If you pursue a associate degree in human services, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #31 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
In 2024, College Factual analyzed 2 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Human Services Associate Degree Schools in California ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 648 associate degrees in human services to qualified students.
To determine the overall quality of a graduate school, one factor we look at is the average early-career salary of those receiving their associate degree from the school. After all, your associate degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Major Focus - How many resources a school devotes to human services students as compared to other majors.
Major Demand - The number of human services students who choose to seek a associate degree at the school.
Educational Resources - How many resources are allocated to students. These resources may include educational expenditures per student, number of students per instructor, and graduation rate among other things.
Student Debt - How much debt human services students go into to obtain their associate degree and how well they are able to pay back that debt.
Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized human services related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for human services students working on their associate degree.
The human services school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Human Services Associate Degree Schools in California.
Best Schools for Associate Students to Study Human Services in California
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing an associate degree in human services.
Top California Schools for an Associate in Human Services
Fresno City College is a great decision for students pursuing an associate degree in human services. Located in the large city of Fresno, Fresno City College is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Students who graduate with their associate from the human services program state that they receive average early career income of $25,955.
San Diego City College is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting an associate degree in human services. Located in the large city of San Diego, San Diego City College is a public college with a large student population.
Human Services associate degree recipients from San Diego City College get an earnings boost of around $3,826 over the average earnings of human services majors.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).