Best Online Social Work Programs in Ithaca, NY (2026)

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

Ithaca, New York has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs. Ithaca has a population of about 31,792. Median household income is $48,617 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 70.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Ithaca, NY metro area, the top-earning social work-related role is Social and Community Service Manager at a median $81,810 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 Ithaca. Distances are calculated from Ithaca 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 Ithaca. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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

Ithaca is part of the Ithaca, NY metro area (BLS area code 27060). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to New York statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Child, Family, and School Social Worker	$60,120	Ithaca, NY	$58,199
Healthcare Social Worker	$62,570	Ithaca, NY	$60,571
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker	$78,220	Ithaca, NY	$75,721
Social Worker, All Other	$79,940	Ithaca, NY	$77,386
Social and Community Service Manager	$81,810	Ithaca, NY	$79,197
Social and Human Service Assistant	$53,550	Ithaca, NY	$51,839
Community Health Worker	$58,130	NY statewide	$56,273

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.

Ithaca at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	31,792	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$48,617	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	70.2%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	103.3 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024
Social Work-related employment in Tompkins County	1,049 workers, 91 establishments	BLS QCEW 2024 annual

Cortland, NY – 19.7 mi away (26,907 pop)
Elmira, NY – 28.8 mi away (65,104 pop)
Auburn, NY – 34.0 mi away (31,263 pop)
Geneva, NY – 37.9 mi away (29,371 pop)
Binghamton, NY – 38.5 mi away (152,392 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering social work programs near Ithaca. The closest is Keuka College in Keuka Park, NY (32.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Misericordia University (80.4 miles). 3 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 Ithaca are: Social and Community Service Manager ($81,810), Social Worker, All Other ($79,940), Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Worker ($78,220). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with New York statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Cortland instead of Ithaca?

Cortland, NY is 19.7 miles from Ithaca 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.

Ithaca’s median household income of $48,617 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Ithaca while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and New York 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 Ithaca

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

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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