Best colleges for criminal justice in New York
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice ranks first in New York for criminal justice value (#8 nationally, value score 82.9): graduates earn $59,343 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $1,110 a year.
Data verified Nov 2026 · CollegesRef 2026–27 edition · Source: College Scorecard field of study, reporting year 2025 · 22 New York colleges ranked · Updated November 4, 2026
Best criminal justice colleges in New York
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice ranks first in New York for criminal justice value (#8 nationally, value score 82.9): graduates earn $59,343 4 years after the bachelor's degree, and the average net price is $1,110 a year. 22 New York colleges qualify. At the median one, criminal justice graduates earn $57,396 and the average net price is $17,852 a year.
Source: U.S. College Scorecard field of study, 2025
What the data shows
Key findings
- 22 New York colleges qualify. At the median one, criminal justice graduates earn $57,396 and the average net price is $17,852 a year.
- The highest criminal justice earnings in the state are at Utica College ($69,898), ranked #4 in the state once cost, debt and graduation rate count.
- Median earnings
- $57,396
- National: $55,481
- Median net price
- $17,852
- National: $16,222
- Median federal debt
- $22,375
- criminal justice graduates
- Public colleges
- 10 of 22
- in this list
22 colleges
The New York ranking
Ordered by the national value score; the national rank is shown with each college. Earnings are medians 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
- Rank in New York 1
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
New York, NY · Public · #8 nationally
82.9Value- Earnings
- $59,343
- Net price
- $1,110
- Federal debt
- $9,049
- Graduation rate
- 54%
- Rank in New York 2
St. John's University-New York
Queens, NY · Private nonprofit · #70 nationally
66.6Value- Earnings
- $63,978
- Net price
- $24,508
- Federal debt
- $21,500
- Graduation rate
- 69%
- Earnings
- $58,964
- Net price
- $18,369
- Federal debt
- $18,108
- Graduation rate
- 66%
- Earnings
- $69,898
- Net price
- $24,195
- Federal debt
- $23,250
- Graduation rate
- 54%
- Earnings
- $59,563
- Net price
- $16,300
- Federal debt
- $20,727
- Graduation rate
- 58%
- Rank in New York 6
Brooklyn, NY · Private nonprofit · #96 nationally
63.2Value- Earnings
- $60,471
- Net price
- $18,853
- Federal debt
- $22,250
- Graduation rate
- 68%
- Earnings
- $65,881
- Net price
- $42,789
- Federal debt
- $23,750
- Graduation rate
- 81%
- Earnings
- $63,514
- Net price
- $30,721
- Federal debt
- $20,500
- Graduation rate
- 56%
- Earnings
- $56,034
- Net price
- $10,886
- Federal debt
- $18,257
- Graduation rate
- 34%
- Earnings
- $58,331
- Net price
- $15,606
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 56%
- Rank in New York 11
Sparkill, NY · Private nonprofit · #175 nationally
52.5Value- Earnings
- $57,707
- Net price
- $21,253
- Federal debt
- $20,000
- Graduation rate
- 53%
- Earnings
- $54,634
- Net price
- $17,315
- Federal debt
- $17,500
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Rank in New York 13
Brooklyn Heights, NY · Private nonprofit · #194 nationally
50.4Value- Earnings
- $57,084
- Net price
- $17,300
- Federal debt
- $23,000
- Graduation rate
- 51%
- Earnings
- $53,597
- Net price
- $13,628
- Federal debt
- $22,500
- Graduation rate
- 55%
- Earnings
- $58,688
- Net price
- $26,250
- Federal debt
- $26,000
- Graduation rate
- 59%
- Rank in New York 16
SUNY College of Technology at Canton
Canton, NY · Public · #226 nationally
46.2Value- Earnings
- $53,778
- Net price
- $12,696
- Federal debt
- $20,775
- Graduation rate
- 37%
- Rank in New York 17
Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester, NY · Private nonprofit · #287 nationally
36.9Value- Earnings
- $52,704
- Net price
- $37,405
- Federal debt
- $20,458
- Graduation rate
- 70%
- Rank in New York 18
Dobbs Ferry, NY · Private nonprofit · #290 nationally
36.6Value- Earnings
- $51,758
- Net price
- $15,093
- Federal debt
- $22,875
- Graduation rate
- 45%
- Rank in New York 19
Rockville Centre, NY · Private nonprofit · #299 nationally
33.9Value- Earnings
- $52,820
- Net price
- $26,735
- Federal debt
- $25,000
- Graduation rate
- 69%
- Earnings
- $53,418
- Net price
- $20,955
- Federal debt
- $24,281
- Graduation rate
- 50%
- Earnings
- $52,244
- Net price
- $16,184
- Federal debt
- $27,000
- Graduation rate
- 29%
- Earnings
- $49,141
- Net price
- $17,334
- Federal debt
- $22,500
- Graduation rate
- 46%
Method: the same value score as the national criminal justice ranking (earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate, each a national percentile). Data: College Scorecard, reporting year 2025; 2026–27 edition, verified Nov 2026.
Questions about criminal justice colleges in New York
What are the best colleges for criminal justice in New York?
By CollegesRef value score, the top 3 New York colleges for criminal justice are CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (value score 82.9), St. John's University-New York (value score 66.6) and SUNY Oneonta (value score 66.5). The score weighs graduate earnings, debt relative to earnings, average net price and graduation rate.
Which New York college has the highest earnings for criminal justice graduates?
Utica College: its criminal justice graduates have median earnings of $69,898 4 years after the bachelor's degree.
What is the most affordable criminal justice college in New York on this list?
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice has the lowest average net price of the ranked New York colleges, $1,110 a year after grants. A family's own price depends on income and aid.
How many New York colleges are ranked for criminal justice?
22 New York colleges have a criminal justice bachelor's program with enough graduates and reported earnings, plus a published net price and graduation rate. Ranks shown are national; the state rank is their order within New York.