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Best Human Services Schools Near Athens, AL (2026)
Updated August 31, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Athens, Alabama is home to about 32,587 residents. In the Huntsville, AL metro area, the top-earning human services-related role is Social and Community Service Manager at a median $74,400 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Human Services Schools to Athens
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer human services programs near Athens, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Athens city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Athens.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Alabama schools on the Alabama human services page.
Human Services Wages Near Athens
Athens is part of the Huntsville, AL metro area (BLS area code 26620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Alabama statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Human Service Assistant
$36,070
Huntsville, AL
$38,743
Social and Community Service Manager
$74,400
Huntsville, AL
$79,914
Child, Family and School Social Worker
$46,860
Huntsville, AL
$50,333
Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor
$48,530
Huntsville, AL
$52,127
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Athens at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
93.1 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Athens-Area Cities With Human Services Programs
What are the highest-paying human services roles near Athens?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying human services-related roles near Athens are: Social and Community Service Manager ($74,400), Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselor ($48,530), Child, Family and School Social Worker ($46,860). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Alabama statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Madison instead of Athens?
Madison, AL is 11.8 miles from Athens and has its own set of local human services programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: August 31, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
