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2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

9 Ranked Colleges
1,342 Degrees Awarded
$16,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor's in California For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 10,182 people earned their degree in criminology, making the major the 82nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, criminology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,583 and had an average of $24,397 in loans still to pay off.

Across California, there were 1,416 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $35,967 and $21,881 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.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered 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.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $30-$48k) in California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend California State University - Fresno. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Fresno, California, this large public school awarded 430 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Fresno State, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Fresno State is $3,731 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at California State University - Fresno

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #2 spot on the list. University of California - Irvine is a large school located in Irvine, California that handed out 429 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

UC Irvine also took the #1 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UC Irvine is $10,373 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about 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 for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. California State University - San Marcos is a fairly large school located in San Marcos, California that handed out 278 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

CSUSM not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. The estimated yearly cost for California State University - San Marcos is $10,347 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.2% 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 CSUSM

#4

Humboldt State University

Arcata, California

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Humboldt State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k. This medium-sized school is located in Arcata, California, and it awarded 55 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

Humboldt State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $12,775 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Humboldt State University.

Read more about Criminology at Humboldt State University

#5

California Lutheran University

Thousand Oaks, California
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend California Lutheran University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. CLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 53 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CLU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for California Lutheran University is $18,578 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

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

#6

Holy Names University

Oakland, California

With a ranking of #6, Holy Names University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. HNU is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Oakland, California. It awarded 13 bachelors’s criminology degrees in 2019-2020.

HNU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Criminology Bachelor’s Degree Schools in California” list. It costs about $19,194 for California Bachelor’s Degree Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Holy Names University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Full Holy Names University Criminology Report

#7

Azusa Pacific University

Azusa, California
#7 in overall quality

Azusa Pacific University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. 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 University is $23,272 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, 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.

Read more about Criminology at Azusa Pacific

#8

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California

With a ranking of #8, Mount Saint Mary’s University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k 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 $27,376 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Read full report on Criminology at Mount Saint Mary’s University

#9

University of La Verne

La Verne, California

With a ranking of #9, University of La Verne did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Criminology Schools for a Bachelor’s in California For Those Making $30-$48k list. La Verne, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s criminology degrees to 55 students 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 estimated yearly cost for ULV is $23,427 for california bachelor’s degree criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Read full report on Criminology at University of La Verne

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.

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