Best degree programs for First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 998 schools train First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $77,970 median wage, 53,380 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 998 schools train first-line supervisors of correctional officers, graduating 46,919 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Criminal Justice/Safety Studies. The job pays a median of $77,970 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About first-line supervisors of correctional officers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and jailers.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
4 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 43.0104 | 40,687 | 86.7% | 824 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 2 | CIP 43.0102 | 3,804 | 8.1% | 147 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 3 | CIP 43.0100 | 2,344 | 5.0% | 75 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
| 4 | CIP 43.0113 | 84 | 0.2% | 8 | $37,408 | $24,069 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $62,590 | 4,200 | 0.87× | 68 | 5,426 |
| California | $131,210 | 4,550 | 0.73× | 55 | 4,381 |
| Florida | $55,620 | 6,480 | 1.90× | 42 | 3,936 |
| Virginia | $64,190 | 2,230 | 1.58× | 16 | 2,790 |
| Arizona | $74,840 | 890 | 0.80× | 23 | 2,651 |
| North Carolina | $67,270 | 1,090 | 0.64× | 79 | 2,520 |
| Georgia | $58,640 | 2,310 | 1.38× | 44 | 2,360 |
| Indiana | $61,460 | 1,360 | 1.24× | 26 | 2,219 |
| Pennsylvania | $94,600 | 1,520 | 0.73× | 46 | 1,465 |
| Ohio | $77,570 | 600 | 0.32× | 44 | 1,230 |
| Illinois | $105,450 | 2,860 | 1.36× | 29 | 1,217 |
| New Jersey | $117,450 | 1,340 | 0.91× | 22 | 1,185 |
| New York | $103,320 | 3,380 | 1.02× | 29 | 1,113 |
| Colorado | $81,460 | 810 | 0.82× | 15 | 1,091 |
| Massachusetts | $105,930 | 460 | 0.37× | 29 | 1,087 |
| West Virginia | $56,490 | 230 | 0.94× | 18 | 1,019 |
| Louisiana | $58,960 | 1,300 | 1.95× | 20 | 957 |
| Maryland | $79,150 | 2,010 | 2.12× | 8 | 893 |
| Nebraska | $80,490 | 340 | 0.95× | 12 | 682 |
| Wisconsin | $96,260 | 800 | 0.79× | 24 | 646 |
| Michigan | $78,150 | 1,020 | 0.68× | 31 | 643 |
| Nevada | $107,260 | 190 | 0.36× | 5 | 552 |
| South Carolina | $77,110 | 360 | 0.46× | 22 | 546 |
| New Mexico | $63,380 | 530 | 1.79× | 18 | 432 |
| Arkansas | $49,590 | 1,720 | 3.85× | 22 | 423 |
| Connecticut | $89,160 | 490 | 0.85× | 10 | 420 |
| Minnesota | $96,720 | 750 | 0.74× | 27 | 411 |
| Utah | $110,410 | 340 | 0.57× | 6 | 388 |
| Alabama | $80,230 | 470 | 0.65× | 8 | 345 |
| Tennessee | $74,140 | 740 | 0.66× | 27 | 330 |
| Iowa | $74,420 | 310 | 0.57× | 26 | 328 |
| Kentucky | $62,780 | 780 | 1.14× | 15 | 323 |
| Missouri | $46,840 | 1,090 | 1.08× | 15 | 310 |
| Oregon | $99,890 | 610 | 0.90× | 12 | 256 |
| Idaho | $79,330 | 160 | 0.56× | 6 | 226 |
| Kansas | $71,590 | 1,080 | 2.20× | 11 | 215 |
| Mississippi | $56,470 | 340 | 0.85× | 11 | 214 |
| Oklahoma | $56,100 | 530 | 0.90× | 10 | 202 |
| Washington | $98,910 | 1,400 | 1.15× | 5 | 172 |
| North Dakota | $73,240 | 180 | 1.20× | 7 | 163 |
| South Dakota | $77,400 | 80 | 0.51× | 8 | 115 |
| Maine | $67,750 | 140 | 0.64× | 7 | 101 |
| Wyoming | $70,770 | 110 | 1.12× | 7 | 94 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $85,550 | 150 | 0.64× | 2 | 71 |
| Hawaiilimited | $97,200 | 60 | 0.28× | 2 | 42 |
| Montana | $74,630 | 240 | 1.38× | 5 | 31 |
| Vermontlimited | $81,700 | 60 | 0.55× | 2 | 24 |
| Delawarelimited | $84,760 | 240 | 1.44× | 1 | 14 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Take, receive, or check periodic inmate counts.
- Maintain order, discipline, and security within assigned areas in accordance with relevant rules, regulations, policies, and laws.
- Maintain knowledge of, comply with, and enforce all institutional policies, rules, procedures, and regulations.
- Respond to emergencies, such as escapes.
- Supervise and direct the work of correctional officers to ensure the safe custody, discipline, and welfare of inmates.
- Supervise or perform searches of inmates or their quarters to locate contraband items.
- Monitor behavior of subordinates to ensure alert, courteous, and professional behavior toward inmates, parolees, fellow employees, visitors, and the public.
- Restrain, secure, or control offenders, using chemical agents, firearms, or other weapons of force as necessary.
Skills
- Monitoring4.0
- Active Listening4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Speaking3.9
- Reading Comprehension3.8
- Writing3.5
- Active Learning3.3
- Learning Strategies3.1
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.8
- Law and Government4.4
- Administration and Management4.2
- Psychology4.1
- English Language4.0
- Administrative3.7
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.0
- Problem Sensitivity4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Deductive Reasoning4.0
- Written Comprehension3.9
- Inductive Reasoning3.8
Core activities
- Documenting/Recording Information4.7
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.6
- Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others4.5
- Getting Information4.5
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards4.4
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.4
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
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 40,687 degrees in 2024-25, 86.7% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections. Together they graduate about 46,919 people a year.
How much do first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn?+
The median is $77,970 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $52,330 at the 10th percentile to $127,780 at the 90th. 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?+
998 institutions 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 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.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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