Best Online Social Work Programs in Paterson, NJ (2026)

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

Paterson, New Jersey has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs. Paterson has a population of about 157,660. Median household income is $53,766 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 12.5% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, the top-earning social work-related role is Social and Community Service Manager at a median $100,570 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 Paterson. Distances are calculated from Paterson 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 Paterson. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

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

Paterson is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (BLS area code 35620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to New Jersey statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Child, Family, and School Social Worker	$66,540	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$59,094
Healthcare Social Worker	$78,610	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$69,813
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker	$82,450	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$73,224
Social Worker, All Other	$85,080	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$75,560
Social and Community Service Manager	$100,570	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$89,316
Social and Human Service Assistant	$47,860	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$42,504
Community Health Worker	$59,340	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$52,700

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.

Paterson at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	157,660	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$53,766	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	12.5%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	112.6 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024
Social Work-related employment in Passaic County	8,143 workers, 3,052 establishments	BLS QCEW 2024 annual

Elmwood Park, NJ – 2.3 mi away (20,295 pop)
Fair Lawn, NJ – 2.8 mi away (33,453 pop)
Clifton, NJ – 3.6 mi away (85,845 pop)
Garfield, NJ – 3.7 mi away (31,876 pop)
Passaic, NJ – 4.3 mi away (70,635 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs near Paterson. The closest is Passaic County Community College in Paterson, NJ (0.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Rutgers University-Newark (12.0 miles). 5 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 Paterson are: Social and Community Service Manager ($100,570), Social Worker, All Other ($85,080), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker ($82,450). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with New Jersey statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Elmwood Park instead of Paterson?

Elmwood Park, NJ is 2.3 miles from Paterson 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.

Paterson’s median household income of $53,766 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Paterson while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and New Jersey 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 Paterson

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

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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