Is a Criminal Justice and Corrections degree worth it?
Across 669 schools, graduates of Criminal Justice and Corrections earn a median $52,932 five years out on $24,686 of debt — most often working as Security Guards. Every figure is a real, published federal number.
Median 5-yr pay
$52,932
Median debt
$24,686
Years to pay off
4.5
at 10% of pay
AI task exposure
32%
GPT-4-era overlap
10-yr job growth
+1.9%
BLS 2024–2034
Gender pay gap
21%
$60,328 vs $47,630
Net price
$18,499/yr
Debt-test failures
17.2%
of programs
'Real' premium
−$5,825
vs avg, adjusted
See where this degree leads, who's hiring, and whether the pay covers the rent.
Explore Criminal Justice and Corrections in full →Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, O*NET, AI-exposure measures (Eloundou/AIOE), Zillow. Earnings reflect federally-aided graduates; see the full story for methodology and limitations.