ROI Major

Criminal Justice and Corrections at Victoria College

TX · Certificate Degree · CIP 43.01

Apply Now Data: 2026 release

Executive Summary

Graduates with a Criminal Justice and Corrections degree from Victoria College earn a median salary of $57,890 within five years of graduation. Adjusted for the cost of living in TX, this represents a national purchasing power equivalent of $62,856. The degree typically pays for itself in 8.1 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

$47,916

Typical Career

$57,890

Top Performers

$68,060

Estimated break-even: 8.1 years.

Debt-to-Income Check

$386

Estimated comfortable monthly loan payment

Typical monthly pay is approximately $4,824. Most students can comfortably afford about a $386 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: Public Administration, Health Care & Social Assistance, Manufacturing.

Where Certificate Graduates from This School Work

Public Administration 22.6%
Health Care & Social Assistance 16.6%
Manufacturing 12.2%

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

$62,856

Nominal: $57,890 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).

8.1 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 $43,544 $52,224 $60,284
5 Years After Graduation $47,916 $57,890 $68,060
10 Years After Graduation $59,719 $69,154 $83,557

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 $57,890 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)
= $57,890 × (1.0 ÷ 0.9210) = $62,856 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 Victoria College can expect a positive earnings trajectory. The median earnings one year after graduation stand at $52,224, which increases to $57,890 after five years and reaches $69,154 after ten years. When adjusted for purchasing power, the median earnings five years post-graduation equate to approximately $62,855.59 nationally, indicating that graduates maintain a competitive salary relative to the national average despite the cost of living index in Texas being slightly lower than the national average.

The top industries for graduates primarily include Health Care & Social Assistance, which accounts for 82.3% of employment, followed by Public Administration at 22.6%. The estimated break-even point for those pursuing this path versus a high-school-only route is approximately 8.1 years, suggesting a reasonable return on investment for students. Overall, the data indicates that pursuing a degree in Criminal Justice and Corrections at Victoria College can lead to stable career opportunities and a solid financial foundation over time.

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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.