Dutchess Community College Criminal Justice (Associate's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Associate's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Public college
- Poughkeepsie, NY
- About 38 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Dutchess Community College criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $26,891 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $11,515 in federal loans, close to the national median of $12,524. Several New York programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice associate's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Dutchess Community College graduates earn more than the national figure and about $1,737 more than the New York median.
Debt and first-year pay at every New York criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York 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 76% 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 $122 a month, or 5.4% 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
97% of graduates (31 of 32) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the Kiryas Joel area are about 9% above the national average, so a $26,891 salary here buys what about $24,575 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
$44,240Median pay in New York. 134,700 people work in this job in New York. 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
$92,790Median pay in New York. 53,470 people work in this job in New York. 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
$90,080Median pay in New York. 23,500 people work in this job in New York. 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
$65,100Median pay in New York. 30,170 people work in this job in New York. 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 Dutchess Community College
Criminal Justice ranks 2nd of 6 associate's programs at Dutchess Community College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($80,603), Criminal Justice ($26,891), and Business Administration ($25,712).
Other criminal justice associate's programs near Poughkeepsie
Common questions
The median graduate earns $26,891 one year after graduating and $47,438 five years after. The median across criminal justice associate's programs in New York is $30,634.
The median federal loan balance is $11,515, which ranks 17th lowest of 30 criminal justice associate's programs in New York. That works out to about $122 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 43% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 37%. Compare the cost with other New York programs before deciding.
Most do. 97% (31 of 32) were working in New York 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 New York 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