College Rankings

Best Criminology Schools

The top 25 of 110 U.S. colleges offering an undergraduate Criminology degree, ranked by early-career earnings and return on investment — using each school's real, aid-adjusted net price rather than sticker tuition.

Is Criminology worth it?

A criminology degree is a reliable investment, but only if you are ruthless about keeping your tuition costs down. Because many graduates enter public service, local law enforcement, or state-level agencies, entry-level salaries are often rigidly defined by government pay scales rather than open-market bidding wars. The financial value here is overwhelmingly found at accessible public universities and state colleges. If you leverage a low-cost public degree into a federal agency role or a private-sector corporate security position, the degree pays for itself rapidly. However, taking on massive debt at a high-priced private college for a career in local probation or social services is a financial trap.

Filter by state

#	School	State	Score	Median earnings	Net price / yr	10-yr net ROI
1	University of Southern Maine	ME	58	$47,726	$13,596†	+$423K
2	University of Maryland-College Park	MD	57	$43,698	$15,678†	+$374K
3	University of Florida-Online	FL	56	$35,096	$4,815†	+$332K
4	University of Florida	FL	55	$35,096	$6,541†	+$325K
5	Mount St. Mary's University	MD	54	$43,230	$22,655	+$342K
6	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	54	$33,798	$3,203†	+$325K
7	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	52	$42,562	$18,743†	+$351K
8	University at Albany	NY	52	$42,257	$17,167†	+$354K
9	SUNY Old Westbury	NY	52	$38,764	$11,282†	+$343K
10	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities	MN	51	$41,780	$16,778†	+$351K
11	Framingham State University	MA	51	$41,431	$16,114†	+$350K
12	Central Connecticut State University	CT	50	$40,713	$16,857†	+$340K
13	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	50	$39,804	$15,927†	+$334K
14	Indiana State University	IN	50	$39,769	$10,873†	+$354K
15	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus	NJ	50	$37,619	$15,404	+$315K
16	University of South Florida	FL	50	$37,108	$9,812†	+$332K
17	California State University-San Marcos	CA	50	$34,694	$10,229†	+$306K
18	Saint Anselm College	NH	49	$46,814	$34,779	+$329K
19	University of Northern Iowa	IA	49	$43,914	$15,901†	+$376K
20	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	PA	49	$43,283	$29,689	+$314K
21	Eastern Washington University	WA	49	$40,228	$13,886†	+$347K
22	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	49	$40,060	$14,158†	+$344K
23	Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus	OH	49	$39,396	$16,197†	+$329K
24	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	49	$37,645	$13,297†	+$323K
25	University of Delaware	DE	49	$35,968	$17,799†	+$288K
26	North Carolina State University at Raleigh	NC	49	$35,076	$17,303†	+$282K
27	University of California-Irvine	CA	49	$34,522	$14,251†	+$288K
28	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	MA	48	$37,535	$20,927†	+$292K
29	University of Wisconsin-River Falls	WI	47	$45,113	$14,054†	+$395K
30	Ohio State University-Main Campus	OH	47	$39,396	$17,339†	+$325K
31	Wright State University-Lake Campus	OH	47	$37,476	$11,081†	+$330K
32	Northern Arizona University	AZ	47	$37,214	$14,158†	+$316K
33	Eastern Michigan University	MI	47	$36,891	$15,407†	+$307K
34	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	46	$49,004	$17,490†	+$420K
35	University of St Thomas	MN	46	$41,780	$29,155	+$301K
36	Lebanon Valley College	PA	46	$38,828	$26,979	+$280K
37	University of Akron Main Campus	OH	45	$38,087	$13,946†	+$325K
38	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	45	$37,911	$16,804†	+$312K
39	Old Dominion University	VA	45	$37,255	$14,638†	+$314K
40	University of Houston-Clear Lake	TX	45	$35,673	$15,563†	+$294K
41	Dominican University	IL	45	$31,758	$11,745	+$271K
42	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	44	$40,603	$18,267†	+$333K
43	Lasell University	MA	44	$40,527	$27,511	+$295K
44	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus	NH	44	$39,814	$23,805†	+$303K
45	University of Missouri-St Louis	MO	44	$38,207	$15,071†	+$322K
46	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	44	$34,768	$22,345†	+$258K
47	University of La Verne	CA	44	$34,292	$20,161	+$262K
48	California State University-Fresno	CA	44	$31,224	$7,000†	+$284K
49	Delaware State University	DE	44	$30,710	$13,910†	+$251K
50	Valparaiso University	IN	44	$30,653	$18,578	+$232K
51	University of Massachusetts Global	CA	43	$42,698	$32,654†	+$296K
52	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus	NJ	43	$37,619	$22,829	+$285K
53	University of West Georgia	GA	43	$33,839	$12,786†	+$287K
54	Cleveland State University	OH	43	$32,393	$14,764†	+$265K
55	Stonehill College	MA	42	$40,928	$33,016	+$277K
56	Southern Wesleyan University	SC	42	$40,834	$15,464	+$346K
57	St. John Fisher University	NY	42	$33,623	$28,945	+$220K
58	Assumption University	MA	41	$48,600	$29,498	+$368K
59	Lakeland University	WI	41	$45,276	$24,212	+$356K
60	Concordia University-Chicago	IL	41	$41,724	$18,436	+$343K
61	Lycoming College	PA	41	$40,646	$19,140	+$330K
62	Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	41	$37,476	$15,415†	+$313K
63	Stockton University	NJ	41	$34,596	$20,670†	+$263K
64	Capital University	OH	41	$32,984	$22,576	+$240K
65	Gonzaga University	WA	40	$38,028	$35,119	+$240K
66	Arkansas State University	AR	40	$36,732	$12,366†	+$318K
67	Hofstra University	NY	40	$35,249	$34,176	+$216K
68	Texas A&M University-Kingsville	TX	40	$30,490	$12,090†	+$257K
69	Virginia Union University	VA	40	$30,291	$13,235	+$250K
70	Barry University	FL	39	$44,015	$22,613	+$350K
71	Upper Iowa University	IA	39	$43,170	$20,942	+$348K
72	University of Saint Mary	KS	39	$42,633	$22,519	+$336K
73	William Peace University	NC	39	$41,509	$21,649	+$328K
74	Hamline University	MN	39	$41,204	$20,744	+$329K
75	University of Central Arkansas	AR	39	$38,453	$16,511†	+$318K
76	Saint Vincent College	PA	39	$37,563	$23,510	+$282K
77	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	39	$36,185	$17,613†	+$291K
78	Western Kentucky University	KY	39	$32,370	$10,990†	+$280K
79	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	39	$29,123	$13,171†	+$239K
80	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	38	$39,705	$21,067†	+$313K
81	Ohio University-Main Campus	OH	38	$39,349	$21,637†	+$307K
82	Georgia Southern University	GA	38	$35,588	$15,267†	+$295K
83	University of Iowa	IA	37	$38,520	$22,531†	+$295K
84	Niagara University	NY	37	$36,781	$17,248	+$299K
85	Marquette University	WI	37	$35,650	$31,487	+$231K
86	Loyola University New Orleans	LA	37	$35,578	$23,696	+$261K
87	Drexel University	PA	36	$40,229	$38,509	+$248K
88	Florida Southern College	FL	36	$39,713	$28,551	+$283K
89	Clemson University	SC	36	$38,057	$22,253†	+$292K
90	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	36	$36,276	$19,608†	+$284K
91	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	36	$34,443	$20,109†	+$264K
92	University of Miami	FL	36	$29,670	$37,244	+$148K
93	Emmanuel College	MA	35	$36,824	$26,706	+$261K
94	Mississippi State University	MS	35	$33,191	$17,595†	+$262K
95	National Louis University	IL	35	$30,170	$12,641	+$251K
96	Eastern University	PA	34	$34,876	$26,662	+$242K
97	St. Mary's University	TX	32	$33,978	$21,145	+$255K
98	Arcadia University	PA	32	$33,823	$29,466	+$220K
99	Johnson C Smith University	NC	32	$32,751	$20,894	+$244K
100	Saint Edward's University	TX	32	$31,839	$25,578	+$216K
101	University of Rhode Island	RI	32	$31,729	$21,440†	+$232K
102	University of Denver	CO	31	$40,667	$36,131	+$262K
103	California Lutheran University	CA	31	$31,963	$30,109	+$199K
104	The University of Tampa	FL	30	$34,137	$36,211	+$197K
105	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus	PR	29	$19,300	$7,051	+$165K
106	Coker University	SC	28	$25,862	$20,286	+$177K
107	Flagler College	FL	25	$29,240	$30,525	+$170K
108	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo	PR	20	$16,199	$11,117	+$118K
109	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez	PR	20	$16,199	$11,502	+$116K
110	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce	PR	19	$16,199	$13,192	+$109K

