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

  • Certificate in Criminal Justice and Corrections
  • Public college
  • Perrysburg, OH
  • About 43 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release ยท BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Owens Community College criminal justice graduates earn more than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $63,966 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $13,549 in federal loans, close to the national median of $14,828. It is one of the higher-paying criminal justice programs in Ohio.

First-year earnings$63,96682nd percentile of 139 programs nationally
Median federal debt$13,5495th lowest of 6 Ohio programs
Debt-to-earnings21%Ohio median 20%, national 26%

How it compares

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

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

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

Owens Community CollegeOther Ohio programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $3,720 less in their first year than other graduates. They also borrowed more. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$61,257Median debt $15,213
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$64,977Median debt $10,855

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $144 a month, or 2.7% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

100% of graduates (44 of 44) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Toledo area are about 9% below the national average, so a $63,966 salary here buys what about $69,943 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

$35,770

Median pay in Ohio. 34,450 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $29,030Top 10%: $55,440

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$77,020

Median pay in Ohio. 23,430 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $51,110Top 10%: $103,210

Compliance Officers

$75,030

Median pay in Ohio. 11,240 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $47,230Top 10%: $124,230

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$51,520

Median pay in Ohio. 16,050 people work in this job in Ohio. 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%: $39,810Top 10%: $75,850

About Owens Community College

Criminal Justice ranks 1st of 2 certificate programs at Owens Community College by first-year earnings. The other is Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($49,311).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $63,966 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice certificate programs in Ohio is $46,623.

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 Ohio 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

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