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

Best Community programs in Massachusetts, ranked by enrollment

All community and social service specialists not listed.

30 schools in Massachusetts run programs that feed this job, graduating 786 people a year. The job pays a median of $57,360 in Massachusetts across about 1,480 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledNunMonkNoviceSisterActivistOrganizerPostulantSacristan
Graduates / yr
786
in Massachusetts
Median pay · Massachusetts
$57,360
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,480
people employed
Schools
30
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
45%
across those schools
Median net price
$25,074
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Massachusetts that lead to this job

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

6 programs in Massachusetts that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Massachusetts (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 Massachusetts page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1389
49.5%
18$35,168$29,279
2218
27.7%
4$36,206$29,240
3155
19.7%
9$39,102$27,000
419
2.4%
2$31,642$23,092
53
0.4%
1$31,642$23,092
62
0.3%
1$32,226$26,000

Top 25 schools in Massachusetts

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 30 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Holyoke Community College
Holyoke, MA Public · 3 feeder programs
105Human Services, General29%
2Harvard University
Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
94Behavioral Sciences98%$15,0134%
3Endicott College
Beverly, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
89Behavioral Sciences76%$34,19571%
4Springfield College - Regional, Online, and Continuing Education
Springfield, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
80Community Organization and Advocacy$44,961
5Quinsigamond Community College
Worcester, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
71Human Services, General$36,10122%
6Mount Wachusett Community College
Gardner, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
47Human Services, General$22,37024%
7Fitchburg State University
Fitchburg, MA Public · 2 feeder programs
27Behavioral Sciences55%87%
8Clark University
Worcester, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
26Community Organization and Advocacy77%$23,33240%
9Northeastern University
Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
25Human Services, General$45,79991%$18,9255%
10Merrimack College
North Andover, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Community Organization and Advocacy70%$33,87770%
11Cambridge College
Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Human Services, General$44,28711%
12North Shore Community College
Danvers, MA Public · 2 feeder programs
17Developmental Services Worker$34,97818%
13Bunker Hill Community College
Boston, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
16Human Services, General13%
14University of Massachusetts - Lowell
Lowell, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
16Behavioral Sciences65%83%
15Fisher College
Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Human Services, General$35,28928%$26,27371%
16Simmons University
Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
15Human Services, General72%$24,84870%
17Massasoit Community College
Brockton, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
13Human Services, General19%
18Urban College of Boston
Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Human Services, General0%
19Cape Cod Community College
West Barnstable, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
11Human Services, General22%
20Massachusetts Bay Community College
Wellesley Hills, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
11Human Services, General17%
21Gordon College
Wenham, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Community Organization and Advocacy69%$23,07769%
22Springfield Technical Community College
Springfield, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
10Human Services, General32%
23Anna Maria College
Paxton, MA Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
9Human Services, General46%$29,42250%
24Quincy College
Quincy, MA Public · 1 feeder programs
8Human Services, General15%
25Brandeis University
Waltham, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Community Organization and Advocacy86%$25,07440%

All 30 schools in Massachusetts

Every school in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Holyoke Community CollegeHolyokePublic1053
Harvard UniversityCambridgePrivate not-for-profit941
Endicott CollegeBeverlyPrivate not-for-profit891
Springfield College - Regional, Online, and Continuing EducationSpringfieldPrivate not-for-profit801
Quinsigamond Community CollegeWorcesterPublic711
Mount Wachusett Community CollegeGardnerPublic471
Fitchburg State UniversityFitchburgPublic272
Clark UniversityWorcesterPrivate not-for-profit261
Northeastern UniversityBostonPrivate not-for-profit251
Merrimack CollegeNorth AndoverPrivate not-for-profit211
Cambridge CollegeBostonPrivate not-for-profit181
North Shore Community CollegeDanversPublic172
Bunker Hill Community CollegeBostonPublic161
University of Massachusetts - LowellLowellPublic161
Fisher CollegeBostonPrivate not-for-profit151

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

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

Median annual in Massachusetts
$57,360
Mean annual
$60,060
Jobs in state
1,480
What the range looks like
10th pct$39,000Median$57,36090th pct$86,260
Versus the national median
+1.1%

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

Job concentration
0.59×

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

Metro areas in Massachusetts

Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
$59,890median
1,410 jobs
Worcester, MA
$55,000median
110 jobs
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$48,670median
60 jobs
Springfield, MA
$43,470median
80 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 Massachusetts

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 Massachusetts.

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 389 degrees in Massachusetts in 2024-25, 49.5% 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 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Services, Behavioral Sciences, Community Organization and Advocacy, Human Development, plus 1 more. Together they graduate about 786 people a year in Massachusetts.

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

The median is $57,360 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 1.1% 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 Massachusetts?+

30 institutions in Massachusetts reported graduates from at least one of the 6 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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