2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k)

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Criminology is the 82nd most popular major in the country with 10,182 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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.

At the associate degree level specifically, there were 224 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,082 and $17,678 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality criminology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the criminology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Criminology Schools

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 an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Criminology Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for associate degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Criminology (Income $0-$30k)

#1

Central New Mexico Community College

Albuquerque, New Mexico

#1 in overall quality

$2,604 Average Net Price

$28,816 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Central New Mexico Community College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this large public school handed out 72 degrees to qualified associates’s criminology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our associate degree criminology students whose families make $0-$30k list, CNM has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Criminology Associate Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Central New Mexico Community College is $2,604 for Associate Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Criminology at CNM

#2

Upper Iowa University

Fayette, Iowa

#2 in overall quality

$21,427 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Upper Iowa University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminology Schools for an Associate For Those Making $0-$30k. UIU is located in Fayette, Iowa and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 associates’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

UIU also took the #2 spot in our “Best Criminology Associate Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $21,427 for Associate Degree Criminology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Upper Iowa University.

Full UIU 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.

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