Criminal Justice and Corrections at Central State University

Central State's criminal justice program leaves graduates earning well below what they could make elsewhere in Ohio. At $32,631 one year out, graduates here make about $4,000 less than the typical Ohio criminal justice graduate and nearly $6,000 below students in similar programs nationwide. While the debt load of $31,000 isn't extreme by national standards, it's still higher than what most Ohio schools charge for this degree, creating a nearly 1:1 debt-to-earnings ratio that will stretch monthly budgets.

The small sample size here is important—we're looking at fewer than 30 graduates, so individual circumstances can skew the numbers significantly. That said, the pattern is concerning: even four years out, when earnings reach $38,082, graduates still trail their in-state peers. Ohio has several programs (Tiffin, Baldwin Wallace, Ashland) where graduates start around $42,000, giving them a $10,000 head start that compounds over a career.

For a family weighing this investment, the numbers suggest looking at other Ohio options unless Central State offers specific advantages—location, community, or support systems—that justify the earnings gap. Criminal justice careers don't typically require prestigious credentials, which means starting salary matters more than usual. The gap here is too large to ignore.