Which Nebraska criminal justice program has the lowest debt?

University of Nebraska at Kearney reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,250, with first-year pay of $40,128.

How much do criminal justice graduates earn in Nebraska?

The median across 7 Nebraska criminal justice bachelor's programs is $40,128 in the first year after graduating and $49,611 five years after.

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

7 Nebraska programs report first-year pay for their graduates, and 6 of them also report federal debt.

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

7 programs report first-year pay
6 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 Nebraska criminal justice bachelor's program pays its graduates $40,128 in their first year, $2,487 more than the national median. University of Nebraska-Lincoln reports the highest first-year pay ($42,139), and University of Nebraska at Kearney the lowest median debt ($19,250).

Median first-year pay$40,128National $37,641

Median pay after 5 years$49,611National $53,142

Median federal debt$23,781National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings61%National 67%

All 7 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 Nebraska-LincolnLincoln · public	$42,139	$57,543	Not reported	Not reported
2	Wayne State CollegeWayne · public	$41,869	$45,111	$25,000	60%
3	Midland UniversityFremont · private nonprofit	$41,149	$49,491	$27,000	66%
4	University of Nebraska at KearneyKearney · public	$40,128	$49,731	$19,250	48%
5	Peru State CollegePeru · public	$38,953	$53,034	$27,367	70%
6	University of Nebraska at OmahaOmaha · public	$38,756	$52,800	$22,561	58%
7	Chadron State CollegeChadron · public	$32,454	$39,246	$20,250	62%

University of Nebraska-Lincoln reports pay but not debt, so it is ranked only by pay.

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

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 6 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

University of Nebraska-Lincoln$42,139
Wayne State College$41,869
Midland University$41,149
University of Nebraska at Kearney$40,128
Peru State College$38,953

Lowest median debt

University of Nebraska at Kearney$19,250
Chadron State College$20,250
University of Nebraska at Omaha$22,561
Wayne State College$25,000
Midland University$27,000

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

$39,840

Median pay in Nebraska. 4,700 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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%: $34,020Top 10%: $70,310

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$74,620

Median pay in Nebraska. 3,490 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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%: $54,680Top 10%: $95,210

Compliance Officers

$73,920

Median pay in Nebraska. 3,470 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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%: $48,060Top 10%: $115,920

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$47,770

Median pay in Nebraska. 4,830 people work in this job in Nebraska. 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%: $41,620Top 10%: $64,750

Common questions

University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln reports the highest median first-year pay, $42,139.

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 Nebraska 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