How much debt do Dillard University criminal justice graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $32,187, which ranks 8th lowest of 10 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Louisiana. That works out to about $341 a month over 10 years.

Is a criminal justice degree from Dillard University worth it?

It depends on your other options. Debt equals 120% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Louisiana programs before deciding.

Dillard University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
Private nonprofit university
New Orleans, LA
About 26 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Dillard University criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $26,744 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $32,187 in federal loans, more than at 89% of criminal justice programs in the country. Several Louisiana programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$26,7443rd percentile of 557 programs nationally

Median federal debt$32,1878th lowest of 10 Louisiana programs

Debt-to-earnings120%Louisiana median 87%, national 67%

How it compares

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

	Dillard University	Louisiana	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$26,744	$33,836	$37,641
Median federal debt at graduation	$32,187	$29,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	120%	87%	67%
Programs compared		10	557

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

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

Dillard UniversityOther Louisiana programs

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 $341 a month, or 15.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the New Orleans area are about 7% below the national average, so a $26,744 salary here buys what about $28,882 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

$32,240

Median pay in Louisiana. 17,210 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $23,660Top 10%: $49,040

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$48,380

Median pay in Louisiana. 12,400 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $36,470Top 10%: $69,140

Compliance Officers

$70,290

Median pay in Louisiana. 3,970 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $39,850Top 10%: $119,990

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$56,800

Median pay in Louisiana. 1,110 people work in this job in Louisiana. 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%: $35,260Top 10%: $75,110

About Dillard University

Tuition and fees	$23,918 / year
Average net price after aid	$22,094 / year
Admission rate	42%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	43%
Undergraduate students	1,063

Criminal Justice ranks 4th of 6 bachelor's programs at Dillard University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($86,585), Public Health ($35,205), and Psychology ($33,143).

Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near New Orleans

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Dillard UniversityNew Orleans, LA · private nonprofit		$26,744	$32,187
Southern University at New OrleansNew Orleans, LA · public	2 mi	$33,494	$45,149
Southeastern Louisiana UniversityHammond, LA · public	43 mi	$35,024	$25,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $26,744 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Louisiana is $33,836.

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 Louisiana 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

Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in Louisiana, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt All Dillard University programs, ranked6 programs by pay and debt