Home › Majors › Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Degree

42 schools compared · Average earnings $32,409/yr

Students study the interdisciplinary foundations of family wellbeing, including nutrition, child development, consumer economics, and household management from a scientific perspective. Graduates typically pursue careers in community health education, social services, consumer advocacy, cooperative extension, and family life education. This major provides a holistic understanding of how families function and thrive.

What Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Graduates Do

Your degree in family and consumer sciences prepares you for a career centered on education and community well-being. Many graduates become secondary school teachers, where your day involves leading hands-on labs on nutrition, guiding students through personal finance projects, and connecting with parents. Others work as farm and home management educators, traveling to communities to run workshops on topics like household budgeting, food preservation, or sustainable living practices.

Typically, you’ll start in a classroom or community outreach role. With experience and often an advanced degree, you can progress to become a postsecondary instructor, training future professionals at a college level. While K-12 teaching and educator roles face slight hiring headwinds, opportunities in higher education are growing, though competitive. AI is set to become a significant assistant in these fields, automating routine work like drafting lesson plans or analyzing community survey data. This won't eliminate your job, but it will change it, freeing you to focus on the human-centric skills that matter most: mentoring students, building trust with families, and providing hands-on guidance.

Schools Offering

Avg Grad Earnings

$32,409/yr

Avg DegreeOutlook Score

33/100

AI Automation Risk

High

50% task exposure

Common Career Paths

Where Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences graduates typically work, ranked by salary. Salary ranges show 25th–75th percentile spread. This field has roughly 67,500 combined openings per year.

Career Path	Salary Range	Openings/yr	Growth	AI Risk
Family and consumer sciences teachers, postsecondary	$77,280 $57K$100K	200	+3.4%	54%
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	$64,580 $58K$83K	66,200	-1.6%	33%
Farm and home management educators	$58,120 $46K$69K	1,100	-2.5%	37%

Family and consumer sciences teachers, postsecondary

$77,280

$57K $100K

200 openings/yr +3.4% growth 54% AI risk

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

$64,580

$58K $83K

66,200 openings/yr -1.6% growth 33% AI risk

Farm and home management educators

$58,120

$46K $69K

1,100 openings/yr -2.5% growth 37% AI risk

Source: BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2024. Salary range shows 25th–median–75th percentile (national).

