | Santa Ana | Public | 37 | 1 |
| College of the Redwoods | Eureka | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Rio Hondo College | Whittier | Public | 34 | 1 |
What social and human service assistants earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $45,930. California pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Social and Human Service Assistants page.
How to become a Social
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Social and Human Service Assistants2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 19.0710Developmental Services Worker
- 44.0000Human Services, General
Common questions
Answers for people weighing social and human service assistants programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Social?+
High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Human Services, General, which awarded 1,562 degrees in California in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Social?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Services. Together they graduate about 1,562 people a year in California.
How much do social and human service assistants earn in California?+
The median is $51,090 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.2% above the U.S. median of $45,930. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for social and human service assistants growing?+
BLS projects a +6.4% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, faster than average, with roughly 50,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
66 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 1 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do social and human service assistants work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Advocate, Clinical Assistant, Social Work Associate, Social Worker Assistant among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1093.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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