Bachelor's · Fresno, California

Is Social Work at Fresno Pacific University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.1 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $46,542; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $66,543; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $24,997; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $74k (likely $74k – $96k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $27k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.1 years (likely 4.2–6.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$18k (likely −$98k – $50k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $310k (likely $139k – $479k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 49%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26