Kentucky·Business and Financial Operations Occupations·SOC 13-1041

Best Compliance Officer programs in Kentucky, ranked by enrollment

Examine, evaluate, and investigate eligibility for or conformity with laws and regulations governing contract compliance of licenses and permits, and perform other compliance and enforcement inspection and analysis activities not.

14 schools in Kentucky run programs that feed this job, graduating 215 people a year. The job pays a median of $69,240 in Kentucky across about 4,360 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledCoronerCustoms BrokerLicense ExaminerMedical ExaminerHousing InspectorEnforcement OfficerMotor Vehicle ClerkRegulatory Engineer
Graduates / yr
215
in Kentucky
Median pay · Kentucky
$69,240
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
4,360
people employed
Schools
14
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$16,359
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kentucky that lead to this job

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

4 programs in Kentucky that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kentucky (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 Kentucky page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 03.0103In Kentucky
108
50.2%
8$34,020$23,032
2
CIP 52.1001In Kentucky
67
31.2%
5$49,084$26,536
3
CIP 03.0104In Kentucky
34
15.8%
4$34,020$23,032
4
CIP 51.2213In Kentucky
6
2.8%
1$36,762$25,076

Top 14 schools in Kentucky

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 14 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
64Environmental Studies$36,11771%93%
2Sullivan University
Louisville, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
29Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General71%$29,703
3Western Kentucky University
Bowling Green, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
23Environmental Studies56%94%
4Kentucky State University
Frankfort, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
19Environmental Studies32%96%
5Northern Kentucky University
Highland Heights, KY Public · 1 feeder programs
18Environmental Science$36,89452%68%
6Campbellsville University
Campbellsville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
14Environmental Science42%$18,82480%
7Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY Public · 2 feeder programs
10Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality$35,61250%78%
8Lindsey Wilson University
Columbia, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Environmental Studies44%$14,471
9Centre College
Danville, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Environmental Studies81%$18,40754%
10Bellarmine University
Louisville, KY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
8Environmental Studies64%$22,54286%
11Berea College
Berea, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Environmental Science58%$5,27419%
12Brighton Center's Center for Employment Training
Newport, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General27%$10,813
13Georgetown College
Georgetown, KY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Environmental Studies49%$12,66691%
14Interactive College of Technology - Newport
Newport, KY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General30%$16,359

All 14 schools in Kentucky

Every school in Kentucky 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 Kentucky that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of KentuckyLexingtonPublic642
Sullivan UniversityLouisvillePrivate for-profit291
Western Kentucky UniversityBowling GreenPublic231
Kentucky State UniversityFrankfortPublic191
Northern Kentucky UniversityHighland HeightsPublic181
Campbellsville UniversityCampbellsvillePrivate not-for-profit142
Eastern Kentucky UniversityRichmondPublic102
Lindsey Wilson UniversityColumbiaPrivate not-for-profit101
Centre CollegeDanvillePrivate not-for-profit91
Bellarmine UniversityLouisvillePrivate not-for-profit82
Berea CollegeBereaPrivate not-for-profit51
Brighton Center's Center for Employment TrainingNewportPrivate not-for-profit41
Georgetown CollegeGeorgetownPrivate not-for-profit11
Interactive College of Technology - NewportNewportPrivate for-profit11

What compliance officers earn in Kentucky

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

Median annual in Kentucky
$69,240
Mean annual
$72,580
Jobs in state
4,360
What the range looks like
10th pct$43,120Median$69,24090th pct$109,300
Versus the national median
-14.2%

U.S. median $80,730. Kentucky pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.81×

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

Metro areas in Kentucky

Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN
$71,120median
1,550 jobs
Owensboro, KY
$74,330median
80 jobs
Paducah, KY-IL
$69,780median
80 jobs
Lexington-Fayette, KY
$71,700median
470 jobs
Elizabethtown, KY
$63,280median
120 jobs
Bowling Green, KY
$59,100median
110 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+3.0%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
33,300
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
12,300
418,000 → 430,300
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

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 Compliance Officers page.

How to become a Compliance Officer

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingCritical ThinkingWritingActive Learning

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Kentucky

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 11 majors mapped to Compliance Officers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 03.0103Environmental Studies
  • 03.0104Environmental Science
  • 03.0208Environmental/Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services
  • 03.0209Energy and Environmental Policy
  • 30.4101Environmental Geosciences
  • 43.0121Suspension and Debarment Investigation(no graduates reported)
  • 51.0717Medical Staff Services Technology/Technician
  • 51.0720Regulatory Science/Affairs
  • 51.2213Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality
  • 52.1001Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration, General
  • 52.1002Labor and Industrial Relations

Common questions

Answers for people weighing compliance officers programs in Kentucky.

What degree do you need to become a Compliance Officer?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Environmental Studies, which awarded 108 degrees in Kentucky in 2024-25, 50.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Compliance Officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Human Resources Management and Services, Public Health. Together they graduate about 215 people a year in Kentucky.

How much do compliance officers earn in Kentucky?+

The median is $69,240 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 14.2% below the U.S. median of $80,730. 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 compliance officers growing?+

BLS projects a +3.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 33,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

14 institutions in Kentucky reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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 compliance officers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Coroner, Customs Broker, License Examiner, Medical Examiner, Housing Inspector, Enforcement Officer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 13-1041.

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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