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. A top-earning program sends graduates into careers with strong starting pay.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 3 schools on the early-career earnings of their criminology graduates.
What’s on this page:
If you want to know which schools send criminology graduates into the highest-paying careers, see the list below.
For graduate earnings in criminology, no school beat University Of Northern Iowa this year. Set in the city of Cedar Falls, University Of Northern Iowa is a public institution. Students who complete the criminology program here go on to a median salary of roughly $54,690.
A rank of #2 makes Upper Iowa University one of the highest-paying schools for criminology. Set in the rural area of Fayette, Upper Iowa University is a private not-for-profit institution. Early-career criminology graduates from Upper Iowa University make a median of around $46,898 per year.
Strong graduate earnings at University Of Iowa earned it the #3 place for criminology. Set in the city of Iowa City, University Of Iowa is a public institution. Early-career criminology graduates from University Of Iowa make a median of around $38,520 per year.
The ranking above is published by College Factual, 2026 edition. Schools are ranked on the median early-career earnings of their criminology graduates, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard field-of-study earnings and IPEDS).
Ranking method: College Major Earnings · 3 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.