ROI Major

Criminal Justice and Corrections at Mountain View College

TX · Associate's Degree · CIP 43.01

Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Criminal Justice and Corrections degree from Mountain View College earn a median salary of $57,805 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $62,763. The degree typically pays for itself in 9 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

$41,486

Typical Career

$57,805

Top Performers

$79,079

Estimated break-even: 9 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$385

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,817. Most students can comfortably afford about a $385 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 Texas buys what costs $0.92 nationally.

Industry Breadcrumbs

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

Where Associate's Graduates from This School Work

Educational Services 21.6%
Health Care & Social Assistance 16.0%
Finance & Insurance 11.0%

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

$62,763

Nominal: $57,805 in Texas (COL 92.1% of national avg) · 8.6% 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).

9 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 $32,134 $45,324 $55,987
5 Years After Graduation $41,486 $57,805 $79,079
10 Years After Graduation $50,402 $64,834 $76,958

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 $57,805 is reported by the US Census Bureau's Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) dataset for graduates working in TX, which has a cost-of-living index of 92.1% of the national average.

Formula: Adjusted Salary = Nominal × (1.0 ÷ COL Index)
= $57,805 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $62,763 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 Mountain View College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. Median earnings one year after graduation stand at $42,398, increasing to $49,703 after five years and reaching $60,590 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median five-year salary aligns with a national equivalent of approximately $53,966.34, indicating a competitive earning potential relative to the broader market.

The program's graduates predominantly enter the Educational Services (21.6%), Health Care & Social Assistance (16.0%), and Educational Services (12.4%) sectors. With an estimated break-even point of approximately 11.5 years compared to a high-school-only path, the return on investment for pursuing this degree appears favorable. Students can anticipate a solid career foundation with opportunities for growth in various industries.

Compare with Another School

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

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Other Degrees at Mountain View 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.