Lindsey Wilson University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Private nonprofit university
- Columbia, KY
- About 20 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Lindsey Wilson University criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $29,512 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $21,500 in federal loans, less than at 82% of criminal justice programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Kentucky median of $33,099.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Kentucky and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Lindsey Wilson University graduates earn less than the national figure and about $4,231 less than the Kentucky median. Several Kentucky programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every Kentucky criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Kentucky 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 36% 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 $228 a month, or 9.3% 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
Prices in the parts of Kentucky outside metro areas are about 15% below the national average, so a $29,512 salary here buys what about $34,617 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
$35,420Median pay in Kentucky. 13,580 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$60,490Median pay in Kentucky. 7,890 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$69,240Median pay in Kentucky. 4,360 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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
$59,100Median pay in Kentucky. 8,470 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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 Lindsey Wilson University
Criminal Justice ranks 4th of 6 bachelor's programs at Lindsey Wilson University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($66,800), Business Administration ($35,986), and Teacher Education ($34,691).
Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Columbia
Common questions
The median graduate earns $29,512 one year after graduating and $39,990 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Kentucky is $33,099.
The median federal loan balance is $21,500, which ranks the lowest of 10 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Kentucky. That works out to about $228 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 73% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other Kentucky 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 Kentucky 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