Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

9 Ranked Colleges
1,342 Degrees Awarded
$15,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $0-$30k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 10,182 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 79th most popular in the United States.

Across California, there were 1,416 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,342 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,907 and $21,546 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in criminology. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great criminology programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the criminology program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in California

#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Irvine. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s criminology degrees to 429 students in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $9,558 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UC Irvine.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at University of California - Irvine

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, California State University - Fresno landed the #2 spot on the list. California State University - Fresno is located in Fresno, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 430 bachelors’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - Fresno is $3,264 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full California State University - Fresno Criminology Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - San Marcos. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k. California State University - San Marcos is a fairly large public school situated in San Marcos, California. It awarded 278 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, CSUSM has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State University - San Marcos is $9,517 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at CSUSM

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California
#9 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Humboldt State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Arcata, California, this medium-sized public school awarded 55 degrees to qualified bachelors’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University also made our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $11,263 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Humboldt State University.

Read full report on Criminology at Humboldt State University

#5

Holy Names University

Oakland, California
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Holy Names University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. HNU is a small school located in Oakland, California that handed out 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

HNU also took the #4 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $18,048 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Holy Names University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.5% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Criminology at Holy Names University

#6

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#5 in overall quality

California Lutheran University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. California Lutheran University is a small school located in Thousand Oaks, California that handed out 53 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for CLU is $18,173 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full California Lutheran University Criminology Report

#7

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa, California
#7 in overall quality

Azusa Pacific University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Azusa Pacific is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Azusa, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Azusa Pacific did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for Azusa Pacific is $21,179 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Azusa Pacific Criminology Report

#8

University of La Verne

La Verne, California
#6 in overall quality

University of La Verne came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. University of La Verne is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Verne, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ULV, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of La Verne is $21,297 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full ULV Criminology Report

#9

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California
#8 in overall quality

Mount Saint Mary’s University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

MSMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend MSMU is $27,107 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full MSMU Criminology Report

Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Featured Social Science Schools

Find Schools Near You