New Jersey·Community and Social Service Occupations·SOC 21-1092

Best Probation Officer programs in New Jersey, ranked by enrollment

Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole.

24 schools in New Jersey run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,745 people a year. The job pays a median of $80,280 in New Jersey across about 2,890 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledProbation OfficerParole Officer (PO)Correctional CounselorJuvenile Probation OfficerCourt WorkerParole AgentPeople OfficerTruant Officer
Graduates / yr
1,745
in New Jersey
Median pay · New Jersey
$80,280
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
2,890
people employed
Schools
24
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
50%
across those schools
Median net price
$20,619
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in New Jersey that lead to this job

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

1 programs in New Jersey that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in New Jersey (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 New Jersey page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
11,745
100.0%
24$37,264$26,140

Top 24 schools in New Jersey

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 11 of the 24 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Rutgers University - New Brunswick
New Brunswick, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
765Social Work$39,93684%58%
2Ramapo College of New Jersey
Mahwah, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
145Social Work$31,21070%71%
3Montclair State University
Montclair, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
140Social Work$33,09565%88%
4Stockton University
Galloway, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
133Social Work$37,74969%89%
5Monmouth University
West Long Branch, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
107Social Work72%$28,51489%
6Rutgers University - Newark
Newark, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
65Social Work$39,93664%71%
7Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
51Social Work$47,73469%$27,37673%
8Rutgers University - Camden
Camden, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
44Social Work$39,93667%66%
9Passaic County Community College
Paterson, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
42Social Work19%
10Kean University
Union, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
40Social Work47%76%
11Camden County College
Blackwood, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
30Social Work$24,61631%
12Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan Campus
Teaneck, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
25Social Work53%$18,05991%
13Brookdale Community College
Lincroft, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
24Social Work30%
14Essex County College
Newark, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
20Social Work20%
15Hudson County Community College
Jersey City, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
20Social Work26%
16Georgian Court University
Lakewood, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Social Work$38,53054%$19,50479%
17Rowan University
Glassboro, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
18Social Work67%78%
18William Paterson University of New Jersey
Wayne, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
17Social Work44%90%
19Rowan College of South Jersey - Cumberland Campus
Vineland, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
14Social Work$37,25033%
20Ocean County College
Toms River, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
7Social Work42%
21Rowan College of South Jersey - Gloucester Campus
Sewell, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
6Social Work$37,25039%
22Saint Elizabeth University
Morristown, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
5Social Work51%$20,61971%
23Sussex County Community College
Newton, NJ Public · 1 feeder programs
5Social Work37%
24Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Social Work56%$17,49083%

All 24 schools in New Jersey

Every school in New Jersey 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 New Jersey that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Rutgers University - New BrunswickNew BrunswickPublic7651
Ramapo College of New JerseyMahwahPublic1451
Montclair State UniversityMontclairPublic1401
Stockton UniversityGallowayPublic1331
Monmouth UniversityWest Long BranchPrivate not-for-profit1071
Rutgers University - NewarkNewarkPublic651
Seton Hall UniversitySouth OrangePrivate not-for-profit511
Rutgers University - CamdenCamdenPublic441
Passaic County Community CollegePatersonPublic421
Kean UniversityUnionPublic401
Camden County CollegeBlackwoodPublic301
Fairleigh Dickinson University - Metropolitan CampusTeaneckPrivate not-for-profit251
Brookdale Community CollegeLincroftPublic241
Essex County CollegeNewarkPublic201
Hudson County Community CollegeJersey CityPublic201

What probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in New Jersey

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

Median annual in New Jersey
$80,280
Mean annual
$80,640
Jobs in state
2,890
What the range looks like
10th pct$52,210Median$80,28090th pct$107,790
Versus the national median
+21.1%

U.S. median $66,270. New Jersey pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
1.17×

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

Metro areas in New Jersey

Trenton-Princeton, NJ
$80,610median
410 jobs
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
$80,420median
180 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+2.6%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
7,900
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,400
92,300 → 94,800
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 Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists page.

How to become a Probation 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

Active ListeningSpeakingReading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingWritingMonitoring

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in New Jersey

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 1 majors mapped to Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists1 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 44.0701Social Work

Common questions

Answers for people weighing probation officers and correctional treatment specialists programs in New Jersey.

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

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Social Work, which awarded 1,745 degrees in New Jersey in 2024-25, 100.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Probation Officer?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 1 programs to this occupation. The largest are Social Work. Together they graduate about 1,745 people a year in New Jersey.

How much do probation officers and correctional treatment specialists earn in New Jersey?+

The median is $80,280 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.1% above the U.S. median of $66,270. 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists growing?+

BLS projects a +2.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,900 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in New Jersey?+

24 institutions in New Jersey reported graduates from at least one of the 1 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 probation officers and correctional treatment specialists work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Probation Officer, Parole Officer (PO), Correctional Counselor, Juvenile Probation Officer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 21-1092.

Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists in other statesNew YorkCaliforniaTexasMinnesotaIllinoisMichiganOhioKentucky
Programs in New JerseySocial Work

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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