Best Social programs in Massachusetts, 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.
19 schools in Massachusetts run programs that feed this job, graduating 408 people a year. The job pays a median of $47,130 in Massachusetts across about 9,180 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
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.
2 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.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Human Services, Generalmain feeder CIP 44.0000In Massachusetts → | 389 | 95.3% | 18 | $35,168 | $29,279 |
| 2 | Developmental Services Workermain feeder CIP 19.0710In Massachusetts → | 19 | 4.7% | 2 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
Top 19 schools in Massachusetts
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 19 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Holyoke Community College Holyoke, MA Public · 2 feeder programs | 102 | Human Services, General | — | 29% | — | — |
| 2 | Quinsigamond Community College Worcester, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 71 | Human Services, General | $36,101 | 22% | — | — |
| 3 | Mount Wachusett Community College Gardner, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 47 | Human Services, General | $22,370 | 24% | — | — |
| 4 | Northeastern University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Human Services, General | $45,799 | 91% | $18,925 | 5% |
| 5 | Cambridge College Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Human Services, General | $44,287 | 11% | — | — |
| 6 | Bunker Hill Community College Boston, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Human Services, General | — | 13% | — | — |
| 7 | Fisher College Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Human Services, General | $35,289 | 28% | $26,273 | 71% |
| 8 | North Shore Community College Danvers, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Developmental Services Worker | $34,978 | 18% | — | — |
| 9 | Simmons University Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Human Services, General | — | 72% | $24,848 | 70% |
| 10 | Massasoit Community College Brockton, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Human Services, General | — | 19% | — | — |
| 11 | Urban College of Boston Boston, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Human Services, General | — | 0% | — | — |
| 12 | Cape Cod Community College West Barnstable, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Human Services, General | — | 22% | — | — |
| 13 | Massachusetts Bay Community College Wellesley Hills, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Human Services, General | — | 17% | — | — |
| 14 | Springfield Technical Community College Springfield, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 10 | Human Services, General | — | 32% | — | — |
| 15 | Fitchburg State University Fitchburg, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Human Services, General | $45,641 | 55% | — | 87% |
| 16 | Quincy College Quincy, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 8 | Human Services, General | — | 15% | — | — |
| 17 | Anna Maria College Paxton, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Human Services, General | — | 46% | $29,422 | 50% |
| 18 | Lesley University Cambridge, MA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 2 | Human Services, General | — | 58% | $30,837 | 97% |
| 19 | Greenfield Community College Greenfield, MA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Human Services, General | — | 31% | — | — |
All 19 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holyoke Community College | Holyoke | Public | 102 | 2 |
| Quinsigamond Community College | Worcester | Public | 71 | 1 |
| Mount Wachusett Community College | Gardner | Public | 47 | 1 |
| Northeastern University | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 25 | 1 |
| Cambridge College | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 18 | 1 |
| Bunker Hill Community College | Boston | Public | 16 | 1 |
| Fisher College | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| North Shore Community College | Danvers | Public | 15 | 1 |
| Simmons University | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 15 | 1 |
| Massasoit Community College | Brockton | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Urban College of Boston | Boston | Private not-for-profit | 13 | 1 |
| Cape Cod Community College | West Barnstable | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Massachusetts Bay Community College | Wellesley Hills | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Springfield Technical Community College | Springfield | Public | 10 | 1 |
| Fitchburg State University | Fitchburg | Public | 8 | 1 |
What social and human service assistants earn in Massachusetts
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $45,930. Massachusetts pays above the national figure.
1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.
Metro areas in Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts
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 Massachusetts.
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 389 degrees in Massachusetts in 2024-25, 95.3% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Services, Human Development. Together they graduate about 408 people a year in Massachusetts.
How much do social and human service assistants earn in Massachusetts?+
The median is $47,130 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 2.6% 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 Massachusetts?+
19 institutions in Massachusetts reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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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