Best Schools for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences

Top 20 of 42 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY	47 49–48	$34,288/yr	17.2x
2	San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA	46 47–46	$35,977/yr	17.2x
3	Illinois State University Normal, IL	45 42–46	$48,974/yr	7.2x
4	California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, CA	45 48–46	$33,869/yr	18.2x
5	Iowa State University Ames, IA	44 42–44	$43,783/yr	10.3x
6	Sam Houston State University Huntsville, TX	43 43–43	$37,540/yr	12.7x
7	California State University-Northridge Northridge, CA	43 45–43	$33,721/yr	17.4x
8	University of Wyoming Laramie, WY	41 42–42	$37,887/yr	14.5x
9	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	38 41–39	$32,008/yr	15.8x
10	Texas Tech University Lubbock, TX	37 38–37	$35,501/yr	9.5x
11	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA	37 39–38	$32,634/yr	14.9x
12	University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD	36 37–37	$37,301/yr	10.4x
13	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	36 37–36	$35,059/yr	9.2x
14	Montana State University Bozeman, MT	36 38–36	$31,910/yr	13.3x
15	Northwestern State University of Louisiana Natchitoches, LA	35 35–35	$38,010/yr	9.2x
16	University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM	35 36–35	$35,369/yr	11.1x
17	Morgan State University Baltimore, MD	35 38–36	$31,331/yr	13.3x
18	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN	34 36–35	$33,093/yr	10.9x
19	North Carolina Central University Durham, NC	34 37–35	$31,586/yr	14.7x
20	CUNY Queens College Queens, NY	33 36–34	$32,457/yr	9.8x
21	Stephen F Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX	32 34–32	$34,452/yr	8.8x
22	Fort Valley State University Fort Valley, GA	32 35–33	$28,794/yr	12.4x
23	Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS	32 35–32	$28,782/yr	12.8x
24	University of North Alabama Florence, AL	31 34–31	$30,568/yr	9.0x
25	Nicholls State University Thibodaux, LA	31 34–31	$29,163/yr	12.0x
26	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR	30 33–31	$31,050/yr	9.6x
27	Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL	29 32–30	$33,113/yr	7.0x
28	Southeast Missouri State University Cape Girardeau, MO	29 32–30	$31,250/yr	9.7x
29	Southern Utah University Cedar City, UT	29 32–30	$27,346/yr	13.6x
30	University of Kentucky Lexington, KY	28 30–28	$31,464/yr	7.1x
31	Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN	28 31–29	$29,114/yr	9.7x
32	Delta State University Cleveland, MS	28 31–28	$28,918/yr	7.4x
33	Southeastern Louisiana University Hammond, LA	27 30–27	$27,399/yr	10.7x
34	North Carolina A & T State University Greensboro, NC	27 29–27	$26,888/yr	11.9x
35	Southern University and A & M College Baton Rouge, LA	26 28–27	$25,675/yr	9.8x
36	The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin, TN	25 28–25	$29,288/yr	7.8x
37	University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff, AR	25 28–25	$28,206/yr	8.9x
38	South Carolina State University Orangeburg, SC	24 27–25	$29,618/yr	7.1x
39	Southern University Law Center Baton Rouge, LA	24 26–25	$25,675/yr	—
40	Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL	23 26–23	$29,138/yr	5.9x
41	Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA	22 24–22	$34,466/yr	1.2x
42	Berea College Berea, KY	16 19–17	$28,495/yr	1.0x

Highest Earning Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences Programs

Schools where Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.

School	1-Year Earnings	DW Score
Illinois State University	$48,974/yr	45
Iowa State University	$43,783/yr	44
Northwestern State University of Louisiana	$38,010/yr	35
University of Wyoming	$37,887/yr	41
Sam Houston State University	$37,540/yr	43
University of Maryland Eastern Shore	$37,301/yr	36
San Francisco State University	$35,977/yr	46
Texas Tech University	$35,501/yr	37
University of New Mexico-Main Campus	$35,369/yr	35
The University of Alabama	$35,059/yr	36

Best ROI for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences

Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences.

School	ROI Multiple	Earnings	DW Score
California State University-Sacramento	18.2x	$33,869/yr	45
California State University-Northridge	17.4x	$33,721/yr	43
San Francisco State University	17.2x	$35,977/yr	46
SUNY Oneonta	17.2x	$34,288/yr	47
California State University-Long Beach	15.8x	$32,008/yr	38
California State University-Fresno	14.9x	$32,634/yr	37
North Carolina Central University	14.7x	$31,586/yr	34
University of Wyoming	14.5x	$37,887/yr	41
Southern Utah University	13.6x	$27,346/yr	29
Morgan State University	13.3x	$31,331/yr	35

Want to compare two Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences programs side by side? Use the comparison tool →

Related Majors

Explore similar fields of study.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences graduates earn?

Across 42 schools, Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences graduates earn an average of $32,409 per year in their first year after graduation. Earnings range from $25,675 to $48,974 depending on the school.

What is the AI automation risk for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences?

Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences is rated "High" for AI automation risk, with an average of 50% of job tasks exposed to large language models and AI tools. This means some career tasks in this field could be augmented or replaced by AI over the next decade.

Which school has the best Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences program?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score (combining earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and ROI), SUNY Oneonta ranks #1 for Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences with a score of 47/100 and graduate earnings of $34,288/yr.

What's the outlook for a Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences degree?

On average, Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences graduates earn 10.7x their in-state tuition over 10 years. This is a strong return on investment.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →