How much debt do Hood College criminal justice graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $25,500, which ranks 3rd lowest of 8 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Maryland. That works out to about $270 a month over 10 years.

Is a criminal justice degree from Hood College worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 61% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.

Hood College Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
Private nonprofit college
Frederick, MD
About 23 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Hood College criminal justice graduates earn more than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $41,764 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $25,500 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Two other Maryland programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$41,76476th percentile of 557 programs nationally

Median federal debt$25,5003rd lowest of 8 Maryland programs

Debt-to-earnings61%Maryland median 65%, national 67%

How it compares

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

	Hood College	Maryland	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$41,764	$41,106	$37,641
Median federal debt at graduation	$25,500	$26,250	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	61%	65%	67%
Programs compared		8	557

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

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

Hood CollegeOther Maryland 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 $270 a month, or 7.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

Prices in the Washington area are about 9% above the national average, so a $41,764 salary here buys what about $38,356 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

$38,220

Median pay in Maryland. 27,670 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $33,700Top 10%: $64,320

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$77,970

Median pay in Maryland. 9,720 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $58,580Top 10%: $113,700

Compliance Officers

$84,720

Median pay in Maryland. 10,100 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $56,310Top 10%: $132,620

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$76,390

Median pay in Maryland. 4,710 people work in this job in Maryland. 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%: $41,240Top 10%: $105,570

About Hood College

Tuition and fees	$47,700 / year
Average net price after aid	$20,873 / year
Admission rate	78%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	57%
Undergraduate students	1,194

Criminal Justice ranks 3rd of 6 bachelor's programs at Hood College by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($78,873), Business Administration ($47,694), and Criminal Justice ($41,764).

Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Frederick

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Hood CollegeFrederick, MD · private nonprofit		$41,764	$25,500
American Public University SystemCharles Town, WV · private for-profit	25 mi	$57,409	$19,000
Stevenson UniversityOwings Mills, MD · private nonprofit	34 mi	$38,745	$27,000
American UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	38 mi	$37,147	$23,250
Marymount UniversityArlington, VA · private nonprofit	39 mi	$35,642	$25,000
Howard UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	41 mi	$27,801	$26,000
Trinity Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	41 mi	$47,385	$33,564
George MasonFairfax, VA · public	41 mi	$43,612	$20,761
George Washington UniversityWashington, DC · private nonprofit	41 mi	$51,256	$20,500

Common questions

The median graduate earns $41,764 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Maryland is $41,106.

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 Maryland 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 Maryland, ranked8 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt All Hood College programs, ranked6 programs by pay and debt