Bachelor's · Houston, Texas

Is Social Work at Texas Southern 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 slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 7.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $41,817; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $53,567; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $27,467; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $76k (likely $70k – $99k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $17k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 7.2 years (likely 5.2–10.4); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$107k (likely −$190k – −$20k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $104k (likely −$34k – $287k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 24%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26