Criminal Justice Salary: Pay by Job, Degree and State

Trevor Rupe, Contributor at Savo Media Group

Last updated October 14, 2026

Criminal justice salary depends more on the job than on the degree: BLS median pay across the 12 jobs below runs from $51,220 for private detectives and investigators (SOC 33-9021) to $106,040 for first-line supervisors of police and detectives (SOC 33-1012) (May 2025). Graduates with a criminal justice bachelor’s degree reported a median of $37,713 one year after finishing, according to College Scorecard.

Highest median among the jobs BLS 33-1012, May 2025

$106,040

first-line supervisors of police and detectives

Patrol officer median BLS 33-3051, May 2025

$76,210

a year

Bachelor’s graduates, one year out Scorecard

$37,713

Scorecard median of school medians

Median for all workers BLS

$50,980

May 2025, BLS handbook

Criminal Justice Salary by Job, Highest Paying First

These are the highest paying criminal justice jobs among the 12 this page covers: the six careers with a page of their own here and six neighboring jobs, such as supervisors, bailiffs and game wardens. First-line supervisors of police and detectives (SOC 33-1012) had the highest median, $106,040, and private detectives and investigators (SOC 33-9021) the lowest, $51,220. Each figure is what employers reported paying workers in the job in May 2025, whatever their education, from BLS’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.

Median pay and the 10th to 90th percentile range for 12 criminal justice jobs, May 2025
Job	Median pay	10th to 90th percentile	Employed
First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (SOC 33-1012)	$106,040	$63,350 to $165,110	154,610
Detectives and Criminal Investigators (SOC 33-3021)	$93,790	$55,390 to $160,540	114,430
Transit and Railroad Police (SOC 33-3052)	$90,230	$57,690 to $125,910	4,390
First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers (SOC 33-1011)	$77,970	$52,330 to $127,780	53,380
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary (SOC 25-1111)	$76,590	$45,000 to $140,240	13,150
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (SOC 33-3051)	$76,210	$47,510 to $115,120	670,520
Fish and Game Wardens (SOC 33-3031)	$74,060	$50,990 to $100,980	5,770
Forensic Science Technicians (SOC 19-4092)	$72,060	$48,250 to $117,250	19,120
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists (SOC 21-1092)	$66,270	$46,840 to $107,790	89,390
Correctional Officers and Jailers (SOC 33-3012)	$58,940	$42,760 to $93,220	380,500
Bailiffs (SOC 33-3011)	$56,600	$32,140 to $96,770	17,310
Private Detectives and Investigators (SOC 33-9021)	$51,220	$36,740 to $97,630	35,580

The percentile range shows where the pay sits: 10% of workers earned less than the first figure and 10% more than the second. It is a spread across workers, not a salary path from a first year to a last. The FBI’s special agent posting pays $93,749 to $133,200 a year at pay grades GL 9 to 10, and the FBI agent guide has the rest of its terms.

Criminal Justice Salary by State

California paid the highest median for patrol officers (SOC 33-3051), probation officers (SOC 21-1092) and correctional officers (SOC 33-3012), $118,880, $103,640 and $96,370. The District of Columbia paid the highest median for detectives (SOC 33-3021), $160,760. The lowest medians were $46,140 for patrol officers in Mississippi, $54,500 for detectives in Arkansas, $34,110 for probation officers in Mississippi and $38,720 for correctional officers in Mississippi. The table below compares four jobs in the 46 states and districts where BLS reports pay for all four, with the 25 highest for patrol officers shown. Each job’s own page has every state.

Median pay for four criminal justice jobs in the 25 states with the highest patrol officer pay, May 2025
State	Patrol officers (SOC 33-3051)	Detectives (SOC 33-3021)	Probation officers (SOC 21-1092)	Correctional officers (SOC 33-3012)
California	$118,880	$124,840	$103,640	$96,370
Washington	$102,080	$115,790	$82,750	$79,460
Illinois	$100,520	$91,190	$74,390	$79,190
Alaska	$99,130	$114,940	$77,000	$71,360
Colorado	$97,350	$105,480	$71,680	$62,140
Delaware	$92,970	$122,050	$81,880	$65,880
New York	$92,790	$101,240	$80,350	$76,820
New Jersey	$92,610	$116,300	$80,280	$94,770
Oregon	$88,140	$107,450	$84,920	$83,690
Pennsylvania	$85,470	$97,580	$67,370	$63,460
Hawaii	$83,820	$113,940	$73,830	$69,570
Minnesota	$83,360	$80,000	$81,580	$66,040
Connecticut	$82,170	$95,240	$97,350	$64,750
Massachusetts	$78,940	$110,150	$94,590	$86,310
Arizona	$78,880	$102,340	$60,910	$54,970
Nevada	$78,140	$94,470	$75,840	$76,490
Maryland	$77,970	$126,730	$76,390	$64,250
Ohio	$77,020	$79,300	$61,120	$59,370
Texas	$75,900	$90,510	$52,880	$52,670
Nebraska	$74,620	$100,530	$63,460	$63,380
North Dakota	$74,500	$82,290	$65,140	$52,460
Florida	$74,470	$77,060	$50,960	$49,710
Iowa	$74,470	$79,560	$77,390	$53,040
Michigan	$73,730	$90,650	$79,760	$64,020
Indiana	$73,370	$70,340	$60,170	$48,340

The full state tables are on the pages for police officers, detectives, probation officers and correctional officers.

Criminal Justice Degree Salary: What Graduates Earn

College Scorecard reports what graduates of criminal justice programs earn after finishing. Earnings are College Scorecard's median for the school's criminal justice and corrections graduates (federal field 43.01) at the level who received federal aid, four years after finishing, or one year after where that is the only figure Scorecard publishes. Scorecard reports a median only where enough graduates can be counted, and it covers every program the school reports in that field. The four-year column is the same median measured four years after finishing. The table gives the median of the school-level medians for each award level, for the schools that report one.

