How much debt do Youngstown State criminal justice graduates have?

The median federal loan balance is $24,465, which ranks 2nd lowest of 17 criminal justice bachelor's programs in Ohio. That works out to about $259 a month over 10 years.

Is a criminal justice degree from Youngstown State worth it?

On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 66% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 67%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several Ohio programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.

Do Youngstown State criminal justice graduates stay in Ohio?

Most do. 80% (111 of 139) were working in Ohio one year after graduating.

Youngstown State Criminal Justice (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections
Public university
Youngstown, OH
About 112 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Youngstown State criminal justice graduates earn about what criminal justice graduates earn nationally, $37,325 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $24,465 in federal loans, close to the national median of $26,000. Several Ohio programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$37,32547th percentile of 557 programs nationally

Earnings after 5 years$45,92923% more than year one

Median federal debt$24,4652nd lowest of 17 Ohio programs

Debt-to-earnings66%Ohio median 70%, national 67%

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 bachelor's programs that report the figure.

	Youngstown State	Ohio	National
Earnings, 1 year after graduating	$37,325	$38,103	$37,641
Earnings, 5 years after graduating	$45,929	$52,771	$53,142
Median federal debt at graduation	$24,465	$27,000	$26,000
Debt as share of first-year pay	66%	70%	67%
Programs compared		17	557

Five years out, Youngstown State graduates earn less than the national figure and about $6,842 less than the Ohio median. Several Ohio programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.

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.

Youngstown StateOther Ohio 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 23% between the first and fifth year.

Youngstown State grads, year 1$37,325

Youngstown State grads, year 5$45,929

All Ohio criminal justice grads, year 5$52,771

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $26,437 against $20,740.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$37,017Median debt $26,437

Other graduates, year 1 earnings$36,565Median debt $20,740

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $259 a month, or 8.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

Two years into repayment (171 borrowers)	Share
Paid off in full	10% or less
Paying down the balance	10–19%
Paused payments (forbearance)	20–29%
In default	10% or less

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. Separately, 44 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $12,517.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

80% of graduates (111 of 139) were working in Ohio one year after graduating. Prices in the Youngstown area are about 13% below the national average, so a $37,325 salary here buys what about $42,709 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 Youngstown State

In-state tuition and fees	$11,113 / year
Out-of-state tuition and fees	$11,473 / year
Average net price after aid	$12,767 / year
Admission rate	84%
Graduation rate (within 6 years)	50%
Undergraduate students	7,961

Criminal Justice ranks 18th of 36 bachelor's programs at Youngstown State by first-year earnings. The top three are Electrical Engineering ($74,799), Chemical Engineering ($69,609), and Industrial Engineering ($69,202).

Other criminal justice bachelor's programs near Youngstown

School	Distance	Year 1 pay	Debt
Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH · public		$37,325	$24,465
Thiel CollegeGreenville, PA · private nonprofit	25 mi	$33,652	$27,000
University of Mount UnionAlliance, OH · private nonprofit	28 mi	$38,440	$27,000
Kent StateKent, OH · public	36 mi	$33,980	$25,937
University of AkronAkron, OH · public	45 mi	$38,547	$27,000
La Roche UniversityPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	50 mi	$35,388	$26,000
Point Park UniversityPittsburgh, PA · private nonprofit	57 mi	$33,542	$29,037
University of PittsburghPittsburgh, PA · public	58 mi	$36,959	$27,000

Common questions

The median graduate earns $37,325 one year after graduating and $45,929 five years after. The median across criminal justice bachelor's programs in Ohio is $38,103.

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

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 Ohio, ranked17 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice bachelor's programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt All Youngstown State programs, ranked36 programs by pay and debt