Angelo State Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
  • Public university
  • San Angelo, TX
  • About 51 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Angelo State criminal justice graduates earn about what criminal justice graduates earn nationally, $35,955 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $22,000 in federal loans, less than at 79% of criminal justice programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying criminal justice degrees in Texas.

First-year earnings$35,95538th percentile of 557 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$57,77061% more than year one
Median federal debt$22,00012th lowest of 38 Texas programs
Debt-to-earnings61%Texas median 63%, national 67%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Texas and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Angelo State graduates earn more than the national figure and about $6,648 more than the Texas median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Texas criminal justice program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Texas medians.

Angelo StateOther Texas programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 61% between the first and fifth year.

Angelo State grads, year 1$35,955
Angelo State grads, year 5$57,770
All Texas criminal justice grads, year 5$51,123

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $233 a month, or 7.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (52 of 58) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the San Angelo area are about 8% below the national average, so a $35,955 salary here buys what about $38,890 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to criminal justice, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Security Guards

$35,980

Median pay in Texas. 106,210 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 156,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $26,950Top 10%: $50,740

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$75,900

Median pay in Texas. 63,100 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 51,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.

Bottom 10%: $51,240Top 10%: $98,350

Compliance Officers

$75,370

Median pay in Texas. 42,900 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 32,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $45,170Top 10%: $126,920

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$55,680

Median pay in Texas. 21,670 people work in this job in Texas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $37,230Top 10%: $73,670

About Angelo State

Criminal Justice ranks 10th of 21 bachelor's programs at Angelo State by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,544), Civil Engineering ($56,688), and International Relations ($53,246).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,955 one year after graduating and $57,770 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Texas is $35,740.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Texas comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the criminal justice program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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