Median earnings of criminal justice graduates by award level, from College Scorecard
Award level	Schools reporting	One year after finishing	Four years after finishing
Associate degree	267	$33,360	$47,205
Bachelor’s degree	617	$37,713	$54,275
Master’s degree	126	$51,313	$64,860

Read these as a different measure from the job pay above. BLS pay is what everyone in a job earns, with any education. Scorecard earnings are what a school’s graduates earned, among those who received federal aid and were working, so the two cover different people, and the gap between them isn’t what a degree adds.

Criminal Justice Salary by Employer Type

The Occupational Outlook Handbook breaks the May 2025 median down by employer for four of the jobs. These are the handbook’s figures. In corrections, the federal government’s median ($74,630) is the highest.

Median pay by employer for four criminal justice jobs, May 2025, from the Occupational Outlook Handbook
Job and employer	Median pay
Probation officers (SOC 21-1092), local government	$70,260
Probation officers (SOC 21-1092), state government	$66,270
Probation officers (SOC 21-1092), healthcare and social assistance	$45,830
Correctional officers (SOC 33-3012), federal government	$74,630
Correctional officers (SOC 33-3012), state government	$59,990
Correctional officers (SOC 33-3012), local government	$58,500
Correctional officers (SOC 33-3012), facilities support services	$46,910
Private investigators (SOC 33-9021), government	$75,810
Private investigators (SOC 33-9021), professional, scientific, and technical services	$75,710
Private investigators (SOC 33-9021), finance and insurance	$72,740
Private investigators (SOC 33-9021), administrative and support services	$50,720
Private investigators (SOC 33-9021), retail trade	$41,480
Forensic science technicians (SOC 19-4092), state government	$74,740
Forensic science technicians (SOC 19-4092), local government	$70,050

How Education Lines Up With Pay in Criminal Justice

Grouped by the entry education BLS assigns, the ranges overlap. Jobs entered with a high school diploma had medians from $58,940 to $76,210, and the jobs entered with a bachelor’s degree ran from $66,270 to $72,060.

Median pay of the career pages’ jobs by typical entry education, May 2025
Typical entry education	Jobs	Medians
High school diploma	police officers and correctional officers	$58,940 to $76,210
High school diploma plus experience	detectives and private investigators	$51,220 to $93,790
Bachelor’s degree	probation officers and crime scene investigators	$66,270 to $72,060

Within a job, a degree can matter in a few documented ways. BLS says some police departments offer additional pay for bilingual officers or those with college degrees, and that a bachelor’s degree may be required for advancement to lieutenant or a higher rank. First-line supervisors of police and detectives had a median of $106,040 in May 2025. At the Bureau of Prisons, education sets the grade you start at, which the correctional officer guide explains.

Degree Routes and the Programs Behind the Earnings

The earnings above belong to real programs. California State University-East Bay, the top-ranked bachelor’s program, is one of them, and the rankings compare every program on cost, graduate earnings and four other factors.

Criminal Justice Pay Questions

What Is the Highest Paying Job in Criminal Justice?

Of the 12 jobs in the table above, first-line supervisors of police and detectives (SOC 33-1012) had the highest BLS median in May 2025, $106,040, followed by detectives and criminal investigators (SOC 33-3021) at $93,790. The FBI’s special agent posting pays $93,749 to $133,200 a year at pay grades GL 9 to 10. Federal agents are on government pay scales, so their figures come from the posting rather than from the BLS survey.

How Much Do Criminal Justice Majors Make?

College Scorecard’s median for criminal justice bachelor’s graduates one year after finishing is $37,713, across 617 schools that report one, and $54,275 four years after finishing. For master’s graduates the medians are $51,313 and $64,860. Those are medians of school-level medians for graduates who received federal aid.

Is Criminal Justice a Good Paying Major?

The pay depends on the job you take. The jobs BLS ties to a bachelor’s degree (probation officers (SOC 21-1092) and crime scene investigators (SOC 19-4092)) had medians of $66,270 to $72,060 in May 2025, while jobs entered with a high school diploma (police officers (SOC 33-3051) and correctional officers (SOC 33-3012)) ran from $58,940 to $76,210. Bachelor’s graduates reported a median of $54,275 four years after finishing. The good major guide sets pay against cost.

Which State Pays the Most for Criminal Justice Jobs?

It depends on the job. California had the highest median for patrol officers (SOC 33-3051), probation officers (SOC 21-1092) and correctional officers (SOC 33-3012) ($118,880, $103,640 and $96,370), and the District of Columbia had the highest median for detectives (SOC 33-3021) ($160,760). These are wages, not adjusted for living costs.

What Is the Average Criminal Justice Salary?

No single figure covers the field, because the jobs differ so much: BLS’s medians for the 12 jobs above run from $51,220 to $106,040. For any one job the median is the better guide than the mean. Patrol officers (SOC 33-3051), for example, had a median of $76,210 and a mean of $79,200.

Sources for the Criminal Justice Salary Figures

Graduate earnings: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field-of-study data for Criminal Justice and Corrections (CIP 43.01).
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Pay for First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives (SOC 33-1012): BLS OEWS occupation profile, May 2025.
Pay for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers (SOC 33-3051): BLS OEWS occupation profile, May 2025.
Pay by employer, group medians and entry education: the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook profiles linked on each job’s page, last modified August 27, 2026.
FBI pay: the FBI agent guide cites its USAJOBS posting. Handbook and postings read on October 7, 2026.
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, police and detectives.