California·Protective Service Occupations·SOC 33-1011

Best First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer programs in California, ranked by enrollment

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and.

55 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 4,381 people a year. The job pays a median of $131,210 in California across about 4,550 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledCorrectional SupervisorCorrectional Officer CaptainGuard ChiefUnit ManagerWard SupervisorGuard SupervisorShift SupervisorCorrection Warden
Graduates / yr
4,381
in California
Median pay · California
$131,210
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,550
people employed
Schools
55
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
49%
across those schools
Median net price
$27,804
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in California that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in California that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
13,860
88.1%
26$37,408$24,069
2519
11.8%
28$37,408$24,069
32
0.0%
1$37,408$24,069

Top 25 schools in California

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 26 of the 55 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1San Diego State University
San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
547Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$33,26176%36%
2California State University - Sacramento
Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
473Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$38,60656%94%
3California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
357Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$32,97453%91%
4California State University - Northridge
Northridge, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
337Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,87057%93%
5California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
302Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,24769%46%
6California State University - Fullerton
Fullerton, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
298Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,57070%91%
7San Jose State University
San Jose, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
218Criminal Justice/Safety Studies69%85%
8California State University - San Bernardino
San Bernardino, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
217Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$35,02955%94%
9California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
171Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$36,09243%93%
10California State University - Stanislaus
Turlock, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
170Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,80653%98%
11San Francisco State University
San Francisco, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
170Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$42,21150%96%
12Moreno Valley College
Moreno Valley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
163Corrections$81,33934%
13California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
149Criminal Justice/Safety Studies50%94%
14East Los Angeles College
Monterey Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
125Corrections37%
15California State University - East Bay
Hayward, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
117Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$45,38748%97%
16California State University - Chico
Chico, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
101Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$36,04563%93%
17Santa Rosa Junior College
Santa Rosa, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
75Corrections$111,64937%
18University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
56Criminal Justice/Safety Studies92%$26,87310%
19Sonoma State University
Rohnert Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
51Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$38,44458%93%
20La Sierra University
Riverside, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
41Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$34,88560%$26,50491%
21Point Loma Nazarene University
San Diego, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
23Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$45,02277%$48,79584%
22Lemoore College
Lemoore, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
21Corrections$30,32549%
23Fresno City College
Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
16Corrections$29,46724%
24Reedley College
Reedley, CA Public · 1 feeder programs
16Corrections42%
25Platt College - Riverside
Riverside, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Criminal Justice/Safety Studies58%$27,804

All 55 schools in California

Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in California that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
San Diego State UniversitySan DiegoPublic5471
California State University - SacramentoSacramentoPublic4731
California State University - Los AngelesLos AngelesPublic3571
California State University - NorthridgeNorthridgePublic3371
California State University - Long BeachLong BeachPublic3021
California State University - FullertonFullertonPublic2981
San Jose State UniversitySan JosePublic2181
California State University - San BernardinoSan BernardinoPublic2171
California State University - Dominguez HillsCarsonPublic1711
California State University - StanislausTurlockPublic1701
San Francisco State UniversitySan FranciscoPublic1701
Moreno Valley CollegeMoreno ValleyPublic1631
California State University - BakersfieldBakersfieldPublic1491
East Los Angeles CollegeMonterey ParkPublic1251
California State University - East BayHaywardPublic1171

What first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn in California

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in California
$131,210
Mean annual
$132,640
Jobs in state
4,550
What the range looks like
10th pct$108,830Median$131,21090th pct$155,600
Versus the national median
+68.3%

U.S. median $77,970. California pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.73×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in California

Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA
$135,040median
540 jobs
San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA
$132,490median
110 jobs
Fresno, CA
$131,790median
350 jobs
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
$131,780median
590 jobs
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
$131,630median
160 jobs
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
$127,390median
250 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-2.8%
Decline
Openings per year
4,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-1,600
57,100 → 55,500
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers page.

How to become a First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Work experience needed
Less than 5 years

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

MonitoringActive ListeningCritical ThinkingSpeakingReading ComprehensionWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in California

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 4 majors mapped to First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 43.0100Criminal Justice and Corrections, General
  • 43.0102Corrections
  • 43.0104Criminal Justice/Safety Studies
  • 43.0113Corrections Administration

Common questions

Answers for people weighing first-line supervisors of correctional officers programs in California.

What degree do you need to become a First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies, which awarded 3,860 degrees in California in 2024-25, 88.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections. Together they graduate about 4,381 people a year in California.

How much do first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn in California?+

The median is $131,210 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 68.3% above the U.S. median of $77,970. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for first-line supervisors of correctional officers growing?+

BLS projects a -2.8% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 4,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+

55 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do first-line supervisors of correctional officers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Correctional Supervisor, Correctional Officer Captain among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 33-1011.

First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers in other statesTexasFloridaVirginiaArizonaNorth CarolinaGeorgiaIndianaPennsylvania
Programs in CaliforniaCriminal Justice/Safety Studies

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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