Early Childhood and Family Studies Degrees (2026 stats)
TL;DR
Early Childhood and Family Studies maps to BLS occupations averaging about $78,744, with roughly 475,570 workers nationwide in those roles. Median in-state published tuition is about $4,954; common paths include Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary and Child, Family, and School Social Workers.
Key Statistics
Early Childhood and Family Studies: what the data shows
Common questions about early childhood and family studies degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.
What is a early childhood and family studies degree?
A Early Childhood and Family Studies program is classified under NCES CIP 19.0711 in the Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services field family (19.07).
A program of study that focuses on the development and learning of children from birth to six years old within the context of the family. Includes instruction in child abuse and neglect, child and infant growth and development, early childhood education, early childhood language and literacy, early childhood math and science, early childhood special education, family literacy, family sociology, family and marriage relations, assessment and measurement, psychology, and psychopathology
IPEDS counted 333 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.
Types of early childhood and family studies degrees and related programs
Other NCES program codes in the 19.07 family with pages on EDsmart Data:
- Adult Development and Aging (CIP 19.0702)
- Child Care Provider/Assistant (CIP 19.0709)
- Child Care and Support Services Management (CIP 19.0708)
- Child Development (CIP 19.0706)
- Developmental Services Worker (CIP 19.0710)
- Family Systems (CIP 19.0704)
- Family and Community Services (CIP 19.0707)
- Human Development and Family Studies, General (CIP 19.0701)
- Parent Education Services (CIP 19.0712)
How long does it take to get a early childhood and family studies degree?
Award levels reported to IPEDS for CIP 19.0711 in our file:
- 60 Associate (14.6% of IPEDS total)—about two years of full-time study
- 333 Bachelor's (81.2% of IPEDS total)—typically four years
- 17 Master's (4.1% of IPEDS total)—one to two years beyond a bachelor's
Time to completion depends on enrollment intensity and transfer credits; figures above describe credential type, not calendar time for every student.
What degree do you need?
For Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%). Bachelor's awards account for a majority of IPEDS completions for CIP 19.0711, but occupation data show multiple pathways.
O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.
What jobs can you get with a early childhood and family studies degree?
Our degree→occupation mapping links Early Childhood and Family Studies to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | 382,960 | $58,570 |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | 65,870 | $63,780 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | 2,630 | $77,280 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 12,680 | $75,890 |
See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.
Is a early childhood and family studies degree worth it?
College Scorecard national medians for the Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services bachelor's program family: median debt $25,786, median earnings $48,568 four years after enrollment. Debt-to-earnings proxy: 0.77.
About 4.8% of graduates in this field family were not working and not enrolled one year after completion in Scorecard's national program medians.
Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $4,954 and median net price is $10,321.
We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.
Institutions
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Early Childhood and Family Studies and the types of students that study this field.
Tuition Costs for Common Institutions
$4,954 Median In-State Public
$28,490 Median Out of State Private
Tuition costs for Early Childhood and Family Studies majors are, on average, $4,954 for in-state public colleges, and $28,490 for out of state private colleges.
Tuition costs comparison for Early Childhood and Family Studies programs.
Degrees Awarded Over Time
100,000 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Early Childhood and Family Studies from 2015 to 2023.
Historical trend of degrees awarded in Early Childhood and Family Studies.
Top 5 Schools by Enrollment
| # | School | State | Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southern New Hampshire University | NH | 163,164 |
| 2 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 3 | University of Phoenix-Arizona | AZ | 85,991 |
| 4 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
| 5 | Arizona State University Campus Immersion | AZ | 64,674 |
Schools with the largest enrollment offering Early Childhood and Family Studies programs.
Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition
| # | School | State | Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 2 | Barstow Community College | CA | $1,104 |
| 3 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 4 | Taft College | CA | $1,108 |
| 5 | Antelope Valley Community College District | CA | $1,124 |
Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Early Childhood and Family Studies programs.
Top 5 Lowest Net Price
| # | School | State | Net Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 2 | Canada College | CA | $32 |
| 3 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 4 | College of the Sequoias | CA | $480 |
| 5 | Wiregrass Georgia Technical College | GA | $614 |
Schools with the lowest average net price for Early Childhood and Family Studies programs.
Graduation Rates
Graduation rate data is not available for this degree program.
Graduation/completion rates for Early Childhood and Family Studies programs across institutions.
Where students complete this major (IPEDS)
Bachelor's-level completions (IPEDS Completions, award level 5) summed by institution state. State is taken from IPEDS Directory (HD2023) for each reporting institution.
Geographic concentration
The largest number of reported bachelor's completions for Early Childhood and Family Studies is in TX (131 completions). That state represents about 39.3% of U.S. bachelor's completions reported for this CIP in the IPEDS file we use.
Among states, the highest concentration relative to all bachelor's degrees awarded in-state is WV (0.28% of that state's bachelor's completions).
