Which West Virginia criminal justice program has the lowest debt?

American Public University System reports the lowest median federal debt, $19,000, with first-year pay of $57,409.

How much do criminal justice graduates earn in West Virginia?

The median across 7 West Virginia criminal justice bachelor's programs is $32,747 in the first year after graduating and $48,559 five years after.

How many criminal justice bachelor's programs are in West Virginia?

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

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

7 programs report first-year pay
7 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 West Virginia criminal justice bachelor's program pays its graduates $32,747 in their first year, $4,894 less than the national median. American Public University System reports the highest first-year pay ($57,409), and American Public University System the lowest median debt ($19,000).

Median first-year pay$32,747National $37,641

Median pay after 5 years$48,559National $53,142

Median federal debt$26,062National $26,000

Debt-to-earnings79%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	American Public University SystemCharles Town · private for-profit	$57,409	$69,844	$19,000	33%
2	West Virginia StateInstitute · public	$39,056	$37,109	$25,860	66%
3	Fairmont StateFairmont · public	$36,179	$50,877	$25,557	71%
4	Marshall UniversityHuntington · public	$32,747	$46,240	$25,873	79%
5	West Virginia Wesleyan CollegeBuckhannon · private nonprofit	$31,400	Not reported	$27,000	86%
6	Bluefield StateBluefield · public	$30,506	Not reported	$30,250	99%
7	Salem UniversitySalem · private for-profit	$25,665	$42,215	$30,949	121%

One more program reports debt but not pay, so it isn't listed.

Debt and first-year pay at every West Virginia criminal justice program

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

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only the 7 programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

American Public University System$57,409
West Virginia State$39,056
Fairmont State$36,179
Marshall University$32,747
West Virginia Wesleyan College$31,400

Lowest median debt

American Public University System$19,000
Fairmont State$25,557
West Virginia State$25,860
Marshall University$25,873
West Virginia Wesleyan College$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

$28,800

Median pay in West Virginia. 5,200 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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%: $20,800Top 10%: $47,370

Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

$56,960

Median pay in West Virginia. 2,900 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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%: $41,950Top 10%: $69,980

Compliance Officers

$64,270

Median pay in West Virginia. 1,720 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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%: $44,420Top 10%: $115,210

Child, Family, and School Social Workers

$52,220

Median pay in West Virginia. 2,380 people work in this job in West Virginia. 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%: $38,410Top 10%: $66,980

Common questions

American Public University System in Charles Town reports the highest median first-year pay, $57,409. Its median federal debt is $19,000.

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 West Virginia 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