Majors

Best Colleges for Criminology, by Earnings

185 of the colleges we track award a bachelor's degree in Criminology, about 9,214 degrees a year. Across the 108 that report earnings, graduates make a median of $55,520 four years after finishing.

Rank	College	State	Median earnings, 4 years out	Degrees a year	Acceptance rate
1	University of Miami	FL	$70,461	41	18.9%
2	University of St Thomas	MN	$70,419	23	85.4%
3	Saint Anselm College	NH	$69,676	49	78.1%
4	Gonzaga University	WA	$68,190	39	81.7%
5	Assumption University	MA	$67,883	18	83%
6	Emmanuel College	MA	$67,814	17	75.7%
7	University of Maryland	MD	$67,258	362	44.8%
8	Maryville University of Saint Louis	MO	$66,612	17	95.1%
9	University of Nevada-Reno	NV	$66,273	18	73.7%
10	Le Moyne College	NY	$65,956	16	83%
11	Stonehill College	MA	$64,957	55	66.3%
12	Pacific University	OR	$64,029	12	89.6%
13	Valparaiso University	IN	$63,772	16	89.4%
14	University of Delaware	DE	$63,553	149	70.6%
15	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater	WI	$63,365	37	85.7%
16	Regis University	CO	$63,255	3	86.5%
17	Central Connecticut State University	CT	$61,950	142	73.3%
18	Lycoming College	PA	$61,144	17	74.1%
19	Niagara University	NY	$60,995	45	87.4%
20	University of Iowa	IA	$60,947	88	83.6%
21	Hamline University	MN	$60,757	41	87.6%
22	The University of Tampa	FL	$60,742	136	40.3%
23	Hofstra University	NY	$60,697	44	68.1%
24	St. John Fisher University	NY	$60,481	18	66.4%
25	Mount St. Mary's University	MD	$60,428	58	73.8%
26	Framingham State University	MA	$59,857	41	83.6%
27	University of Minnesota-Duluth	MN	$59,754	67	88.8%
28	University of New Hampshire	NH	$59,549	81	88.2%
29	University of Southern Maine	ME	$59,270	14	79.2%
30	Oklahoma Wesleyan University	OK	$59,143	3	66.2%
31	Marquette University	WI	$59,083	73	81.3%
32	University of Minnesota	MN	$59,022	125	79.8%
33	Ohio State University	OH	$58,865	142	60.6%
34	Mount St. Joseph University	OH	$58,825	5	59.1%
35	Drexel University	PA	$58,751	27	79.4%
36	Albright College	PA	$58,540	6	76.3%
37	Lebanon Valley College	PA	$58,447	11	83.8%
38	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania	PA	$58,115	55	71.5%
39	Loyola University New Orleans	LA	$58,058	50	93.1%
40	University of Florida	FL	$57,953	209	24.2%
41	University of California-Irvine	CA	$57,935	465	28.6%
42	University of Denver	CO	$57,858	48	77.8%
43	University of Wisconsin-Stout	WI	$57,529	16	87.7%
44	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice	NY	$57,396	204	57.1%
45	William Peace University	NC	$57,305	12	94.3%
46	National Louis University	IL	$56,989	67	95.1%
47	Upper Iowa University	IA	$56,767	44	96.5%
48	Lasell University	MA	$56,766	24	81.2%
49	Northern Arizona University	AZ	$56,676	253	89.6%
50	Old Dominion University	VA	$56,659	192	90.4%
51	State University of New York at Cortland	NY	$56,593	49	59.8%
52	Saint Edward's University	TX	$56,224	1	81.4%
53	Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia	PA	$55,924	24	88.8%
54	Eastern Washington University	WA	$55,621	54	90.8%
55	California State University-San Marcos	CA	$55,418	234	95.1%
56	Stockton University	NJ	$55,408	162	88.9%
57	North Carolina State University	NC	$55,303	67	41.7%
58	Lakeland University	WI	$55,265	8	86.3%
59	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	CA	$55,174	26	98.2%
60	University of Northern Iowa	IA	$54,993	38	92.7%
61	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth	MA	$54,174	64	90.6%
62	University of South Florida	FL	$53,883	387	43.2%
63	Georgia Southern University	GA	$53,766	155	87.9%
64	Indiana University of Pennsylvania	PA	$53,762	117	90.8%
65	Delaware State University	DE	$53,128	42	46.6%
66	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus	NJ	$53,055	33	95.2%
67	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus	NJ	$53,055	2	90.7%
68	Eastern Connecticut State University	CT	$52,942	56	83%
69	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	IL	$52,916	61	86.9%
70	Saint Vincent College	PA	$52,788	21	61.7%
71	Dominican University	IL	$52,775	20	90.3%
72	Cleveland State University	OH	$52,713	69	91.3%
73	SUNY Old Westbury	NY	$52,598	57	83.6%
74	Eastern Michigan University	MI	$52,535	71	79.6%
75	Southern Wesleyan University	SC	$52,534	9	99.5%
76	University of Missouri-St Louis	MO	$52,331	68	62.7%
77	The University of Texas at Dallas	TX	$52,244	71	65.1%
78	University of Houston-Clear Lake	TX	$52,087	40	90.5%
79	Indiana State University	IN	$51,991	93	80.8%
80	University of Wisconsin-River Falls	WI	$51,586	31	81.7%
81	Barry University	FL	$51,180	19	77.2%
82	Concordia University-Chicago	IL	$50,897	12	92.8%
83	University of North Carolina Wilmington	NC	$50,514	122	64.2%
84	Clemson University	SC	$50,133	97	38.3%
85	University of West Georgia	GA	$50,048	99	51.6%
86	Florida Southern College	FL	$49,829	19	64.4%
87	Missouri State University-Springfield	MO	$49,053	113	90.5%
88	Capital University	OH	$49,041	25	70.2%
89	Virginia Union University	VA	$49,024	12	98%
90	Flagler College	FL	$48,913	37	80.8%
91	Mississippi State University	MS	$48,805	47	77.6%
92	St. Mary's University	TX	$48,731	12	97.8%
93	California State University-Fresno	CA	$48,647	352	95.3%
94	University of Lynchburg	VA	$48,597	39	43%
95	Arcadia University	PA	$47,772	14	80.2%
96	University of Central Arkansas	AR	$47,387	26	89.5%
97	University of La Verne	CA	$47,273	35	71.2%
98	Mary Baldwin University	VA	$47,117	27
99	Wright State University-Main Campus	OH	$46,939	26	96.3%
100	Wright State University-Lake Campus	OH	$46,939	4

Showing the top 100 of 108 colleges that report earnings. 77 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 Criminology graduates?

University of Miami ($70,461), University of St Thomas ($70,419), Saint Anselm College ($69,676), Gonzaga University ($68,190), Assumption University ($67,883) report the highest median earnings four years after graduation.

How much do Criminology majors make?

The median across 108 colleges is $55,520 four years after graduation. By college it runs from $22,958 to $70,461.

Which colleges have the biggest Criminology programs?

By bachelor's degrees awarded in a year: University of California-Irvine (465), University of South Florida (387), University of Maryland (362), California State University-Fresno (352), Northern Arizona University (253).

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 "Criminology". Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal financial aid, working and not enrolled, four years after a bachelor's degree.