West Virginia·Protective Service Occupations·SOC 33-1011

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

Directly supervise and coordinate activities of correctional officers and.

18 schools in West Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,019 people a year. The job pays a median of $56,490 in West Virginia across about 230 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledCorrectional SupervisorCorrectional Officer CaptainGuard ChiefUnit ManagerWard SupervisorGuard SupervisorShift SupervisorCorrection Warden
Graduates / yr
1,019
in West Virginia
Median pay · West Virginia
$56,490
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
230
people employed
Schools
18
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
37%
across those schools
Median net price
$17,325
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in West Virginia that lead to this job

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

2 programs in West Virginia that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in West Virginia (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 West Virginia page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
11,015
99.6%
17$37,408$24,069
24
0.4%
1$37,408$24,069

Top 18 schools in West Virginia

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 18 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1American Public University System
Charles Town, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
751Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$57,40957%$10,199
2Marshall University
Huntington, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
49Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$32,74751%96%
3West Virginia State University
Institute, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
42Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$39,05639%96%
4Fairmont State University
Fairmont, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
41Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$36,17944%99%
5Blue Ridge Community and Technical College
Martinsburg, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
26Criminal Justice/Safety Studies32%
6Salem University
Salem, WV Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs
24Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$25,66520%$14,845
7West Virginia University at Parkersburg
Parkersburg, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
24Criminal Justice/Safety Studies9%
8Potomac State College of West Virginia University
Keyser, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
16Criminal Justice/Safety Studies31%
9West Virginia Wesleyan College
Buckhannon, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
13Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$31,40057%$17,32593%
10Bluefield State University
Bluefield, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
9Criminal Justice/Safety Studies$30,50637%97%
11Wheeling University
Wheeling, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Criminal Justice/Safety Studies23%$18,04263%
12Bethany College
Bethany, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
4Criminal Justice and Corrections, General47%$15,78359%
13Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College
Logan, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
4Criminal Justice/Safety Studies29%
14West Liberty University
West Liberty, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
4Criminal Justice/Safety Studies60%97%
15Mountwest Community and Technical College
Huntington, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
2Criminal Justice/Safety Studies19%
16New River Community and Technical College
Beaver, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
2Criminal Justice/Safety Studies36%
17Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, WV Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1Criminal Justice/Safety Studies39%$19,28494%
18Glenville State University
Glenville, WV Public · 1 feeder programs
1Criminal Justice/Safety Studies34%

All 18 schools in West Virginia

Every school in West Virginia 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 West Virginia that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
American Public University SystemCharles TownPrivate for-profit7511
Marshall UniversityHuntingtonPublic491
West Virginia State UniversityInstitutePublic421
Fairmont State UniversityFairmontPublic411
Blue Ridge Community and Technical CollegeMartinsburgPublic261
Salem UniversitySalemPrivate for-profit241
West Virginia University at ParkersburgParkersburgPublic241
Potomac State College of West Virginia UniversityKeyserPublic161
West Virginia Wesleyan CollegeBuckhannonPrivate not-for-profit131
Bluefield State UniversityBluefieldPublic91
Wheeling UniversityWheelingPrivate not-for-profit61
Bethany CollegeBethanyPrivate not-for-profit41
Southern West Virginia Community and Technical CollegeLoganPublic41
West Liberty UniversityWest LibertyPublic41
Mountwest Community and Technical CollegeHuntingtonPublic21

What first-line supervisors of correctional officers earn in West Virginia

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

Median annual in West Virginia
$56,490
Mean annual
$63,990
Jobs in state
230
What the range looks like
10th pct$39,850Median$56,49090th pct$96,100
Versus the national median
-27.5%

U.S. median $77,970. West Virginia pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
0.94×

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

Metro areas in West Virginia

Beckley, WV
$57,590median
40 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 West Virginia

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 West Virginia.

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 1,015 degrees in West Virginia in 2024-25, 99.6% 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 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Criminal Justice and Corrections. Together they graduate about 1,019 people a year in West Virginia.

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

The median is $56,490 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 27.5% below 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 West Virginia?+

18 institutions in West Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 2 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 statesTexasCaliforniaFloridaVirginiaArizonaNorth CarolinaGeorgiaIndiana
Programs in West VirginiaCriminal 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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