Associate's · Brownsville, Texas

Is Criminal Justice and Corrections at Texas Southmost College worth it?

High confidence High confidence: 100+ 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 2.4 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $38,267; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $44,344; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $6,998; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $6k (likely $6k – $9k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $8k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in TX; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 2.4 years (likely 1.3–4.6); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$10k (likely −$53k – $38k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: $109k (likely $8k – $227k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 37%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26