Chadron State College Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Public college
- Chadron, NE
- About 18 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Chadron State College criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $32,454 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $20,250 in federal loans, less than at 86% of criminal justice programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Nebraska median of $40,128.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Nebraska and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Chadron State College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $10,365 less than the Nebraska median. Several Nebraska programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Nebraska criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Nebraska medians.
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 21% between the first and fifth year.
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 $215 a month, or 7.9% 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
46% of graduates (17 of 37) were working in Nebraska one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Nebraska outside metro areas are about 14% below the national average, so a $32,454 salary here buys what about $37,596 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
$39,840Median pay in Nebraska. 4,700 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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.
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
$74,620Median pay in Nebraska. 3,490 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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.
Compliance Officers
$73,920Median pay in Nebraska. 3,470 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
$47,770Median pay in Nebraska. 4,830 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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.
About Chadron State College
Criminal Justice ranks 5th of 7 bachelor's programs at Chadron State College by first-year earnings. The top three are Subject-Area Teacher Education ($46,824), Business Administration ($43,124), and Teacher Education ($40,320).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,454 one year after graduating and $39,246 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Nebraska is $40,128.
The median federal loan balance is $20,250, which ranks 2nd lowest of 6 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Nebraska. That works out to about $215 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 62% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Nebraska programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Many leave. 46% (17 of 37) were working in Nebraska one year after graduating.
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 Nebraska 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
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024