Best Value / By Major

Best Value Colleges for Criminal Justice and Corrections

Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.

50

Schools Ranked

$34,543

Avg. Earnings

2 yrs

Best Payback

94,597

Graduates

How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.

#	School	Net Price/yr	Major Earnings	Payback
1	Oakland City University Oakland City, IN · Private	$10,887	$56,544	2 yrs
2	Farmingdale State College Farmingdale, NY · Public	$10,914	$57,318	2 yrs
3	Herzing University-Orlando Winter Park, FL · Private	$19,374	$58,943	3.2 yrs
4	Herzing University-Kenosha Kenosha, WI · Private	$19,349	$58,943	3.2 yrs
5	Central Christian College of Kansas McPherson, KS · Private	$14,763	$52,941	3.3 yrs
6	Herzing University-Akron Akron, OH · Private	$21,684	$58,943	3.6 yrs
7	Herzing University-Madison Madison, WI · Private	$24,555	$58,943	4.1 yrs
8	Siena Heights University Adrian, MI · Private	$21,296	$55,338	4.2 yrs
9	Herzing University-Minneapolis St. Louis Park, MN · Private	$25,318	$58,943	4.2 yrs
10	Herzing University-Brookfield Brookfield, WI · Private	$25,137	$58,943	4.2 yrs
11	Herzing University-Birmingham Birmingham, AL · Private	$26,347	$58,943	4.4 yrs
12	Herzing University-Atlanta Atlanta, GA · Private	$27,616	$58,943	4.6 yrs
13	Bethel University McKenzie, TN · Private	$17,690	$50,022	4.7 yrs
14	George Washington University Washington, DC · Private	$21,174	$52,107	5 yrs
15	Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Winona, MN · Private	$18,683	$49,631	5.1 yrs
16	Concordia University-Saint Paul Saint Paul, MN · Private	$14,980	$46,087	5.4 yrs
17	Saint Cloud State University Saint Cloud, MN · Public	$13,140	$43,426	6.2 yrs
18	University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, OK · Public	$21,725	$48,823	6.3 yrs
19	Marymount University Arlington, VA · Private	$22,571	$49,019	6.4 yrs
20	Thomas More University Crestview Hills, KY · Private	$18,690	$45,500	7.1 yrs
21	Auburn University at Montgomery Montgomery, AL · Public	$15,400	$43,426	7.3 yrs
22	Minnesota State University-Mankato Mankato, MN · Public	$14,995	$42,682	7.8 yrs
23	Metropolitan State University Saint Paul, MN · Public	$16,515	$43,485	7.8 yrs
24	University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK · Public	$12,985	$41,565	7.9 yrs
25	Reinhardt University Waleska, GA · Private	$25,140	$47,260	8.2 yrs
26	Bemidji State University Bemidji, MN · Public	$14,520	$41,789	8.6 yrs
27	Anna Maria College Paxton, MA · Private	$22,780	$44,971	9.1 yrs
28	George Mason University Fairfax, VA · Public	$19,066	$43,143	9.4 yrs
29	CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, NY · Public	$7,811	$38,182	9.8 yrs
30	Northeastern University Boston, MA · Private	$18,389	$42,363	10 yrs
31	University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston, MA · Public	$17,689	$42,025	10.1 yrs
32	Winona State University Winona, MN · Public	$15,289	$41,058	10.1 yrs
33	Westfield State University Westfield, MA · Public	$18,291	$42,123	10.3 yrs
34	Southwest Minnesota State University Marshall, MN · Public	$12,156	$39,729	10.3 yrs
35	Lamar University Beaumont, TX · Public	$13,580	$40,056	10.7 yrs
36	American University Washington, DC · Private	$27,374	$45,175	10.8 yrs
37	Metropolitan State University of Denver Denver, CO · Public	$14,679	$40,369	10.9 yrs
38	Saint Leo University Saint Leo, FL · Private	$18,084	$41,601	11 yrs
39	Governors State University University Park, IL · Public	$12,810	$39,663	11 yrs
40	Madonna University Livonia, MI · Private	$17,548	$41,342	11.1 yrs
41	Widener University Chester, PA · Private	$31,002	$46,087	11.2 yrs
42	Norwich University Northfield, VT · Private	$21,686	$42,682	11.3 yrs
43	Worcester State University Worcester, MA · Public	$16,479	$40,501	12 yrs
44	Grand View University Des Moines, IA · Private	$20,148	$41,725	12 yrs
45	Citadel Military College of South Carolina Charleston, SC · Public	$13,358	$39,416	12.1 yrs
46	Ferris State University Big Rapids, MI · Public	$13,230	$39,369	12.1 yrs
47	Georgia Gwinnett College Lawrenceville, GA · Public	$14,869	$39,909	12.1 yrs
48	National University San Diego, CA · Private	$23,427	$42,682	12.2 yrs
49	Minot State University Minot, ND · Public	$11,911	$38,829	12.4 yrs
50	University of Massachusetts-Lowell Lowell, MA · Public	$17,113	$40,355	12.8 yrs

Top Earners in Criminal Justice and Corrections

See schools ranked by earnings alone, without considering cost.

Best Value Rankings

Explore best value colleges across all majors and categories.

Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.