Top 10 programs by 10-year net ROI

How to read this: Median earnings = typical pay one year after graduation. Net price = average annual cost after grant aid, incl. living costs — not sticker tuition. 10-yr net ROI = ten years of earnings minus four years of net price. Score = the CollegeRanked Score (0–100) that sets the order — it blends ROI with longer-run earnings, job demand and automation resilience, so a school can outrank one with a slightly higher 10-yr ROI. † = public university — net price shown is the in-state cost; out-of-state students pay more. See the full methodology.

Why these schools rank where they do

Geography and government pipelines dictate this ranking. The University of Southern Maine captures the #1 spot not through coastal prestige, but by operating as a direct funnel into New England's state agencies, regional law enforcement, and federal border and customs outposts. Because it costs a fraction of what private regional colleges charge, graduates step into stable government roles with minimal debt.

Proximity to power is the other major theme. The University of Maryland-College Park (#2) and Mount St. Mary's University (#5) dominate the top tier because they sit in the backyard of the federal government. UMD students can practically take the Metro to internships at the FBI, DHS, and the Department of Justice, giving them a massive head start on the federal GS pay scale. Similarly, CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (#6) punches far above its weight. It is arguably the most famous criminal justice institution in the country, maintaining an ironclad pipeline into the NYPD, federal task forces, and private intelligence firms in Manhattan.

What is Criminology?

Criminology is the sociological and psychological study of crime—why it happens, who commits it, and how society responds. While criminal justice focuses on the mechanics of the legal system, criminologists look at the root causes and behavioral data, leading graduates to careers as intelligence analysts, federal agents, policy researchers, and fraud investigators.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between criminology and criminal justice?

Criminology is the theoretical and sociological study of crime—focusing on why people break the law and how society reacts. Criminal justice is the applied study of the system itself, covering police procedure, courts, and corrections. While the two fields overlap heavily (and many colleges combine them), criminology tends to be more focused on research, data analysis, and behavioral science.

Do I still need to go to a police academy?

If you want to become a sworn police officer, yes. A university degree does not replace state-mandated academy training. However, having a criminology bachelor's degree makes you highly competitive for federal law enforcement roles, accelerates your promotion track to detective or leadership positions, and opens doors to civilian intelligence roles that don't require carrying a badge.

What are the best private-sector jobs for this major?

While government work is the most visible path, the private sector is where the highest salaries live. Criminology graduates are heavily recruited by banks for anti-money laundering (AML) and financial fraud investigation. Major corporations also hire them for corporate security, loss prevention leadership, and cyber threat analysis, valuing their ability to spot behavioral anomalies and assess risk.