Majors

Best Colleges for Criminal Justice, by Earnings

716 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice, about 42,560 degrees a year. Across the 534 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $54,880 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	Calumet College of Saint Joseph	IN	$106,465	65
2	National University	CA	$81,299	103
3	Fisher College	MA	$80,136	22	70.7%
4	George Washington University	DC	$80,070	63	47.1%
5	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota	MN	$79,464	12	92.8%
6	Quinnipiac University	CT	$79,098	32	72.2%
7	Trinity Christian College	IL	$78,165	6	84.9%
8	Northeastern University	MA	$77,477	70	5.2%
9	Anna Maria College	MA	$76,013	47	50.3%
10	Nichols College	MA	$75,321	30	80.8%
11	Seattle University	WA	$74,018	29	76.9%
12	Concordia University-Saint Paul	MN	$73,060	29	78.9%
13	Marymount University	VA	$73,058	31	93.2%
14	Siena Heights University	MI	$72,791	50	68.9%
15	Nova Southeastern University	FL	$71,972	26	73.2%
16	Mercer University	GA	$71,602	12	68.9%
17	Marian University	WI	$70,934	27	75%
18	Roger Williams University	RI	$70,747	98	87.7%
19	Franklin Pierce University	NH	$70,125	32	93.5%
20	Norwich University	VT	$70,075	117	74.4%
21	Utica University	NY	$69,898	50	92%
22	University of Maryland Global Campus	MD	$69,848	349
23	Merrimack College	MA	$69,615	81	70%
24	Herzing University-Minneapolis	MN	$69,601	1	93.8%
25	Herzing University-Kenosha	WI	$69,601	1	92%
26	George Mason University	VA	$69,511	362	87.5%
27	Lynn University	FL	$68,824	27	73.5%
28	Reinhardt University	GA	$67,847	13	61.5%
29	Monmouth University	NJ	$67,842	41	89%
30	Salve Regina University	RI	$67,622	42	68.2%
31	Minot State University	ND	$67,554	33	64.6%
32	Westfield State University	MA	$67,363	143	81.4%
33	Bowie State University	MD	$67,303	102	72.4%
34	Centenary University	NJ	$67,181	13	83.1%
35	Saint Edward's University	TX	$66,986	25	81.4%
36	American University	DC	$66,970	104	62%
37	Sonoma State University	CA	$66,892	57	93.4%
38	Felician University	NJ	$66,879	15
39	Saint Cloud State University	MN	$66,850	46	94.8%
40	Western Connecticut State University	CT	$66,510	76	87%
41	University of Massachusetts-Lowell	MA	$66,258	210	83%
42	Tiffin University	OH	$66,059	35	80.1%
43	Marist University	NY	$65,881	51	56.5%
44	High Point University	NC	$65,607	45	75.3%
45	California Baptist University	CA	$65,603	61	84.9%
46	Worcester State University	MA	$65,588	83	88%
47	Citadel Military College of South Carolina	SC	$65,574	52	22.7%
48	North Park University	IL	$65,032	18	68.5%
49	California State University-East Bay	CA	$64,835	166	97.4%
50	Southwest Minnesota State University	MN	$64,654	14	62.2%
51	Minnesota State University-Mankato	MN	$64,585	94	88.4%
52	Metropolitan State University	MN	$64,481	83	98.7%
53	Curry College	MA	$64,406	63	87.7%
54	University of Northwestern-St Paul	MN	$64,339	6	93.5%
55	Bridgewater State University	MA	$64,178	145	87.8%
56	DeSales University	PA	$64,020	30	77.1%
57	St. John's University-New York	NY	$63,978	196	83.4%
58	San Francisco State University	CA	$63,764	204	96.4%
59	Pace University	NY	$63,514	65	75.9%
60	University of Scranton	PA	$63,483	38	81.2%
61	University of Washington-Tacoma Campus	WA	$63,311	61	82.5%
62	Shenandoah University	VA	$63,290	21	77%
63	Southwestern College	KS	$63,138	18	75.6%
64	Western Illinois University	IL	$63,125	197	71.2%
65	Roosevelt University	IL	$63,081	35	97.2%
66	Benedictine University	IL	$63,033	14	95.2%
67	University of Baltimore	MD	$63,032	31	78.7%
68	Bethel University	TN	$62,967	65	60.2%
69	University of Sioux Falls	SD	$62,792	19	82.9%
70	Michigan State University	MI	$62,715	232	84.8%
71	Lewis University	IL	$62,640	73	71.3%
72	California State University-Sacramento	CA	$62,583	539	94%
73	Illinois State University	IL	$62,506	176	88.2%
74	Fitchburg State University	MA	$62,396	58	86.9%
75	Delaware Valley University	PA	$62,317	15	93.2%
76	University of Indianapolis	IN	$62,307	37	66.5%
77	University of Massachusetts-Boston	MA	$62,222	144	83.8%
78	Winona State University	MN	$62,220	30	75.5%
79	Wingate University	NC	$62,075	34	91.1%
80	Saint Ambrose University	IA	$61,988	27	77.3%
81	Rutgers University-Newark	NJ	$61,817	194	71.4%
82	Rutgers University-New Brunswick	NJ	$61,817	167	58.1%
83	Rutgers University-Camden	NJ	$61,817	76	66.3%
84	Montana State University-Northern	MT	$61,748	13
85	University of St Francis	IL	$61,741	13	65.3%
86	University of Oklahoma	OK	$61,731	33	76.6%
87	Liberty University	VA	$61,715	572	99%
88	The College of New Jersey	NJ	$61,605	63	62.3%
89	Stevenson University	MD	$61,348	41	78.9%
90	Thomas University	GA	$61,295	50	38.3%
91	University of Colorado Denver/Anschutz Medical Campus	CO	$61,192	80	74.7%
92	Iowa State University	IA	$61,166	110	88.7%
93	Saint Louis University	MO	$61,099	35	75%
94	Southern New Hampshire University	NH	$61,027	895	99.5%
95	Neumann University	PA	$60,851	13	81.3%
96	Aurora University	IL	$60,808	76	80.9%
97	Central Washington University	WA	$60,761	140	90.6%
98	Texas Woman's University	TX	$60,708	28	96.1%
99	Canisius University	NY	$60,674	16	72.4%
100	University of New Haven	CT	$60,656	247	60.4%

Showing the top 100 of 534 colleges that report earnings. 182 more colleges award this degree but have no earnings figure, usually because the program is small.

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Frequently asked questions

Which college has the highest-paid Criminal Justice graduates?

Calumet College of Saint Joseph ($106,465), National University ($81,299), Fisher College ($80,136), George Washington University ($80,070), Saint Mary's University of Minnesota ($79,464) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Criminal Justice majors make?

The median across 534 colleges is $54,880 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $21,931 to $106,465.

Which colleges have the biggest Criminal Justice programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (1,454), Southern New Hampshire University (895), Sam Houston State University (888), Liberty University (572), Florida State University (554).

Does a higher-earning program mean a better program?

Not on its own. Earnings reflect where graduates live, what jobs they take, and who enrolled in the first place, as well as the teaching. The figures cover only graduates who received federal financial aid, and small programs are left out, so a college missing from this list may still have a strong department.

Source: College Scorecard, Most Recent Data by Field of Study (U.S. Department of Education), 2026-06-10 release, federal program category "Criminal Justice and Corrections". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.