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Sector Analysis · Social Sciences

Best Criminology Schools by Graduate Salary & ROI (2026)

111 schools ranked by DegreeOutlook Score · Updated 2026

These are the top schools offering Criminology, ranked by DegreeOutlook Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Criminology graduate earns $36,749/yr across 111 schools.

What do Criminology graduates do? See career paths and salaries →

Why UMD's Proximity to Power Puts It at #1

The University of Maryland-College Park leverages its prime location just miles from Washington, D.C. to create an unparalleled career pipeline. Its #1 ranking isn't just about academics; it's about access. Graduates feed directly into federal agencies like the FBI, DOJ, and DHS for high-value analyst and research roles, explaining the strong $43,698/yr starting salaries. This direct link to the nation's justice and intelligence hub provides internship and networking opportunities that other programs simply cannot match.

The Online Upset: How UF-Online Delivers 38x ROI

The most stunning result is University of Florida-Online placing at #3, outperforming its own well-regarded on-campus program in terms of value. With a staggering 38.4x ROI, it proves that for criminology, minimizing debt is a winning strategy. The program offers the prestigious UF degree and curriculum but at a fraction of the cost ($15,504 tuition) by eliminating campus fees and housing expenses. This model is a game-changer for students who need the brand and education without the high cost of a traditional college experience.

Why Public Universities Own This Field

It's no accident that 100% of the top 20 schools are public institutions. Criminology is fundamentally a public service discipline, with graduates primarily seeking careers in state and local government, law enforcement, and social services. State-funded universities are designed to fill these exact roles, creating a powerful, self-reinforcing pipeline. The dominance of New York (4 schools) and Florida (3 schools) in the top 20 highlights how large public university systems like SUNY and the State University System of Florida build programs specifically to serve their state's workforce needs.

AI Won't Steal Your Job, It Will Change It

The 55% AI task exposure across all top programs seems alarming, but it signals a shift in skills, not an end to the career. AI will automate the grunt work—like identifying patterns in crime data or summarizing case files—freeing up professionals to focus on uniquely human tasks. Your value will no longer be in data collection, but in interpreting AI's findings, designing intervention programs, and making nuanced ethical judgments. This degree is becoming less about technical analysis and more about high-level critical thinking and social-emotional intelligence.

Programs Ranked

111

Avg Earnings

$36,749/yr

Avg DW Score

42/100

AI Risk

High

55% task exposure

Top Institutions

Leading the field for Criminology

The top four programs by DegreeOutlook Score. Full ranking of 111 programs below.

Rank #1 · DegreeOutlook Score 58

University of Maryland-College Park

College Park, MD · Public

$43,6981-yr earnings

14.1xROI multiple

HighAI risk

University of Southern Maine

ME · #2

$47,726/yr · 13.6x ROI

University of Florida-Online

FL · #3

$35,096/yr · 38.4x ROI

University of Florida

FL · #4

$35,096/yr · 22.9x ROI

The Ranking Matrix

All Criminology Programs Ranked

Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.

