Criminal Justice and Corrections at CUNY LaGuardia Community College

LaGuardia's criminal justice program starts graduates at just $25,515—well below both the New York state median ($31,480) and the national average ($33,269). That puts it in the bottom quarter of New York programs and the bottom 5% nationally in first-year earnings. However, the low $6,750 debt load makes this manageable, with graduates owing just three months of initial salary. The key question is whether the 52% earnings jump to $38,835 by year four compensates for the weak start.

That earnings trajectory is the program's strongest selling point. By year four, graduates reach solid middle-class income and actually surpass many peers who started higher. Still, this means spending three years earning substantially below market rate while others are building equity and retirement savings. Compare this to SUNY Broome, where criminal justice graduates start at $40,721—a $15,000 premium that compounds over those early career years.

For students already planning to attend LaGuardia for cost reasons, the minimal debt makes this workable if they can manage the lean early years, perhaps by living at home or working a second job. But families shopping around should know this program significantly underperforms other New York community colleges in the same field, where graduates typically start $6,000 higher without taking on much more debt.