by our College Data Analytics Team
[Criminal Justice](/majors/protective-security-safety-services/criminal-justice-and-corrections/criminal-justice/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 1 schools to find the best return on investment for criminal justice students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in criminal justice, balancing cost against outcomes.
For return on investment in criminal justice, no school beat Utah Valley University this year. Located in the city of Orem, Utah Valley University is a very large public university. Students from in state pay about $6,507 in tuition and fees, while out-of-state students pay about $18,489. Criminal Justice graduates carry a median of $18,016 in student loans. Early-career criminal justice graduates make about $44,051. That is a strong return on a $18,016 median debt.
This ranking is produced by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. Schools are scored on the balance of cost (tuition and student debt) against student outcomes (post-graduation earnings) — a measure of return on investment, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.