ROI Major

Criminal Justice and Corrections at Casper College

WY · Associate's Degree · CIP 43.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Criminal Justice and Corrections degree from Casper College earn a median salary of $56,877 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in WY, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $61,092. The degree typically pays for itself in 10.4 years.

Quick Insights

Slow Burn / High Debt Risk

How this degree looks at a glance

A fast read on salary range, break-even speed, living-cost impact, and where graduates from this school usually land.

Salary Ranges

Starting Range

$36,560

Typical Career

$56,877

Top Performers

$75,444

Estimated break-even: 10.4 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$379

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,740. Most students can comfortably afford about a $379 monthly loan payment with this degree.

Comparison Bench

This degree earns 1.5x more than the average US high school graduate and 0.7x more than the average college graduate.

Purchasing Power Context

A dollar in Wyoming buys what costs $0.93 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

Top industries for bachelor's graduates from this school: Health Care & Social Assistance, Educational Services, Public Administration.

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Health Care & Social Assistance 31.6%
Educational Services 14.7%
Public Administration 9.9%

Institution-wide industry mix for graduates, 5 years after graduation. This is not major-specific. Source: Census PSEO Flows.

5-Year Median Salary — National Purchasing Power Equivalent

$61,092

Nominal: $56,877 in Wyoming (COL 93.1% of national avg) · 7.4% higher purchasing power

10-Year Earnings Curve

Break-Even Timeline

How long until cumulative earnings advantage exceeds total college investment (tuition + opportunity cost vs. entering workforce directly after high school).

10.4 years to break even
Graduation 15 years

Total Investment

$155,168

4yr tuition + 4yr opportunity cost

HS Graduate Baseline

$38,792/yr

BLS 2023 median, HS diploma

View Raw Data: Median Earnings by Year
Timeframe 25th Pct. Median (50th) 75th Pct.
1 Year After Graduation $25,504 $36,980 $54,051
5 Years After Graduation $36,560 $56,877 $75,444
10 Years After Graduation $47,346 $61,580 $81,907

Source: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO), 2025 release. Earnings shown for Bachelor's degree graduates (all cohorts combined).

How We Calculate Purchasing Power

The median salary of $56,877 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in WY, which has a cost-of-living index of 93.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $56,877 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9310) = $61,092 National Average equivalent.

COL index source: BLS Regional Consumer Price Index & MIT Living Wage Project, 2023. Full methodology →

Career Verdict

Graduates from the Criminal Justice and Corrections program at Casper College can expect a positive earnings trajectory over time. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $36,980, increasing to $56,877 five years later, and reaching $61,580 by the ten-year mark. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years post-graduation equate to approximately $61,092.37 on a national scale, reflecting a solid return on investment considering the cost of living index in Wyoming is lower than the national average.

The primary industries that graduates enter are predominantly within Health Care & Social Assistance, with 31.6%, 23.3%, and 18.9% of graduates finding employment in this sector. This concentration suggests a strong alignment between the program's training and the demands of the job market. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 10.4 years compared to a high-school-only path, students can anticipate a favorable return on their educational investment, particularly in a state with a lower cost of living.

Compare with Another School

See how the Criminal Justice and Corrections degree at Casper College stacks up against another institution side-by-side.

Ready to apply?

Start your application for Criminal Justice and Corrections at Casper College.

Apply to Casper College

Explore More

Other Degrees at Casper College

Data sources: US Census Bureau Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO). Cost-of-living index: BLS Regional CPI & MIT Living Wage Project. Cost of attendance: IPEDS. For informational use only; data may be suppressed for small cohort sizes.