College of Coastal Georgia Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Public college
- Brunswick, GA
- About 23 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
College of Coastal Georgia criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $31,119 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $15,500 in federal loans, less than at 94% of criminal justice programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Georgia median of $35,930.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Georgia and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every Georgia criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Georgia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $164 a month, or 6.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
76% of graduates (16 of 21) were working in Georgia one year after graduating. Prices in the Brunswick area are about 12% below the national average, so a $31,119 salary here buys what about $35,480 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
$34,980Median pay in Georgia. 36,210 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$58,120Median pay in Georgia. 22,170 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$70,200Median pay in Georgia. 14,390 people work in this job in Georgia. 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
$47,510Median pay in Georgia. 7,110 people work in this job in Georgia. 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 College of Coastal Georgia
Criminal Justice ranks 6th of 8 bachelor's programs at College of Coastal Georgia by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($73,587), Teacher Education ($40,747), and Health and Medical Administration ($34,933).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,119 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Georgia is $35,930.
The median federal loan balance is $15,500, which ranks 2nd lowest of 23 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Georgia. That works out to about $164 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 50% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Georgia programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 76% (16 of 21) were working in Georgia 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 Georgia 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