Kentucky·Community and Social Service Occupations·SOC 21-1099

Best Community programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment

All community and social service specialists not listed.

18 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 639 people a year. The job pays a median of $58,150 in Kentucky across about 280 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNunMonkNoviceSisterActivistOrganizerPostulantSacristan
Graduates / yr
639
in Kentucky
Median pay · Kentucky
$58,150
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
280
people employed
Schools
18
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
48%
across those schools
Median net price
$14,604
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

4 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 44.0000In Kentucky
529
82.8%
14$35,168$29,279
2
CIP 39.0799In Kentucky
61
9.5%
2$32,226$26,000
3
CIP 39.0701In Kentucky
29
4.5%
4$32,226$26,000
4
CIP 44.0201In Kentucky
20
3.1%
1$39,102$27,000

Top 18 schools in Kentucky

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 2 of the 18 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Lindsey Wilson University
Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
142Human Services, General$29,31844%$14,471
2University of the Cumberlands
Williamsburg, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
118Human Services, General$32,93850%$11,67299%
3The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
70Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other40%56%
4Maysville Community and Technical College
Maysville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
51Human Services, General56%
5Bluegrass Community and Technical College
Lexington, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
41Human Services, General43%
6Murray State University
Murray, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
35Community Organization and Advocacy61%86%
7Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
Cumberland, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
29Human Services, General47%
8Gateway Community and Technical College
Florence, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
24Human Services, General59%
9Hazard Community and Technical College
Hazard, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
24Human Services, General48%
10Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Prestonsburg, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
22Human Services, General38%
11Jefferson Community and Technical College
Louisville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
20Human Services, General35%
12Elizabethtown Community and Technical College
Elizabethtown, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
16Human Services, General59%
13Madisonville Community College
Madisonville, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
15Human Services, General49%
14Campbellsville University
Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
11Pastoral Studies/Counseling42%$18,82480%
15Henderson Community College
Henderson, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
10Human Services, General35%
16Asbury Theological Seminary
Wilmore, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Pastoral Studies/Counseling
17Brescia University
Owensboro, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Human Services, General54%$14,60435%
18Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
2Pastoral Studies/Counseling

All 18 schools in Kentucky

Every school in Kentucky 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.

All schools in Kentucky that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Lindsey Wilson UniversityColumbiaPrivate not-for-profit1421
University of the CumberlandsWilliamsburgPrivate not-for-profit1181
The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryLouisvillePrivate not-for-profit702
Maysville Community and Technical CollegeMaysvillePublic511
Bluegrass Community and Technical CollegeLexingtonPublic411
Murray State UniversityMurrayPublic352
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical CollegeCumberlandPublic291
Gateway Community and Technical CollegeFlorencePublic241
Hazard Community and Technical CollegeHazardPublic241
Big Sandy Community and Technical CollegePrestonsburgPublic221
Jefferson Community and Technical CollegeLouisvillePublic201
Elizabethtown Community and Technical CollegeElizabethtownPublic161
Madisonville Community CollegeMadisonvillePublic151
Campbellsville UniversityCampbellsvillePrivate not-for-profit112
Henderson Community CollegeHendersonPublic101

What community and social service specialists, all other earn in Kentucky

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Kentucky
$58,150
Mean annual
$56,310
Jobs in state
280
What the range looks like
10th pct$38,570Median$58,15090th pct$72,230
Versus the national median
+2.5%

U.S. median $56,730. Kentucky pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.20×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Kentucky

Lexington-Fayette, KY
$61,160median
60 jobs
Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
$60,290median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.6%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
13,100
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
5,500
119,200 → 124,700
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

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 Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other page.

How to become a Community

Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Kentucky

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 9 majors mapped to Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other9 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 19.0710Developmental Services Worker
  • 19.0711Early Childhood and Family Studies
  • 19.0712Parent Education Services
  • 30.1701Behavioral Sciences
  • 30.2502Contemplative Studies/Inquiry
  • 39.0701Pastoral Studies/Counseling
  • 39.0799Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Other
  • 44.0000Human Services, General
  • 44.0201Community Organization and Advocacy

Common questions

Answers for people weighing community and social service specialists, all other programs in Kentucky.

What degree do you need to become a Community?+

Bachelor's degree 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 529 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 82.8% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Community?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Services, Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries, Community Organization and Advocacy. Together they graduate about 639 people a year in Kentucky.

How much do community and social service specialists, all other earn in Kentucky?+

The median is $58,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.5% above the U.S. median of $56,730. 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 community and social service specialists, all other growing?+

BLS projects a +4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 13,100 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Kentucky?+

18 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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.

Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+

BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'None' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.

Community and Social Service Specialists, All Other in other statesArizonaIndianaCaliforniaNew YorkTexasFloridaNorth CarolinaMinnesota

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 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected 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 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, 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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