Bachelor's · Saint Louis, Missouri

Is Criminal Justice and Corrections at Harris-Stowe State University worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back in time: graduates typically recover the cost in about 5.5 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $46,960; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $52,643; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $22,512; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $49k (likely $47k – $67k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $14k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MO; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 5.5 years (likely 3.8–8.9); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$98k (likely −$177k – −$18k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $82k (likely −$57k – $254k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 33%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26