Top states by count of bachelor's completions for this CIP (IPEDS).
| State | Bachelor's completions (this CIP) | % of U.S. total (this CIP) | % of state's all bachelor's |
|---|---|---|---|
| TX | 131 | 39.3% | 0.04% |
| WV | 99 | 29.7% | 0.28% |
| PA | 39 | 11.7% | 0.02% |
| AL | 24 | 7.2% | 0.04% |
| MI | 23 | 6.9% | 0.02% |
| IL | 8 | 2.4% | 0.01% |
| MO | 7 | 2.1% | 0.01% |
| TN | 2 | 0.6% | 0.00% |
Related specializations
Other NCES program codes in the 19.07 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.
- Adult Development and Aging CIP 19.0702
- Child Care Provider/Assistant CIP 19.0709
- Child Care and Support Services Management CIP 19.0708
- Child Development CIP 19.0706
- Developmental Services Worker CIP 19.0710
- Family Systems CIP 19.0704
- Family and Community Services CIP 19.0707
- Human Development and Family Studies, General CIP 19.0701
- Parent Education Services CIP 19.0712
Degree Levels (IPEDS)
Completions reported to IPEDS for CIP 19.0711 in the survey year used in our extract (410 total across levels below).
- 60 Associate (14.6% of IPEDS total)
- 333 Bachelor's (81.2% of IPEDS total)
- 17 Master's (4.1% of IPEDS total)
Source: IPEDS Completions (c2024_a), summed by award level for this CIP.
Careers & Jobs
Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.
Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $78,744. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Early Childhood and Family Studies graduates alone.
Related occupations (BLS OEWS)
| Occupation | Mean annual wage | U.S. employment |
|---|---|---|
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $129,630 | 11,430 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $75,138 | 382,960 |
| Marriage and Family Therapists | $76,689 | 65,870 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $132,711 | 2,630 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $141,278 | 12,680 |
Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.
Program outcomes (College Scorecard)
National medians across bachelor's programs in the Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services CIP family (89 programs reporting debt). Not specific to every Early Childhood and Family Studies graduate.
- $25,786 median federal loan debt among completers
- $48,568 median earnings four years after enrollment (national program median)
- 0.77 debt-to-earnings ratio (Scorecard proxy)
- 4.8% of graduates not working and not enrolled one year out (program cohort)
Source: College Scorecard program-level outcomes aggregated by 4-digit CIP family.
Employment
Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.
Yearly Income for Common Jobs
$78,744 Average Wage in Workforce
The average salary for Early Childhood and Family Studies majors is $78,744.
Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Early Childhood and Family Studies majors.
Occupations by Share
475,570 2023 Workforce
The number of Early Childhood and Family Studies graduates in the workforce has been growing.
Various jobs filled by those with a major in Early Childhood and Family Studies by share of the total number of graduates.
Diversity
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies in the United States.
Workforce Age
N/A Average Age in 2023
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies.
Age distribution for Early Childhood and Family Studies degree holders in the workforce.
Gender Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
333 Total Degrees Awarded
19 Male (5.71%)
314 Female (94.29%)
Gender distribution of Early Childhood and Family Studies degree recipients.
Race and Ethnicity Distribution
Counts below are bachelor's-level completions only (IPEDS Completions, award level 5).
127 Hispanic or Latino (38.14%)
121 White (36.34%)
55 Black or African American (16.52%)
9 Two or More Races (2.70%)
3 Asian (0.90%)
Racial and ethnic distribution of Early Childhood and Family Studies degree recipients.
Degrees Awarded
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Early Childhood and Family Studies are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.
Distribution of degree types awarded in Early Childhood and Family Studies.
Skills
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Early Childhood and Family Studies field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Required Skills
Early Childhood and Family Studies majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.
Rating of how necessary various skills are for Early Childhood and Family Studies majors.
Skills Bar Chart
This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.
Skill importance ratings for Early Childhood and Family Studies majors.
About
A program of study that focuses on the development and learning of children from birth to six years old within the context of the family. Includes instruction in child abuse and neglect, child and infant growth and development, early childhood education, early childhood language and literacy, early childhood math and science, early childhood special education, family literacy, family sociology, family and marriage relations, assessment and measurement, psychology, and psychopathology
In 2023, 100,000 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Early Childhood and Family Studies.
CIP Code
19.0711 - Early Childhood and Family Studies
What the data shows
At the program-family level, College Scorecard reports median debt of $25,786 for bachelor's completers and median earnings near $48,568, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.77. Those figures describe national program cohorts in this CIP family—not every individual Early Childhood and Family Studies graduate.
Women earned 94.1% of 439 Early Childhood and Family Studies completions in the IPEDS file used here.
Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $78,744. The largest mapped role by headcount is Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary (11,430 U.S. jobs in OEWS).
Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $4,954 in-state at public colleges and $28,490 at private institutions for programs in this field.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.
All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.