Major Rankings

Best Colleges for Criminology

Ranked by graduate earnings. Data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard — updated 2026.

Programs tracked: 111

Avg grad salary: $45,116

Total graduates: 9,097

Top Colleges for Criminology — Ranked by Graduate Earnings

Showing schools with reported earnings data. Earnings reflect median graduate salary 4 years after graduation (or 1 year where 4-year data is unavailable).

#	School	Median Salary (4yr)	Starting Salary (1yr)	Graduates	Median Debt	Admit Rate
1	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA	$69,525	$38,028	33	$20,994	76.0%
2	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA	$66,640	$43,283	18	$25,000	86.4%
3	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH	$64,949	$46,814	58	$27,000	78.3%
4	Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA	$63,773	$38,828	17	N/A	74.5%
5	University of Delaware Newark, DE	$60,214	$35,968	167	$23,685	65.1%
6	University of Maryland College Park, MD	$60,067	$43,698	242	$19,500	44.8%
7	Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, MD	$59,772	$43,230	38	$27,000	71.9%
8	NC State Raleigh, NC	$56,907	$35,076	46	$21,875	39.9%
9	Lasell University Newton, MA	$56,726	$40,527	27	$27,000	82.3%
10	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN	$56,600	$41,780	24	$27,000	84.9%
11	University of Massachusetts Global Aliso Viejo, CA	$56,469	$42,698	32	$25,725	N/A
12	University of Southern Maine Portland, ME	$56,423	$47,726	33	$23,565	79.3%
13	University at Albany Albany, NY	$56,030	$42,257	138	$21,250	69.9%
14	Stonehill College Easton, MA	$55,475	$40,928	63	$25,000	72.6%
15	State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, NY	$55,104	$34,768	77	$21,500	50.7%
16	University of Houston-Clear Lake Houston, TX	$54,123	$35,673	41	$16,149	75.3%
17	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA	$53,581	$37,535	105	$27,000	92.2%
18	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY	$53,107	$35,249	39	$25,000	70.6%
19	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI	$52,887	$36,891	120	$29,000	81.3%
20	Framingham State University Framingham, MA	$52,600	$41,431	81	$25,974	84.9%
21	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH	$52,536	$39,814	72	$27,000	86.9%
22	University of La Verne La Verne, CA	$52,520	$34,292	54	$26,000	48.5%
23	Cabrini University Radnor, PA	$52,060	$33,632	16	$27,000	69.2%
24	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV	$52,013	$39,804	160	$19,500	85.3%
25	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN	$51,428	$42,562	59	$23,887	81.8%
26	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY	$51,389	$33,798	265	$11,000	57.2%
27	Capital University Columbus, OH	$51,147	$32,984	23	$27,000	73.2%
28	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT	$50,788	$40,713	204	$23,995	75.5%
29	Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA	$50,717	$37,563	27	$27,000	59.1%
30	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL	$50,711	$37,645	120	$24,000	90.4%
31	University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN	$50,669	$41,780	132	$20,500	77.0%
32	UC Irvine Irvine, CA	$50,638	$34,522	483	$15,865	25.6%
33	Ohio State University Columbus, OH	$50,244	$39,396	164	$21,922	50.8%
34	Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus Mansfield, OH	$50,244	$39,396	164	$21,922	N/A
35	University of Florida Gainesville, FL	$49,912	$35,096	180	$19,500	24.0%
36	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL	$49,912	$35,096	180	$19,500	64.4%
37	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA	$49,760	$34,694	281	$14,810	95.7%
38	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	$49,278	$34,596	178	$23,406	88.2%
39	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI	N/A	$49,004	32	$27,000	84.7%
40	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA	$48,878	$40,228	78	$19,295	91.8%
41	Assumption University Worcester, MA	N/A	$48,600	29	$27,000	86.5%
42	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI	$48,522	$35,650	63	$25,000	87.4%
43	Dominican University River Forest, IL	$48,026	$31,758	44	$27,000	79.8%
44	SUNY Old Westbury Old Westbury, NY	$47,612	$38,764	68	$17,800	84.6%
45	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN	$47,268	$30,653	21	$27,000	92.2%
46	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison, NJ	$47,200	$37,619	39	$25,000	95.3%
47	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ	$47,200	$37,619	39	$25,000	95.9%
48	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA	$46,880	$37,911	227	$27,000	91.2%
49	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA	$46,343	$43,914	76	$24,683	94.4%
50	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ	$46,048	$37,214	309	$20,000	91.0%
51	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL	$45,871	$34,137	96	$25,000	40.9%
52	Delaware State University Dover, DE	$45,554	$30,710	59	$26,750	61.7%
53	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	$45,443	$37,108	399	$20,302	41.0%
54	Arcadia University Glenside, PA	$45,372	$33,823	30	$26,000	79.2%
55	Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN	$45,272	$39,769	199	$24,970	91.5%
56	University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI	N/A	$45,113	23	$24,750	81.6%
57	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO	$45,065	$38,207	117	$22,801	57.2%
58	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX	$44,843	$40,603	61	$20,500	65.5%
59	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA	$44,575	$37,255	272	$25,000	90.5%
60	Lycoming College Williamsport, PA	$44,439	$40,646	51	$27,000	67.9%

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are median among graduates who received federal financial aid.

Choosing the Best Criminology Program

Graduate Earnings

Median salary 4 years post-graduation measures the long-term ROI of a program. Higher earnings with lower debt means better financial outcomes.

Program Size

Graduate count signals program maturity. Larger programs often have stronger alumni networks and more job placement resources.

Debt-to-Earnings Ratio

Compare median debt against starting salary. A ratio below 1x means most graduates can repay loans within a year of earnings.

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