Sort by

#	School	DW Score	Earnings	ROI
1	University of Maryland-College Park College Park, MD · Public	58 44–58	$43,698/yr	14.1x
2	University of Southern Maine Portland, ME · Public	57 44–58	$47,726/yr	13.6x
3	University of Florida-Online Gainesville, FL · Public	56 44–57	$35,096/yr	38.4x
4	University of Florida Gainesville, FL · Public	55 43–56	$35,096/yr	22.9x
5	University at Albany Albany, NY · Public	55 42–56	$42,257/yr	14.0x
6	University of Nevada-Reno Reno, NV · Public	54 40–55	$39,804/yr	15.3x
7	North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC · Public	54 41–54	$35,076/yr	17.0x
8	University of Massachusetts Global Irvine, CA · Public	54 40–55	$42,698/yr	11.8x
9	University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA · Public	53 39–53	$43,914/yr	13.1x
10	Framingham State University Framingham, MA · Public	53 39–53	$41,431/yr	12.0x
11	State University of New York at Cortland Cortland, NY · Public	53 41–54	$34,768/yr	16.8x
12	SUNY Old Westbury Old Westbury, NY · Public	53 39–53	$38,764/yr	15.6x
13	Ohio State University-Mansfield Campus Mansfield, OH · Public	53 39–53	$39,396/yr	14.6x
14	Eastern Washington University Cheney, WA · Public	53 39–53	$40,228/yr	15.2x
15	University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Whitewater, WI · Public	53 39–53	$40,060/yr	15.4x
16	University of South Florida Tampa, FL · Public	52 39–53	$37,108/yr	19.2x
17	University of Minnesota-Duluth Duluth, MN · Public	52 39–53	$42,562/yr	10.3x
18	Central Connecticut State University New Britain, CT · Public	51 37–51	$40,713/yr	10.9x
19	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY · Public	51 39–52	$33,798/yr	17.9x
20	University of Houston-Clear Lake Houston, TX · Public	51 38–51	$35,673/yr	16.6x
21	California State University-San Marcos San Marcos, CA · Public	51 38–51	$34,694/yr	16.6x
22	University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth, MA · Public	50 37–50	$37,535/yr	9.8x
23	University of Wisconsin-Stout Menomonie, WI · Public	50 37–50	$49,004/yr	11.1x
24	University of West Georgia Carrollton, GA · Public	49 37–49	$33,839/yr	19.1x
25	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, MN · Public	49 35–49	$41,780/yr	8.3x
26	Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH · Public	49 35–49	$39,396/yr	10.2x
27	University of Wisconsin-River Falls River Falls, WI · Public	49 36–50	$45,113/yr	12.1x
28	University of Delaware Newark, DE · Public	48 35–48	$35,968/yr	9.1x
29	Indiana State University Terre Haute, IN · Public	48 34–49	$39,769/yr	11.7x
30	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC · Public	48 35–48	$34,443/yr	15.7x
31	Wright State University-Lake Campus Celina, OH · Public	48 35–49	$37,476/yr	14.9x
32	Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus Indiana, PA · Public	48 34–48	$37,911/yr	11.0x
33	Saint Anselm College Manchester, NH · Private nonprofit	47 34–48	$46,814/yr	3.0x
34	Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ · Public	46 32–46	$37,214/yr	9.6x
35	University of California-Irvine Irvine, CA · Public	46 34–46	$34,522/yr	9.5x
36	Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA · Public	46 33–46	$35,588/yr	14.1x
37	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, IL · Public	46 33–47	$37,645/yr	9.5x
38	Mount St. Mary's University Emmitsburg, MD · Private nonprofit	46 33–47	$43,230/yr	3.1x
39	Missouri State University-Springfield Springfield, MO · Public	46 33–46	$36,185/yr	12.3x
40	University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, NH · Public	46 32–46	$39,814/yr	6.8x
41	Delaware State University Dover, DE · Public	45 34–45	$30,710/yr	12.2x
42	Lasell University Newton, MA · Private nonprofit	45 32–46	$40,527/yr	5.0x
43	Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	45 31–45	$43,283/yr	2.6x
44	The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX · Public	45 32–46	$40,603/yr	8.1x
45	Old Dominion University Norfolk, VA · Public	45 32–45	$37,255/yr	9.6x
46	Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, MI · Public	44 31–44	$36,891/yr	7.9x
47	Arkansas State University Jonesboro, AR · Public	43 30–43	$36,732/yr	12.2x
48	University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR · Public	43 29–43	$38,453/yr	8.5x
49	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt Arcata, CA · Public	43 33–43	$29,123/yr	14.3x
50	University of Missouri-St Louis Saint Louis, MO · Public	43 30–43	$38,207/yr	8.3x
51	Stockton University Galloway, NJ · Public	43 31–43	$34,596/yr	8.1x
52	University of Akron Main Campus Akron, OH · Public	43 30–43	$38,087/yr	8.6x
53	Wright State University-Main Campus Dayton, OH · Public	43 30–44	$37,476/yr	9.6x
54	Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania Slippery Rock, PA · Public	43 30–43	$36,276/yr	10.2x
55	California State University-Fresno Fresno, CA · Public	42 31–42	$31,224/yr	14.1x
56	Eastern Connecticut State University Willimantic, CT · Public	42 28–42	$39,705/yr	6.5x
57	University of Iowa Iowa City, IA · Public	42 29–43	$38,520/yr	7.8x
58	Cleveland State University Cleveland, OH · Public	42 30–42	$32,393/yr	9.4x
59	Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, OH · Public	42 29–43	$39,349/yr	7.8x
60	Upper Iowa University Fayette, IA · Private nonprofit	41 27–41	$43,170/yr	5.2x
61	University of St Thomas Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	41 27–41	$41,780/yr	2.3x
