Criminal Justice and Corrections programs in North Carolina
119 schools in North Carolina teach this, at certificate or associate level. 39 of them report what graduates earn two years out; the highest is $45,852 at Guilford Technical Community College.
What this work pays in North Carolina
Security Guards in North Carolina earn a median of $35,010 a year across 29,830 jobs. That is what the occupation pays everyone in it — not what graduates of any one program below earned.
| Also leads to | Median | Jobs in North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | $59,300 | 22,370 |
| Managers, All Other | $141,160 | 21,830 |
| Child, Family, and School Social Workers | $59,610 | 13,010 |
| Correctional Officers and Jailers | $50,550 | 11,900 |
| Compliance Officers | $78,500 | 11,320 |
Occupation wages: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025.
Schools
| School | Credential | Median debt | Graduate earnings, 2 yrs | Graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown | Undergraduate certificate | $19,000 | $45,852 (17 grads) | 54 |
| Stanly Community College Albemarle | Undergraduate certificate | — | $43,426 (11 grads) | 14 |
| Pitt Community College Winterville | Undergraduate certificate | — | $41,789 (13 grads) | 0 |
| Vance-Granville Community College Henderson | Undergraduate certificate | — | $40,188 (14 grads) | 1 |
| Cape Fear Community College Wilmington | Undergraduate certificate | — | $39,648 (13 grads) | 70 |
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Salisbury | Undergraduate certificate | — | $39,009 (14 grads) | 75 |
| Rockingham Community College Wentworth | Undergraduate certificate | — | $37,856 (12 grads) | 10 |
| South Piedmont Community College Polkton | Undergraduate certificate | — | $36,848 (15 grads) | 34 |
| Coastal Carolina Community College Jacksonville | Undergraduate certificate | — | $36,398 (28 grads) | 29 |
| Western Piedmont Community College Morganton | Undergraduate certificate | — | $36,085 (22 grads) | 42 |
| Strayer University-North Carolina Greensboro | Associate's degree | — | $35,810 (17 grads) | 0 |
| Davidson-Davie Community College Thomasville | Undergraduate certificate | $15,584 | $35,240 (14 grads) | 86 |
| Robeson Community College Lumberton | Undergraduate certificate | — | $35,060 (14 grads) | 58 |
| Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | $34,348 (16 grads) | 68 |
| Alamance Community College Graham | Associate's degree | — | $33,993 (11 grads) | 17 |
| Cleveland Community College Shelby | Undergraduate certificate | — | $33,993 (14 grads) | 40 |
| Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem | Associate's degree | — | $33,993 (13 grads) | 25 |
| Guilford Technical Community College Jamestown | Associate's degree | $18,500 | $33,993 (18 grads) | 17 |
| Wake Technical Community College Raleigh | Associate's degree | — | $33,281 (31 grads) | 40 |
| Catawba Valley Community College Hickory | Undergraduate certificate | — | $32,925 (16 grads) | 44 |
| James Sprunt Community College Kenansville | Undergraduate certificate | — | $32,925 (11 grads) | 8 |
| Nash Community College Rocky Mount | Associate's degree | — | $32,925 (11 grads) | 16 |
| Robeson Community College Lumberton | Associate's degree | — | $31,133 (21 grads) | 13 |
| Rockingham Community College Wentworth | Associate's degree | — | $30,771 (11 grads) | 7 |
| Wilkes Community College Wilkesboro | Associate's degree | — | $30,771 (17 grads) | 11 |
| Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte | Associate's degree | — | $30,119 (29 grads) | 28 |
| Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville | Associate's degree | — | $29,685 (28 grads) | 71 |
| Vance-Granville Community College Henderson | Associate's degree | — | $29,685 (12 grads) | 14 |
| Isothermal Community College Spindale | Associate's degree | — | $29,461 (14 grads) | 12 |
| Johnston Community College Smithfield | Associate's degree | — | $29,250 (18 grads) | 16 |
| Gaston College Dallas | Associate's degree | — | $28,960 (18 grads) | 18 |
| Pitt Community College Winterville | Associate's degree | $12,500 | $28,960 (27 grads) | 39 |
| Mayland Community College Spruce Pine | Associate's degree | — | $28,598 (12 grads) | 5 |
| Central Carolina Community College Sanford | Associate's degree | — | $28,019 (11 grads) | 19 |
| Davidson-Davie Community College Thomasville | Associate's degree | $18,617 | $26,353 (14 grads) | 23 |
| Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Asheville | Associate's degree | — | $25,194 (21 grads) | 7 |
| Miller-Motte College-Fayetteville Fayetteville | Associate's degree | $26,692 | $25,194 (230 grads) | 11 |
| Richmond Community College Hamlet | Associate's degree | — | $22,329 (13 grads) | 12 |
| Mitchell Community College Statesville | Associate's degree | — | $20,140 (15 grads) | 6 |
| Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College Asheville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 16 |
| Surry Community College Dobson | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Wake Technical Community College Raleigh | Undergraduate certificate | $16,875 | not published | 60 |
| Alamance Community College Graham | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 10 |
| Beaufort County Community College Washington | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 55 |
| Beaufort County Community College Washington | Associate's degree | — | not published | 7 |
| Bladen Community College Dublin | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 18 |
| Bladen Community College Dublin | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
| Blue Ridge Community College Flat Rock | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 12 |
| Blue Ridge Community College Flat Rock | Associate's degree | — | not published | 12 |
| Brunswick Community College Bolivia | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 29 |
| Brunswick Community College Bolivia | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute Hudson | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 8 |
| Campbell University Buies Creek | Associate's degree | — | not published | 1 |
| Cape Fear Community College Wilmington | Associate's degree | — | not published | 5 |
| Carteret Community College Morehead City | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 30 |
| Carteret Community College Morehead City | Associate's degree | — | not published | 3 |
