2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
9
Ranked Colleges
1,459
Degrees Awarded
$15,300
Avg Net Price*
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Criminology is the 80th most popular major in the country with 11,039 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,568 and had an average of $24,453 in loans still to pay off.
Across California, there were 1,459 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,821 and $20,932 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools 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.
More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools
The criminology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k”.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k) in California
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California State University - Fresno. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. California State University - Fresno is a large school located in Fresno, California that handed out 404 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
Fresno State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend Fresno State is $3,859 for California Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Full Fresno State Criminology Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Irvine. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Irvine, California, and it awarded 498 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UC Irvine has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $6,540 for california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of California - Irvine.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Criminology at University of California - Irvine
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 in California For Those Making $0-$30k. San Marcos, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 266 students in 2020-2021.
CSUSM also took the #3 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $9,397 for California Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at California State University - San Marcos
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Pomona, California, and it awarded 48 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, Cal Poly Pomona has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend California State Polytechnic University - Pomona is $10,349 for california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Criminology at Cal Poly Pomona
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend San Jose State University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in San Jose, California, and it awarded 12 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
San Jose State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend San Jose State is $12,158 for california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read more about Criminology at San Jose State University
Humboldt State University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Humboldt State University is a medium-sized school located in Arcata, California that handed out 49 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, Humboldt State University has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Humboldt State University is $11,473 for California Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on Criminology at Humboldt State University
University of La Verne did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Located in La Verne, California, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 57 degrees to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, ULV has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of La Verne is $28,256 for california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.
Read more about Criminology at ULV
Azusa Pacific University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k list. Azusa Pacific is located in Azusa, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s criminology degrees to qualified students.
Azusa Pacific also took the #10 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in California” ranking. It costs about $26,548 for california criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Azusa Pacific.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
Read full report on Criminology at Azusa Pacific
Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in California For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. MSMU is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 21 ’s criminology degrees to qualified students.
MSMU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Criminology Schools in California” list. The yearly cost to attend MSMU is $29,531 for California Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad 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 MSMU Criminology Report
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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
- *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.
