Which District of Columbia criminal justice program has the lowest debt?

George Washington University reports the lowest median federal debt, $20,500, with first-year pay of $51,256.

How much do criminal justice graduates earn in District of Columbia?

The median across 5 District of Columbia criminal justice bachelor's programs is $43,405 in the first year after graduating and $61,582 five years after.

How many criminal justice bachelor's programs are in District of Columbia?

5 District of Columbia programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 5 of them also report federal debt.

Criminal Justice (Bachelor's) Programs in District of Columbia, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Bachelor's in Criminal Justice and Corrections

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median District of Columbia criminal justice bachelor's program pays its graduates $43,405 in their first year, $5,764 more than the national median. George Washington University reports the highest first-year pay ($51,256), and George Washington University the lowest median debt ($20,500).

Median first-year pay$43,405National $37,641

Median pay after 5 years$61,582National $53,142

Median federal debt$26,000National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings71%National 67%

All 5 programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	George Washington UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$51,256	$73,045	$20,500	40%
2	Trinity Washington UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$47,385	$55,994	$33,564	71%
3	Strayer University-District of ColumbiaWashington · private for-profit	$43,405	$54,929	$56,937	131%
4	American UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$37,147	$61,582	$23,250	63%
5	Howard UniversityWashington · private nonprofit	$27,801	$63,116	$26,000	94%

Debt and first-year pay at every District of Columbia criminal justice program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 5 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

George Washington University$51,256
Trinity Washington University$47,385
Strayer University-District of Columbia$43,405
American University$37,147
Howard University$27,801

Lowest median debt

George Washington University$20,500
American University$23,250
Howard University$26,000
Trinity Washington University$33,564
Strayer University-District of Columbia$56,937

Lowest debt for the pay

"Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay. Only programs that report both figures are included.

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

$64,210

Median pay in District of Columbia. 15,880 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $36,600Top 10%: $78,910

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$88,650

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,720 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $66,420Top 10%: $119,660

Compliance Officers

$111,030

Median pay in District of Columbia. 4,380 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $69,140Top 10%: $156,750

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$73,550

Median pay in District of Columbia. 2,430 people work in this job in District of Columbia. 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%: $53,020Top 10%: $113,440

Common questions

George Washington University in Washington reports the highest median first-year pay, $51,256. Its median federal debt is $20,500.

Criminal Justice (Bachelor's) programs in the US, ranked557 programs by pay and debt

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
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 District of Columbia rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the criminal justice bachelor's programs that report each figure, so the counts differ by figure. Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.

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
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024