Which Kentucky criminal justice program has the lowest debt?

Lindsey Wilson University reports the lowest median federal debt, $21,500, with first-year pay of $29,512.

How much do criminal justice graduates earn in Kentucky?

The median across 11 Kentucky criminal justice bachelor's programs is $33,099 in the first year after graduating and $44,221 five years after.

How many criminal justice bachelor's programs are in Kentucky?

11 Kentucky programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 10 of them also report federal debt.

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

11 programs report first-year pay
10 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 Kentucky criminal justice bachelor's program pays its graduates $33,099 in their first year, $4,542 less than the national median. University of Louisville reports the highest first-year pay ($38,728), and Lindsey Wilson University the lowest median debt ($21,500).

Median first-year pay$33,099National $37,641

Median pay after 5 years$44,221National $53,142

Median federal debt$24,076National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings72%National 67%

All 11 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	University of LouisvilleLouisville · public	$38,728	$58,354	$23,151	60%
2	University of the CumberlandsWilliamsburg · private nonprofit	$37,564	$44,221	$25,000	67%
3	Campbellsville UniversityCampbellsville · private nonprofit	$36,849	$38,438	$21,550	58%
4	Northern Kentucky UniversityHighland Heights · public	$35,724	$51,498	$25,000	70%
5	Thomas More UniversityCrestview Hills · private nonprofit	$35,115	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported
6	Kentucky StateFrankfort · public	$33,099	$42,345	$28,162	85%
7	Murray StateMurray · public	$32,041	$54,066	$22,875	71%
8	Eastern Kentucky UniversityRichmond · public	$31,548	$46,451	$25,000	79%
9	Bellarmine UniversityLouisville · private nonprofit	$30,930	$39,311	$25,990	84%
10	Lindsey Wilson UniversityColumbia · private nonprofit	$29,512	$39,990	$21,500	73%
11	University of PikevillePikeville · private nonprofit	$27,025	$48,336	$22,330	83%

Thomas More University reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 10 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

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

$35,420

Median pay in Kentucky. 13,580 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $28,450Top 10%: $50,800

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$60,490

Median pay in Kentucky. 7,890 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $38,780Top 10%: $77,970

Compliance Officers

$69,240

Median pay in Kentucky. 4,360 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $43,120Top 10%: $109,300

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$59,100

Median pay in Kentucky. 8,470 people work in this job in Kentucky. 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%: $39,210Top 10%: $78,660

Common questions

University of Louisville in Louisville reports the highest median first-year pay, $38,728. Its median federal debt is $23,151.

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 Kentucky 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