Moberly Area Community College Criminal Justice (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Certificate in Criminal Justice and Corrections
  • Public college
  • Moberly, MO

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Moberly Area Community College criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $41,286 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $6,337 in federal loans, less than at 94% of criminal justice programs in the country. Debt is low, but pay is also below the Missouri median of $43,252.

First-year earnings$41,28621st percentile of 139 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$38,4137% less than year one
Median federal debt$6,3372nd lowest of 5 Missouri programs
Debt-to-earnings15%Missouri median 20%, national 26%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Missouri and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice certificate programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Moberly Area Community College graduates earn less than the national figure and about $7,262 less than the Missouri median.

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

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

Moberly Area Community CollegeOther Missouri programs

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 falls about 7% between the first and fifth year.

Moberly Area Community College grads, year 1$41,286
Moberly Area Community College grads, year 5$38,413
All Missouri criminal justice grads, year 5$45,675

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 $67 a month, or 1.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

90% of graduates (36 of 40) were working in Missouri one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of Missouri outside metro areas are about 16% below the national average, so a $41,286 salary here buys what about $49,200 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

$40,390

Median pay in Missouri. 18,630 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $31,040Top 10%: $68,860

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$59,460

Median pay in Missouri. 13,570 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $43,210Top 10%: $90,770

Compliance Officers

$67,270

Median pay in Missouri. 7,000 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $44,060Top 10%: $118,850

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$48,520

Median pay in Missouri. 9,620 people work in this job in Missouri. 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%: $37,200Top 10%: $65,230

About Moberly Area Community College

Criminal Justice ranks 2nd of 2 certificate programs at Moberly Area Community College by first-year earnings. The other is Practical Nursing ($44,405).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $41,286 one year after graduating and $38,413 five years after. The median across criminal justice certificate programs in Missouri is $43,252.

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 Missouri 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

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

Related pages