---
title: Is a Criminology degree worth the debt?
cip: 4504
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release)
sourceId: src:doe:college-scorecard:field-of-study:2026-06-10
---

# Is a Criminology degree worth the debt?

Leading with the **Bachelor's**, across **106** colleges (106 of 106 programs report earnings):

- **Median pay, 1 year after completion:** $33,337 ($33,488 at 2 years)
- **Median federal debt:** $23,250 (federal loans only)
- **Debt-to-earnings:** 0.70× a first year's pay
- **Across-college spread (middle 50%):** $30,436–$35,703 — the program you choose moves the number this much.


**How to read this:** these are MEDIANS across college programs, measured **1–2 years after completion** (early career, graduates only) — NOT lifetime earnings, and NOT comparable to a college's 10-years-after-entry figure. They cover **federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report**; small programs are suppressed. A field median is not a prediction of your outcome, not causal (who enters a field differs by field), and **not a "best majors" ranking** — earnings are one dimension of worth. Verify by field at the official College Scorecard (https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/).

## By degree level

| Level | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt | Debt/pay | Colleges | Programs reporting |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bachelor's | $33,337 | $23,250 | 0.70× | 106 | 106/106 |
| Master's | $45,594 | $30,900 | 0.73× | 12 | 12/12 |

## Where a Bachelor's in this field reports the highest early-career pay

Reflects who enrolls and where, not causal program quality.

| College | Pay (1yr) | Federal debt |
| --- | --- | --- |
| University of Massachusetts Global (CA) | $46,624 | $23,807 |
| Lasell University (MA) | $41,517 | $27,000 |
| Saint Anselm College (NH) | $41,099 | $27,000 |
| Florida Southern College (FL) | $40,324 | $26,000 |
| Stonehill College (MA) | $40,224 | $25,000 |
| University of Wisconsin-Stout (WI) | $39,034 | $25,852 |
| University of Southern Maine (ME) | $38,634 | $22,549 |
| Lindenwood University (MO) | $38,594 | — |
| Upper Iowa University (IA) | $38,511 | $30,701 |
| University of New Hampshire-Main Campus (NH) | $38,438 | $27,000 |
| Mount St. Mary's University (MD) | $38,014 | $27,000 |
| University of Minnesota-Duluth (MN) | $37,919 | $22,885 |
| Niagara University (NY) | $37,852 | $26,997 |
| Central Connecticut State University (CT) | $37,810 | $21,500 |
| SUNY Old Westbury (NY) | $37,745 | $15,517 |

RECORDED College Scorecard figures + one DERIVED ratio (debt-to-earnings). Informs and compares; not advice on what to major in. Each college's full record: `/education/<slug>`.

Structured data: `/education/fields/criminology.jsonld` · `/education/fields/criminology.json`