Which New York criminal justice program has the lowest debt?

Ulster County Community College reports the lowest median federal debt, $13,206, with first-year pay of $51,069.

How much do criminal justice graduates earn in New York?

The median across 5 New York criminal justice certificate programs is $53,438 in the first year after graduating and $75,149 five years after.

How many criminal justice certificate programs are in New York?

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

Criminal Justice (Certificate) Programs in New York, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

5 programs report first-year pay
5 also report federal debt
Certificate in Criminal Justice and Corrections

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median New York criminal justice certificate program pays its graduates $53,438 in their first year, $2,054 more than the national median. Monroe Community College reports the highest first-year pay ($85,061), and Ulster County Community College the lowest median debt ($13,206).

Median first-year pay$53,438National $51,384

Median pay after 5 years$75,149National $53,003

Median federal debt$16,500National $14,828

Debt-to-earnings26%National 26%

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	Monroe Community CollegeRochester · public	$85,061	Not reported	$16,500	19%
2	Erie Community CollegeBuffalo · public	$70,012	$76,162	$17,125	24%
3	Jamestown Community CollegeJamestown · public	$53,438	$64,496	$21,502	40%
4	Ulster County Community CollegeStone Ridge · public	$51,069	$75,149	$13,206	26%
5	Bryant & Stratton College-BuffaloBuffalo · private nonprofit	$28,070	Not reported	$14,860	53%

Debt and first-year pay at every New York criminal justice program

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

Monroe Community College$85,061
Erie Community College$70,012
Jamestown Community College$53,438
Ulster County Community College$51,069
Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo$28,070

Lowest median debt

Ulster County Community College$13,206
Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo$14,860
Monroe Community College$16,500
Erie Community College$17,125
Jamestown Community College$21,502

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

$44,240

Median pay in New York. 134,700 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $35,650Top 10%: $60,580

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$92,790

Median pay in New York. 53,470 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $53,000Top 10%: $118,250

Compliance Officers

$90,080

Median pay in New York. 23,500 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $53,330Top 10%: $142,370

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$65,100

Median pay in New York. 30,170 people work in this job in New York. 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%: $48,400Top 10%: $100,100

Common questions

Monroe Community College in Rochester reports the highest median first-year pay, $85,061. Its median federal debt is $16,500.

Criminal Justice (Certificate) programs in the US, ranked139 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice (Bachelor's) programs in New York, ranked32 programs by pay and debt Criminal Justice (Associate's) programs in New York, ranked34 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 New York rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Medians are across the criminal justice certificate 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