West Virginia Wesleyan College Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
- Private nonprofit college
- Buckhannon, WV
- About 17 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
West Virginia Wesleyan College criminal justice graduates earn less than graduates of most criminal justice programs nationally, $31,400 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $27,000 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Several West Virginia programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The West Virginia and national columns are the medians across all criminal justice bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every West Virginia criminal justice program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the West Virginia medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $286 a month, or 10.9% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
Prices in the parts of West Virginia outside metro areas are about 13% below the national average, so a $31,400 salary here buys what about $36,080 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
$28,800Median pay in West Virginia. 5,200 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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
$56,960Median pay in West Virginia. 2,900 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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
$64,270Median pay in West Virginia. 1,720 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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
$52,220Median pay in West Virginia. 2,380 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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 West Virginia Wesleyan College
Criminal Justice ranks 2nd of 3 bachelor's programs at West Virginia Wesleyan College by first-year earnings. The others are Business ($31,424) and Kinesiology and Exercise Science ($24,526).
Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Buckhannon
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,400 one year after graduating. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in West Virginia is $32,747.
The median federal loan balance is $27,000, which ranks 5th lowest of 7 criminal justice bachelor's programs in West Virginia. That works out to about $286 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 86% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%. Compare the cost with other West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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