How much debt do Quinnipiac University criminal justice graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 10 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Connecticut. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.

Is a criminal justice degree from Quinnipiac University worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 64% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%.

Quinnipiac University Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
Private nonprofit university
Hamden, CT
About 32 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Quinnipiac University criminal justice graduates earn more than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $41,989 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Two other Connecticut programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$41,98976th percentile of 557 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$66,07557% more than year one

Median federal debt$27,0005th lowest of 10 Connecticut programs

Debt-to-earnings64%Connecticut median 68%, national 67%

How it compares

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

	Quinnipiac University	Connecticut	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$41,989	$39,711	$37,641
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$66,075	$57,122	$53,142
Median federal debt at graduation	$27,000	$27,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	64%	68%	67%
Programs compared		10	557

Five years out, Quinnipiac University graduates earn more than the national figure and about $8,953 more than the Connecticut median.

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

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

Quinnipiac UniversityOther Connecticut 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 rises about 57% between the first and fifth year.

Quinnipiac University grads, year 1$41,989

Quinnipiac University grads, year 5$66,075

All Connecticut criminal justice grads, year 5$57,122

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 8.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (33 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	40–59%

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 New Haven area are about 5% above the national average, so a $41,989 salary here buys what about $40,158 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

$39,920

Median pay in Connecticut. 12,100 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $34,950Top 10%: $59,220

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$82,170

Median pay in Connecticut. 6,500 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $63,310Top 10%: $102,660

Compliance Officers

$91,810

Median pay in Connecticut. 3,610 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $60,050Top 10%: $137,690

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$78,970

Median pay in Connecticut. 5,230 people work in this job in Connecticut. 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%: $48,660Top 10%: $109,980

About Quinnipiac University

Tuition and fees	$55,480 / year
Average net price after aid	$40,675 / year
Admission rate	72%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	76%
Undergraduate students	6,531

Criminal Justice ranks 14th of 22 bachelor's programs at Quinnipiac University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($84,856), Accounting ($75,566), and Civil Engineering ($73,064).

Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Hamden

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Quinnipiac UniversityHamden, CT · private nonprofit		$41,989	$27,000
Albertus Magnus CollegeNew Haven, CT · private nonprofit	6 mi	$41,520	$40,000
University of New HavenWest Haven, CT · private nonprofit	9 mi	$36,455	$27,000
Post UniversityWaterbury, CT · private for-profit	13 mi	$49,449	$33,250
Charter Oak State CollegeNew Britain, CT · public	18 mi	$68,956	$23,000
Sacred Heart UniversityFairfield, CT · private nonprofit	23 mi	$41,113	$27,000
University of BridgeportBridgeport, CT · private nonprofit	23 mi	$29,284	$26,250
University of HartfordWest Hartford, CT · private nonprofit	28 mi	$38,309	$26,563
Western Connecticut StateDanbury, CT · public	29 mi	$38,235	$24,875

Common questions

The median graduate earns $41,989 one year after graduating and $66,075 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Connecticut is $39,711.

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 Connecticut 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 Connecticut, ranked10 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt All Quinnipiac University programs, ranked22 programs by pay and debt