2023 Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 North Carolina, there were 209 criminology graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,511 and $25,125 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in criminology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent criminology programs, but they also 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $30-$48k) in North Carolina

1

North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

#1 in overall quality

$9,448 Average Net Price

$49,709 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend North Carolina State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, this large public school handed out 55 degrees to qualified ’s criminology students in 2020-2021.

NC State also took the #1 spot in our “Best Criminology Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $9,448 for North Carolina Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend NC State.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at NC State

2

University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Wilmington, North Carolina

#2 in overall quality

$14,643 Average Net Price

$37,326 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k. UNCW is a fairly large public school situated in Wilmington, North Carolina. It awarded 111 ’s criminology degrees in 2020-2021.

UNCW did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Criminology Schools in North Carolina” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of North Carolina at Wilmington is $14,643 for North Carolina Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Criminology at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

3

Johnson C Smith University
Charlotte, North Carolina

#3 in overall quality

$20,919 Average Net Price

$28,289 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson C Smith University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k list. JCSU is located in Charlotte, North Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 20 ’s criminology degrees to qualified students.

JCSU also made our “Best Criminology Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Johnson C Smith University is $20,919 for North Carolina Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Johnson C Smith University Criminology Report

4

William Peace University
Raleigh, North Carolina

#4 in overall quality

$22,846 Average Net Price

$31,094 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Criminology Schools in North Carolina For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, William Peace University landed the #4 spot on the list. Raleigh, North Carolina is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s criminology degrees to 22 students in 2020-2021.

WPU also made our “Best Criminology Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for William Peace University is $22,846 for North Carolina Criminology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full WPU Criminology Report

• Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $30-$48k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Colleges for Criminology (Income $30-$48k)

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.