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.

Compiled by PlainCollege , College outcomes data analysis

$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.

University of Miami

$70,461
Saint Anselm College

$69,676
Gonzaga University

$68,190
University of Maryland-C…

$67,258
Stonehill College

$64,957
University of Delaware

$63,553
University of Wisconsin-…

$63,365
Central Connecticut Stat…

$61,950
Lycoming College

$61,144
Niagara University

$60,995
University of Iowa

$60,947
Hamline University

$60,757
The University of Tampa

$60,742
Hofstra University

$60,697
St. John Fisher University

$60,481

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

The full top 73

#	School Name	State	Median Earnings	Median Debt	Completers
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.