Best Colleges for Criminal Justice
50 Criminal Justice programs ranked by real graduate earnings, debt, and completion — from the College Scorecard Field-of-Study data.
For Criminal Justice, Delaware County Community College (Pennsylvania) ranks #1 by our outcome score, with median graduate earnings of $88,630. Rankings reflect earnings, debt, and completion — not reputation or cost — across 50 programs with published outcome data.
| # | School | Credential | Median earnings | Median debt | Completers | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware County Community College Media, PA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $88,630 | $5,100 | 88 | 96.7 |
| 2 | Erie Community College Buffalo, NY | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $92,087 | $9,250 | 101 | 96.3 |
| 3 | Lackawanna College Scranton, PA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $85,937 | $4,865 | 74 | 96.2 |
| 4 | Hennepin Technical College Brooklyn Park, MN | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $73,991 | $5,329 | 205 | 95 |
| 5 | Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, FL | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $78,216 | $4,892 | 73 | 94.9 |
| 6 | Aims Community College Greeley, CO | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $83,753 | $5,500 | 25 | 92.7 |
| 7 | Union Institute & University | Bachelor's Degree | $128,406 | $18,750 | 159 | 92.6 |
| 8 | Hillsborough Community College Tampa, FL | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $66,994 | $8,127 | 294 | 91.4 |
| 9 | Salve Regina University Newport, RI | Master's Degree | $116,495 | $18,729 | 54 | 90.7 |
| 10 | Butler Technology and Career Development Schools Monroe, OH | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $69,254 | $6,957 | 52 | 90.5 |
| 11 | Jamestown Community College Jamestown, NY | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $80,192 | $9,500 | 17 | 89.7 |
| 12 | Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, MI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $67,559 | $9,000 | 68 | 89.6 |
| 13 | Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $106,298 | — | 452 | 89.4 |
| 14 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA | Master's Degree | $109,714 | $20,500 | 87 | 89.2 |
| 15 | Excelsior University Albany, NY | Bachelor's Degree | $75,828 | $14,583 | 55 | 89.2 |
| 16 | Rasmussen University-Minnesota St. Cloud, MN | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $79,160 | $6,515 | 10 | 89.1 |
| 17 | Chippewa Valley Technical College Eau Claire, WI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $69,512 | $11,000 | 60 | 89.1 |
| 18 | San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $105,621 | — | 181 | 88.8 |
| 19 | San Bernardino Valley College San Bernardino, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $99,385 | — | 187 | 88.8 |
| 20 | Lake Region State College Devils Lake, ND | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $68,205 | $4,750 | 32 | 88.8 |
| 21 | Northcentral Technical College Wausau, WI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $67,938 | $4,750 | 32 | 88.8 |
| 22 | Calumet College of Saint Joseph Whiting, IN | Bachelor's Degree | $106,465 | $19,500 | 41 | 88.6 |
| 23 | George Washington University Washington, DC | Bachelor's Degree | $80,070 | $19,500 | 86 | 88.5 |
| 24 | Moreno Valley College Moreno Valley, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $89,812 | — | 242 | 88.5 |
| 25 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA | Bachelor's Degree | $69,511 | $17,750 | 329 | 87.9 |
| 26 | Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL | Associate's Degree | $66,000 | $12,140 | 130 | 87.9 |
| 27 | Red Rocks Community College Lakewood, CO | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $88,122 | — | 138 | 87.7 |
| 28 | Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools Groveport, OH | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $65,241 | $4,558 | 39 | 87.6 |
| 29 | Community College of Baltimore County Baltimore, MD | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $79,891 | — | 320 | 87.5 |
| 30 | Alexandria Technical & Community College Alexandria, MN | Associate's Degree | $67,066 | $12,000 | 64 | 87.4 |
| 31 | Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $82,828 | — | 145 | 87.3 |
| 32 | Fox Valley Technical College Appleton, WI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $64,741 | $9,680 | 75 | 87.2 |
| 33 | Great Oaks Career Campuses Cincinnati, OH | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $73,204 | $6,992 | 9 | 87.1 |
| 34 | Butte College Oroville, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $82,708 | — | 118 | 87 |
| 35 | Owens Community College Perrysburg, OH | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $63,966 | $8,174 | 59 | 86.8 |
| 36 | Columbus State University Columbus, GA | Master's Degree | $94,267 | — | 56 | 86.6 |
| 37 | Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, MI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $81,626 | — | 98 | 86.6 |
| 38 | Southwestern Illinois College Belleville, IL | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $77,912 | — | 196 | 86.5 |
| 39 | University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA | Graduate/Professional Certificate | $97,509 | — | 47 | 86.4 |
| 40 | Yuba College Marysville, CA | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $79,313 | — | 109 | 86.3 |
| 41 | Siena Heights University Adrian, MI | Bachelor's Degree | $72,791 | $19,286 | 62 | 86.1 |
| 42 | Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, AL | Bachelor's Degree | $70,354 | $20,209 | 245 | 86 |
| 43 | California State University-East Bay Hayward, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $64,835 | $15,000 | 238 | 85.9 |
| 44 | University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, MD | Bachelor's Degree | $69,848 | $20,406 | 353 | 85.8 |
| 45 | Waukesha County Technical College Pewaukee, WI | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $86,096 | — | 52 | 85.8 |
| 46 | University of Washington-Tacoma Campus Tacoma, WA | Bachelor's Degree | $63,311 | $11,628 | 101 | 85.8 |
| 47 | Front Range Community College Westminster, CO | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $90,593 | — | 41 | 85.6 |
| 48 | Northeastern University Boston, MA | Bachelor's Degree | $77,477 | $20,889 | 62 | 85.5 |
| 49 | Monroe Community College Rochester, NY | Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma | $113,262 | — | 31 | 85.3 |
| 50 | San Francisco State University San Francisco, CA | Bachelor's Degree | $63,764 | $14,992 | 266 | 85.2 |
How we ranked this
Programs are scored 0–100 within the Criminal Justice field (CIP 43.01) using three College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (weighted 70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, inverted so lower debt scores higher), and completer count (10%, log-scaled). Each input is percentile-ranked against the other Criminal Justice programs, so the score is robust to outliers and comparable across schools. Programs with no published earnings are excluded — never given a fabricated number. This is the same engine that powers our interactive Major Rankings. Minimum 5 scorable programs required to publish.
Frequently asked questions
Which college has the best Criminal Justice program?+
By our outcome score, Delaware County Community College (Pennsylvania) ranks #1 for Criminal Justice, with median graduate earnings of $88,630.
How are these Criminal Justice programs ranked?+
Each program gets a 0–100 outcome score from three real College Scorecard figures: median graduate earnings (70%), median federal-loan debt (20%, lower is better), and completer count (10%). Programs are compared within the major so the score reflects the best schools for this field specifically.
Where does the earnings and debt data come from?+
The U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field-of-Study file, which publishes median earnings and median debt by institution and major (4-digit CIP). Figures are post-graduation medians; programs without published earnings are not scored and are omitted from this ranking.
Can I filter Criminal Justice programs by state or degree level?+
Yes. This page shows the national top programs; use the interactive Major Rankings tool to filter the same data by state, and by credential level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral).
Keep exploring
Data sources: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Field of Study) · IPEDS Completions. Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.