2026 Best Value Human Services Schools in Tennessee
[Human Services](/majors/social-services-public-administration/human-services/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong human services education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 6 schools to find the best return on investment for human services students.
What’s on this page:
2026 Best Value Human Services Schools in Tennessee
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in human services, balancing cost against outcomes.
Best Value Human Services Schools
Leading the list is East Tennessee State University, our #1 best value for human services in Tennessee. East Tennessee State University is a large public school located in the city of Johnson City. In-state tuition and fees average $10,216, compared with $13,726 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $22,150 to complete the human services program here. Soon after graduation, human services degree recipients from East Tennessee State University generally make around $38,577. Weighed against typical debt, the earnings make a compelling case for value. Roughly 86% of applicants are accepted.
More Human Services Rankings
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Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 6 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
