by our College Data Analytics Team
[Criminology](/majors/social-sciences/criminology/) programs reward a close look at where graduates go on to earn the most. The highest-paying schools turn a criminology degree into the strongest early-career earnings.
College Factual analyzed 4 schools to build this 2026 ranking of the highest-paying criminology schools.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools whose criminology graduates go on to earn the most.
For graduate earnings in criminology, no school beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale this year. Located in the town of Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution. Students who complete the criminology program here go on to a median salary of roughly $55,612.
A rank of #2 makes Concordia University Chicago one of the highest-paying schools for criminology. Set in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career criminology graduates from Concordia University Chicago make a median of around $41,724 per year.
Strong graduate earnings at Dominican University earned it the #3 place for criminology. Dominican University is a private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of River Forest. Early-career criminology graduates from Dominican University make a median of around $51,128 per year.
Strong graduate earnings at National Louis University earned it the #4 place for criminology. National Louis University is a private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago. Students who complete the criminology program here go on to a median salary of roughly $30,170.
This ranking is produced by College Factual, 2026 edition. The methodology measures the salaries criminology graduates go on to earn early in their careers, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 4 schools evaluated.
*Salary figures reflect median early-career earnings (about 5 years after graduation) and may vary by how long a person takes to complete their degree.
More about our data sources and methodologies.