| Catawba Valley Community College Hickory | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Central Carolina Community College Sanford | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 37 |
| Central Piedmont Community College Charlotte | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 49 |
| Chowan University Murfreesboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Cleveland Community College Shelby | Associate's degree | — | not published | 5 |
| Coastal Carolina Community College Jacksonville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 11 |
| College of the Albemarle Elizabeth City | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 24 |
| College of the Albemarle Elizabeth City | Associate's degree | — | not published | 3 |
| Craven Community College New Bern | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 30 |
| Craven Community College New Bern | Associate's degree | — | not published | 5 |
| Durham Technical Community College Durham | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 31 |
| Durham Technical Community College Durham | Associate's degree | — | not published | 8 |
| Edgecombe Community College Tarboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 4 |
| Edgecombe Community College Tarboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Fayetteville Technical Community College Fayetteville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 80 |
| Forsyth Technical Community College Winston-Salem | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 53 |
| Gaston College Dallas | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 94 |
| Halifax Community College Weldon | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Halifax Community College Weldon | Associate's degree | — | not published | 4 |
| Haywood Community College Clyde | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 30 |
| Haywood Community College Clyde | Associate's degree | — | not published | 7 |
| Isothermal Community College Spindale | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 46 |
| James Sprunt Community College Kenansville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 5 |
| Johnston Community College Smithfield | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 10 |
| Lenoir Community College Kinston | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 7 |
| Lenoir Community College Kinston | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
| Martin Community College Williamston | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 4 |
| Martin Community College Williamston | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Mayland Community College Spruce Pine | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 17 |
| McDowell Technical Community College Marion | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Methodist University Fayetteville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Mitchell Community College Statesville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 25 |
| Montgomery Community College Troy | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 3 |
| Montgomery Community College Troy | Associate's degree | — | not published | 0 |
| Nash Community College Rocky Mount | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 48 |
| Pamlico Community College Grantsboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 2 |
| Pamlico Community College Grantsboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Piedmont Community College Roxboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 7 |
| Piedmont Community College Roxboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
| Randolph Community College Asheboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 20 |
| Randolph Community College Asheboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 14 |
| Richmond Community College Hamlet | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 38 |
| Roanoke-Chowan Community College Ahoskie | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 11 |
| Roanoke-Chowan Community College Ahoskie | Associate's degree | — | not published | 3 |
| Rowan-Cabarrus Community College Salisbury | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Sampson Community College Clinton | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 12 |
| Sampson Community College Clinton | Associate's degree | — | not published | 9 |
| Sandhills Community College Pinehurst | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 23 |
| Sandhills Community College Pinehurst | Associate's degree | — | not published | 9 |
| South Piedmont Community College Polkton | Associate's degree | — | not published | 3 |
| Southeastern Community College Whiteville | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 3 |
| Southeastern Community College Whiteville | Associate's degree | — | not published | 7 |
| Southwestern Community College Sylva | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Southwestern Community College Sylva | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
| Stanly Community College Albemarle | Associate's degree | — | not published | 22 |
| Surry Community College Dobson | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 10 |
| Tri-County Community College Murphy | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 0 |
| Tri-County Community College Murphy | Associate's degree | — | not published | 2 |
| Wayne Community College Goldsboro | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 24 |
| Wayne Community College Goldsboro | Associate's degree | — | not published | 10 |
| Western Piedmont Community College Morganton | Associate's degree | — | not published | 5 |
| Wilson Community College Wilson | Undergraduate certificate | — | not published | 25 |
| Wilson Community College Wilson | Associate's degree | — | not published | 6 |
A dash under earnings or debt means the U.S. Department of Education has not published a figure for that program — it withholds any median computed from too few graduates, which covers about four of every five programs. It never means zero, and it says nothing about whether the program is any good. Where a figure is shown, the number of graduates behind it is shown with it.
Email me when these figures change
The U.S. Department of Education publishes new cost, debt and earnings figures once a year, and every number on this page changes at once. One email when that happens for Criminal Justice and Corrections — nothing else, and nothing in between.
Program and outcome figures: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, released 2026-06-10.