Master's · Silver City, New Mexico

Is Social Work at Western New Mexico University worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 6.2 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $61,522; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $68,006; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $34,700; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published): $37k (likely $37k – $37k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $12k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in NM; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 6.2 years (likely 4.7–9.1); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$68k (likely −$119k – −$17k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $91k (likely −$31k – $214k); Today's dollars

Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.