Best degree programs for Residential Advisors, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 84 schools train Residential Advisors. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $42,240 median wage, 84,760 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 84 schools train residential advisors, graduating 1,355 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is College Student Counseling and Personnel Services. The job pays a median of $42,240 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About residential advisors
Coordinate activities in resident facilities in secondary school and college dormitories, group homes, or similar establishments. Order supplies and determine need for maintenance, repairs, and furnishings. May maintain household records and assign rooms. May assist residents with problem solving or refer them to counseling resources.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 13.1102 | 948 | 70.0% | 63 | $58,038 | — |
| 2 | CIP 13.1199 | 407 | 30.0% | 24 | $58,038 | — |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What residential advisors earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $39,130 | 2,840 | 1.06× | 8 | 238 |
| California | $46,650 | 8,120 | 0.82× | 7 | 129 |
| Illinoismoderate | $44,130 | 2,720 | 0.82× | 4 | 124 |
| Indiana | $38,850 | 1,360 | 0.78× | 6 | 90 |
| Arkansas | $38,300 | 910 | 1.27× | 5 | 85 |
| New York | $48,380 | 6,150 | 1.16× | 5 | 71 |
| Pennsylvania | $40,010 | 4,380 | 1.33× | 7 | 67 |
| Washingtonlimited | $48,640 | 1,810 | 0.94× | 1 | 50 |
| Kansaslimited | $37,680 | 510 | 0.65× | 1 | 44 |
| Marylandlimited | $46,950 | 2,640 | 1.75× | 1 | 41 |
| Texaslimited | $37,630 | 3,630 | 0.47× | 2 | 32 |
| New Jerseymoderate | $43,880 | 1,630 | 0.70× | 3 | 31 |
| Georgialimited | $39,380 | 2,460 | 0.92× | 1 | 30 |
| Floridamoderate | $40,660 | 1,610 | 0.30× | 3 | 29 |
| South Carolinalimited | $35,780 | 1,580 | 1.26× | 1 | 29 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $34,700 | 2,360 | 1.32× | 3 | 29 |
| Nebraskalimited | $45,980 | 230 | 0.41× | 1 | 24 |
| Iowalimited | $36,850 | 780 | 0.92× | 1 | 23 |
| Missourilimited | $36,510 | 1,380 | 0.86× | 2 | 22 |
| Ohiolimited | $38,590 | 3,070 | 1.02× | 2 | 22 |
| Coloradolimited | $44,750 | 760 | 0.48× | 1 | 21 |
| Michiganmoderate | $39,730 | 1,770 | 0.74× | 3 | 20 |
| Minnesotalimited | $48,770 | 3,410 | 2.12× | 2 | 18 |
| Kentuckylimited | $30,260 | 1,580 | 1.45× | 1 | 15 |
| West Virginialimited | $31,840 | 1,180 | 3.08× | 1 | 12 |
| Nevadalimited | $38,790 | 190 | 0.22× | 1 | 11 |
| Louisianalimited | $33,800 | 420 | 0.40× | 1 | 9 |
| Virginialimited | $42,890 | 2,950 | 1.32× | 1 | 8 |
| South Dakotalimited | $38,420 | 1,780 | 7.15× | 1 | 7 |
| Utahlimited | $39,240 | 990 | 1.04× | 1 | 7 |
| Massachusettslimited | $48,190 | 5,120 | 2.58× | 2 | 6 |
| Arizonalimited | $41,480 | 1,260 | 0.71× | 1 | 3 |
| Connecticutlimited | $43,620 | 1,250 | 1.36× | 1 | 3 |
| Oklahomalimited | $35,390 | 1,060 | 1.14× | 1 | 2 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $41,690 | 1,190 | 0.74× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Communicate with other staff to resolve problems with individual students.
- Observe students to detect and report unusual behavior.
- Supervise, train, and evaluate residence hall staff, including resident assistants, participants in work-study programs, and other student workers.
- Provide emergency first aid and summon medical assistance when necessary.
- Make regular rounds to ensure that residents and areas are safe and secure.
- Mediate interpersonal problems between residents.
- Enforce rules and regulations to ensure the smooth and orderly operation of dormitory programs.
- Determine the need for facility maintenance and repair, and notify appropriate personnel.
Skills
- Active Listening3.9
- Monitoring3.8
- Speaking3.8
- Critical Thinking3.6
- Reading Comprehension3.1
- Writing3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Customer and Personal Service4.5
- Administration and Management4.2
- Public Safety and Security4.0
- Education and Training4.0
- English Language3.9
- Sociology and Anthropology3.7
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Speech Clarity3.8
- Speech Recognition3.6
- Deductive Reasoning3.4
Core activities
- Assisting and Caring for Others4.8
- Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work4.4
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.3
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.1
- Getting Information4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Residential Advisor
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Residential Advisors2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.1102College Student Counseling and Personnel Services
- 13.1199Student Counseling and Personnel Services, Other
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Residential Advisor?+
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 College Student Counseling and Personnel Services, which awarded 948 degrees in 2024-25, 70.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Residential Advisor?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Student Counseling and Personnel Services. Together they graduate about 1,355 people a year.
How much do residential advisors earn?+
The median is $42,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $29,870 at the 10th percentile to $61,060 at the 90th. 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 residential advisors growing?+
BLS projects a +3.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 17,400 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
84 institutions 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 residential advisors work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Resident Director, Resident Assistant, Residence Hall Director, Residence Life Director among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 39-9041.
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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