Ranked by graduate earnings

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.

Quick answer

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.

#SchoolCredentialMedian earningsMedian debtCompletersScore
1Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$88,630$5,1008896.7
2Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$92,087$9,25010196.3
3
Scranton, PA
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$85,937$4,8657496.2
4
HTC
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$73,991$5,32920595
5Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$78,216$4,8927394.9
6Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$83,753$5,5002592.7
7Bachelor's Degree$128,406$18,75015992.6
8Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$66,994$8,12729491.4
9Master's Degree$116,495$18,7295490.7
10Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$69,254$6,9575290.5
11Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$80,192$9,5001789.7
12Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$67,559$9,0006889.6
13Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$106,298-45289.4
14Master's Degree$109,714$20,5008789.2
15Bachelor's Degree$75,828$14,5835589.2
16Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$79,160$6,5151089.1
17Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$69,512$11,0006089.1
18Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$105,621-18188.8
19Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$99,385-18788.8
20Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$68,205$4,7503288.8
21Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$67,938$4,7503288.8
22Bachelor's Degree$106,465$19,5004188.6
23Bachelor's Degree$80,070$19,5008688.5
24
Moreno Valley, CA
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$89,812-24288.5
25Bachelor's Degree$69,511$17,75032987.9
26Associate's Degree$66,000$12,14013087.9
27Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$88,122-13887.7
28Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$65,241$4,5583987.6
29Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$79,891-32087.5
30Associate's Degree$67,066$12,0006487.4
31Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$82,828-14587.3
32Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$64,741$9,6807587.2
33Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$73,204$6,992987.1
34
Oroville, CA
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$82,708-11887
35Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$63,966$8,1745986.8
36Master's Degree$94,267-5686.6
37Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$81,626-9886.6
38Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$77,912-19686.5
39Graduate/Professional Certificate$97,509-4786.4
40
YC
Marysville, CA
Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$79,313-10986.3
41Bachelor's Degree$72,791$19,2866286.1
42Bachelor's Degree$70,354$20,20924586
43Bachelor's Degree$64,835$15,00023885.9
44Bachelor's Degree$69,848$20,40635385.8
45Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$86,096-5285.8
46Bachelor's Degree$63,311$11,62810185.8
47Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$90,593-4185.6
48Bachelor's Degree$77,477$20,8896285.5
49Undergraduate Certificate or Diploma$113,262-3185.3
50Bachelor's Degree$63,764$14,99226685.2

Hidden Gems for Criminal Justice

Lower-profile schools with a genuinely strong outcome score for Criminal Justice - the famous brand names and mega-flagships are deliberately filtered out.

#SchoolMedian earningsAdmit rateScore
1
Media, PA
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$88,630-96.7
2
Buffalo, NY
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$92,087-96.3
3
Scranton, PA
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$85,937-96.2
4
HTC
Brooklyn Park, MN
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$73,991-95
5
Greeley, CO
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$83,753-92.7
6
UIU
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$128,406-92.6
7
Monroe, OH
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$69,254-90.5
8
Jamestown, NY
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$80,192-89.7
9
St. Cloud, MN
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, lower-profile than the field’s famous names
$79,160-89.1
10
Eau Claire, WI
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$69,512-89.1
11
Devils Lake, ND
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$68,205-88.8
12
Wausau, WI
Strong Criminal Justice outcome score, smaller, lower-profile campus
$67,938-88.8

Hidden Gems use the same College Scorecard outcome score, then drop the pool’s most-selective brands (bottom-quartile admit rate) and largest campuses (top-quartile enrollment). Schools that don’t report admit rate or enrollment are not dropped by that guard.

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. GetInto.College does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.