How much debt do UH-Clear Lake criminology graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $16,149, which ranks the lowest of 5 criminology bachelor's programs in Texas. That works out to about $171 a month over 10 years.

Is a criminology degree from UH-Clear Lake worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 45% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 64%.

Do UH-Clear Lake criminology graduates stay in Texas?

Most do. 100% (41 of 41) were working in Texas one year after graduating.

UH-Clear Lake Criminology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Criminology
Public university
Houston, TX
About 40 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

UH-Clear Lake criminology graduates earn about what criminology graduates earn nationally, $35,673 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,149 in federal loans, less than at 94% of criminology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying criminology degrees in Texas.

First-year earnings$35,67339th percentile of 105 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$54,53953% more than year one

Median federal debt$16,149The lowest of 5 Texas programs

Debt-to-earnings45%Texas median 74%, national 64%

How it compares

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

	UH-Clear Lake	Texas	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$35,673	$33,978	$37,476
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$54,539	$49,330	$54,271
Median federal debt at graduation	$16,149	$25,125	$25,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	45%	74%	64%
Programs compared		5	105

Five years out, UH-Clear Lake graduates earn about the national figure and about $5,209 more than the Texas median.

Debt and first-year pay at every Texas criminology program

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

UH-Clear LakeOther Texas 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 53% between the first and fifth year.

UH-Clear Lake grads, year 1$35,673

UH-Clear Lake grads, year 5$54,539

All Texas criminology grads, year 5$49,330

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 $171 a month, or 5.8% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (36 borrowers)	Share
Paying down the balance	20–39%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–39%

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

100% of graduates (41 of 41) were working in Texas one year after graduating. Prices in the Houston area are about 1% below the national average, so a $35,673 salary here buys what about $36,169 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 criminology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Sociologists

$106,030

Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 200 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.

About UH-Clear Lake

In-state tuition and fees	$7,770 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$21,114 / year
Average net price after aid	$15,563 / year
Admission rate	91%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	52%
Undergraduate students	6,078

Criminology ranks 18th of 24 bachelor's programs at UH-Clear Lake by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($93,001), Computer Science ($65,857), and Computer Engineering ($63,751).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $35,673 one year after graduating and $54,539 five years after. The median across criminology bachelor's programs in Texas is $33,978.

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 Texas 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 criminology 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

Criminology bachelor's programs in Texas, ranked5 programs by pay and debt Criminology bachelor's programs in the US, ranked105 programs by pay and debt All UH-Clear Lake programs, ranked24 programs by pay and debt