62	Mississippi State University Mississippi State, MS · Public	41 29–42	$33,191/yr	10.7x
63	Assumption University Worcester, MA · Private nonprofit	40 27–41	$48,600/yr	1.5x
64	St. John Fisher University Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit	40 28–40	$33,623/yr	3.3x
65	Lebanon Valley College Annville, PA · Private nonprofit	40 27–41	$38,828/yr	2.4x
66	Clemson University Clemson, SC · Public	40 27–41	$38,057/yr	5.1x
67	University of Saint Mary Leavenworth, KS · Private nonprofit	39 25–39	$42,633/yr	2.1x
68	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ · Private nonprofit	39 26–39	$37,619/yr	3.1x
69	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham Campus Madison, NJ · Private nonprofit	39 26–39	$37,619/yr	3.1x
70	Southern Wesleyan University Central, SC · Private nonprofit	39 25–40	$40,834/yr	2.7x
71	Texas A & M University-Kingsville Kingsville, TX · Public	39 29–39	$30,490/yr	10.6x
72	Lakeland University Plymouth, WI · Private nonprofit	39 26–40	$45,276/yr	3.0x
73	Concordia University-Chicago River Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	38 24–39	$41,724/yr	1.9x
74	William Peace University Raleigh, NC · Private nonprofit	38 25–39	$41,509/yr	2.1x
75	Cabrini University Radnor, PA · Private nonprofit	38 26–39	$33,632/yr	3.3x
76	Barry University Miami, FL · Private nonprofit	37 24–38	$44,015/yr	2.7x
77	Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, KY · Public	37 26–38	$32,370/yr	6.1x
78	Stonehill College Easton, MA · Private nonprofit	37 24–38	$40,928/yr	1.9x
79	Hamline University Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit	37 23–37	$41,204/yr	1.1x
80	Gonzaga University Spokane, WA · Private nonprofit	37 23–37	$38,028/yr	2.0x
81	Drexel University Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit	36 22–37	$40,229/yr	0.7x
82	Virginia Union University Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit	36 26–37	$30,291/yr	7.1x
83	National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit	35 25–36	$30,170/yr	5.1x
84	Hofstra University Hempstead, NY · Private nonprofit	35 23–36	$35,249/yr	2.0x
85	Niagara University Niagara University, NY · Private nonprofit	35 22–35	$36,781/yr	1.4x
86	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI · Public	35 24–36	$31,729/yr	3.8x
87	University of La Verne La Verne, CA · Private nonprofit	34 22–35	$34,292/yr	2.3x
88	Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL · Private nonprofit	34 20–35	$39,713/yr	2.0x
89	Emmanuel College Boston, MA · Private nonprofit	34 21–35	$36,824/yr	1.0x
90	Johnson C Smith University Charlotte, NC · Private nonprofit	34 23–35	$32,751/yr	4.6x
91	Capital University Columbus, OH · Private nonprofit	34 23–35	$32,984/yr	2.6x
92	Eastern University Saint Davids, PA · Private nonprofit	34 21–34	$34,876/yr	1.3x
93	Saint Vincent College Latrobe, PA · Private nonprofit	34 21–35	$37,563/yr	2.3x
94	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL · Private nonprofit	33 21–34	$34,137/yr	2.8x
95	Valparaiso University Valparaiso, IN · Private nonprofit	33 22–33	$30,653/yr	2.3x
96	Lycoming College Williamsport, PA · Private nonprofit	33 20–34	$40,646/yr	1.7x
97	Marquette University Milwaukee, WI · Private nonprofit	33 21–34	$35,650/yr	2.0x
98	California Lutheran University Thousand Oaks, CA · Private nonprofit	31 20–32	$31,963/yr	0.6x
99	University of Denver Denver, CO · Private nonprofit	31 18–32	$40,667/yr	0.7x
100	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL · Private nonprofit	31 21–32	$29,670/yr	1.8x
101	Dominican University River Forest, IL · Private nonprofit	31 19–31	$31,758/yr	2.4x
102	Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA · Private nonprofit	31 18–31	$35,578/yr	1.8x
103	Saint Edward's University Austin, TX · Private nonprofit	31 20–31	$31,839/yr	0.5x
104	Arcadia University Glenside, PA · Private nonprofit	30 18–30	$33,823/yr	1.7x
105	St. Mary's University San Antonio, TX · Private nonprofit	30 18–30	$33,978/yr	2.0x
106	Flagler College Saint Augustine, FL · Private nonprofit	28 18–28	$29,240/yr	2.6x
107	Coker University Hartsville, SC · Private nonprofit	26 18–26	$25,862/yr	2.5x
108	Universidad Ana G. Mendez-Gurabo Campus Gurabo, PR · Private nonprofit	26 21–26	$19,300/yr	8.4x
109	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo Arecibo, PR · Private nonprofit	25 21–25	$16,199/yr	8.5x
110	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Ponce Ponce, PR · Private nonprofit	25 21–25	$16,199/yr	8.3x
111	Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR · Private nonprofit	25 21–25	$16,199/yr	8.5x

FAQ

Frequently asked

What is the best school for Criminology?

Based on our DegreeOutlook Score, University of Maryland-College Park ranks #1 for Criminology with a score of 58/100 and graduate earnings of $43,698/yr.

How much do Criminology graduates earn?

Across 111 schools, Criminology graduates earn an average of $36,749/yr in their first year. The highest-earning program reports $49,004/yr.

Is Criminology a good major for AI resistance?

Criminology has an average AI task exposure of 55%, rated "High". This field has significant AI exposure. Check individual program pages for scenario analysis.

Programs are ranked by DegreeOutlook Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).

Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.