Criminal Justice and Corrections at Lackawanna College

Lackawanna's criminal justice program shows a troubling earnings trajectory that should concern any parent considering this investment. Graduates earn just $22,394 their first year out—about $11,000 below what students at Montgomery County Community College earn, and roughly $10,000 below Pennsylvania's state median for this same degree. Even more concerning, this places Lackawanna in the bottom 10% of PA criminal justice programs, suggesting systemic issues beyond just market conditions in northeastern Pennsylvania.

The debt load of $19,000 compounds the problem. While not catastrophic, it represents nearly a full year of first-year earnings, and earnings do climb to $30,367 by year four—but that's still below what graduates of other PA community colleges earn right out of the gate. The 36% earnings growth suggests graduates eventually find better positions, yet they never catch up to peers who started at stronger programs.

The small sample size here is a significant caveat, but the pattern is hard to ignore: nearby Lehigh Carbon Community College produces graduates who immediately earn $33,360, avoiding the difficult early years Lackawanna graduates face. For a parent weighing options, those first few years of sub-$25,000 earnings while managing nearly $20,000 in debt create real financial stress. If criminal justice is the goal, Pennsylvania offers multiple community college alternatives with demonstrably better outcomes from day one.