Best Online Social Work Programs in Mankato, MN (2026)

Updated June 11, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Mankato, Minnesota has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs. Mankato has a population of about 44,882. Median household income is $64,826 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 36.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Mankato, MN metro area, the top-earning social work-related role is Social and Community Service Manager at a median $86,630 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

The 5 accredited institutions below are the closest among the 5 schools in our directory that offer social work programs near Mankato. Distances are calculated from Mankato city center.

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:

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 Mankato. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Minnesota schools on the Minnesota social work page.

Mankato is part of the Mankato, MN metro area (BLS area code 31860). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Minnesota statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Child, Family, and School Social Worker	$61,500	Mankato, MN	$67,582
Healthcare Social Worker	$78,800	Mankato, MN	$86,593
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker	$83,530	Mankato, MN	$91,791
Social Worker, All Other	$77,990	Mankato, MN	$85,703
Social and Community Service Manager	$86,630	Mankato, MN	$95,198
Social and Human Service Assistant	$44,320	Mankato, MN	$48,703
Community Health Worker	$47,560	MN statewide	$52,264

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.

Mankato at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	44,882	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$64,826	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	36.2%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	91.0 (below U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024
Social Work-related employment in Blue Earth County	2,309 workers, 179 establishments	BLS QCEW 2024 annual

Faribault, MN – 35.7 mi away (24,012 pop)
Owatonna, MN – 37.5 mi away (25,567 pop)
Northfield, MN – 44.5 mi away (22,005 pop)
Prior Lake, MN – 46.5 mi away (25,863 pop)
Chaska, MN – 48.1 mi away (26,016 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs near Mankato. The closest is Minnesota State University-Mankato in Mankato, MN (2.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Minneapolis Community and Technical College (65.1 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying social work-related roles near Mankato are: Social and Community Service Manager ($86,630), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker ($83,530), Healthcare Social Worker ($78,800). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Minnesota statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Faribault instead of Mankato?

Faribault, MN is 35.7 miles from Mankato and has its own set of local social work programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Mankato’s median household income of $64,826 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Mankato while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Minnesota public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

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.

Other Programs Available in Mankato

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Mankato:

Data verified: June 11, 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.

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