PlainCollege

Program ranking · CIP 45.04 bachelor's · College Scorecard · Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

Best Colleges for Criminology

Using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data retrieved March-July 2026, these colleges rank highest on median earnings for Criminology (CIP 45.04) bachelor's completers. Rankings use earnings only - not prestige, selectivity, or editorial judgment - and require at least 25 completers so tiny suppressed cohorts do not dominate the list.

$70,461
Highest criminology earnings
73
Colleges ranked
$22,958
#73 cutoff

The list in one line

Every college on this list reports at least $22,958 median earnings for Criminology bachelor's (CIP 45.04) completers. University of Miami leads at $70,461.

According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.

$70,461
#1 - University of Miami
$22,958
#73 - the cutoff to make this list
25+
completers required per school
208
US schools offering this CIP

Earnings are field-of-study medians for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled; see methodology for horizon and lag details.

Top 15 criminology programs by median completer earnings

Criminology bachelor's (CIP 45.04) · higher is higher early-career pay

median earnings

What this shows Criminology medians mix research, justice-system, and graduate-school pipelines - debt still matters when public-sector pay bands vary by metro.

Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard Field of Study As of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals

The full top 73

# School Name StateMedian EarningsMedian DebtCompleters
1 University of Miami FL $70,461 $16,062 48
2 Saint Anselm College NH $69,676 $27,000 48
3 Gonzaga University WA $68,190 $21,488 44
4 University of Maryland-College Park MD $67,258 $18,031 397
5 Stonehill College MA $64,957 $25,000 60
6 University of Delaware DE $63,553 $23,375 157
7 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater WI $63,365 $25,283 58
8 Central Connecticut State University CT $61,950 $21,500 142
9 Lycoming College PA $61,144 $27,000 39
10 Niagara University NY $60,995 $26,997 61
11 University of Iowa IA $60,947 $21,500 86
12 Hamline University MN $60,757 $25,000 45
13 The University of Tampa FL $60,742 $23,250 120
14 Hofstra University NY $60,697 $25,250 35
15 St. John Fisher University NY $60,481 $23,188 28
16 Mount St. Mary's University MD $60,428 $27,000 40
17 Framingham State University MA $59,857 $25,000 54
18 University of Minnesota-Duluth MN $59,754 $22,885 56
19 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus NH $59,549 $27,000 93
20 Marquette University WI $59,083 $25,000 81
21 University of Minnesota-Twin Cities MN $59,022 $19,500 129
22 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $58,865 $19,500 143
23 Drexel University PA $58,751 $27,000 28
24 Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania PA $58,115 $23,875 54
25 Loyola University New Orleans LA $58,058 $25,000 46
26 University of Florida FL $57,953 $15,224 184
27 University of Florida-Online FL $57,953 $15,224 39
28 University of California-Irvine CA $57,935 $15,383 398
29 University of Denver CO $57,858 $22,000 46
30 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice NY $57,396 $8,600 239
31 National Louis University IL $56,989 $21,036 63
32 Upper Iowa University IA $56,767 $30,701 46
33 Northern Arizona University AZ $56,676 $19,500 245
34 Old Dominion University VA $56,659 $23,825 213
35 State University of New York at Cortland NY $56,593 $19,500 70
36 Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia PA $55,924 $21,625 27
37 Eastern Washington University WA $55,621 $17,500 68
38 California State University-San Marcos CA $55,418 $14,810 273
39 Stockton University NJ $55,408 $20,636 169
40 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC $55,303 $20,374 55
41 California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt CA $55,174 $16,475 36
42 University of Northern Iowa IA $54,993 $20,278 37
43 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth MA $54,174 $25,204 67
44 University of South Florida FL $53,883 $17,464 427
45 Georgia Southern University GA $53,766 $21,500 159
46 Indiana University of Pennsylvania PA $53,762 $27,000 127
47 Delaware State University DE $53,128 $26,000 43
48 Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus NJ $53,055 $25,000 29
49 Eastern Connecticut State University CT $52,942 $25,000 62
50 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale IL $52,916 $20,500 75
51 Saint Vincent College PA $52,788 $27,000 25
52 Cleveland State University OH $52,713 $22,750 69
53 SUNY Old Westbury NY $52,598 $15,517 66
54 Eastern Michigan University MI $52,535 $27,000 78
55 University of Missouri-St Louis MO $52,331 $18,504 85
56 The University of Texas at Dallas TX $52,244 $19,844 47
57 University of Houston-Clear Lake TX $52,087 $16,750 39
58 Indiana State University IN $51,991 $23,250 124
59 University of Wisconsin-River Falls WI $51,586 $20,625 39
60 University of North Carolina Wilmington NC $50,514 $20,000 100
61 Clemson University SC $50,133 $19,570 70
62 University of West Georgia GA $50,048 $25,304 101
63 Missouri State University-Springfield MO $49,053 $21,500 116
64 Flagler College FL $48,913 $24,250 31
65 Mississippi State University MS $48,805 $22,055 59
66 California State University-Fresno CA $48,647 $9,908 399
67 University of Lynchburg VA $48,597 - 38
68 University of Central Arkansas AR $47,387 $19,414 31
69 University of La Verne CA $47,273 $26,000 58
70 Wright State University-Main Campus OH $46,939 $26,000 29
71 Arkansas State University AR $46,293 $23,250 48
72 Western Kentucky University KY $45,124 $25,815 83
73 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce PR $22,958 $12,250 28

About This Ranking

Schools are ranked by College Scorecard field-of-study median earnings for Criminology (CIP 45.04) bachelor's completers. Only operating schools with at least 25 completers and a published median are included. Ties break toward larger completer cohorts. For the full program profile - including every reporting school and national distribution - see Criminology (bachelor's). Methodology lives on our methodology page.

Caveats and limitations

"Best" here means highest reported median earnings for the stated CIP scope - not teaching quality, licensure pass rates, clinical placement strength, or fit for any one student. This list covers Criminology (CIP 45.04) bachelor's programs - criminal justice and corrections (CIP 43.01) is ranked on its own page.

Figures cover federally aided completers only, use Treasury-linked earnings, and describe a lagged cohort. Regional pay scales and graduate-school paths both move the median without proving a causal school effect.

This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute academic or career advice. Earnings do not predict any individual graduate's outcome.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Rankings are computed directly from College Scorecard field-of-study data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar-Jul 2026 retrievals.