Hampton University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Private nonprofit university
- Hampton, VA
- About 17 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Hampton University criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $31,335 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Several Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Virginia and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Hampton University graduates earn about the national figure but about $2,708 less than the Virginia median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Virginia criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Virginia 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 66% 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 $286 a month, or 11.0% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
34 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $74,004.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the Virginia Beach area are about 2% below the national average, so a $31,335 salary here buys what about $31,994 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
$43,640Median pay in Virginia. 34,870 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$65,870Median pay in Virginia. 19,970 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$80,380Median pay in Virginia. 15,190 people work in this job in Virginia. 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
$61,330Median pay in Virginia. 9,410 people work in this job in Virginia. 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 Hampton University
Criminal Justice ranks 5th of 9 bachelor's programs at Hampton University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($69,303), Political Science ($37,200), and Liberal Arts and General Studies ($37,179).
Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Hampton
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,335 one year after graduating and $52,065 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Virginia is $39,404.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 9th lowest of 15 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Virginia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 86% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Virginia programs before deciding.
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 Virginia 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