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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > New Jersey > Paterson
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Paterson offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 8 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Picatinny Arsenal, about 20 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (2 Army, 1 Navy, 2 Coast Guard, 1 Reserve, 2 Other). 5 of the 10 schools have a campus within 30 miles; the closest is New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ, about 12 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is CUNY Bernard M Baruch College. Paterson has a population of about 157,660 and a median household income of $53,766; 12.5 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in New Jersey that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Paterson city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Paterson. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | New York, NY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 87.7 | 15 mi |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 87.1 | 13 mi |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology | Newark, NJ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 86.1 | 12 mi |
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 81.6 | 54 mi |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | New Brunswick, NJ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 79.1 | 32 mi |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 77.6 | 87 mi |
| The College of New Jersey | Ewing, NJ | Yes | Yes | No | No | 77.3 | 55 mi |
| SUNY Maritime College | Throggs Neck, NY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 77.0 | 21 mi |
| New York University | New York, NY | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 76.9 | 15 mi |
| Rutgers University-Camden | Camden, NJ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 76.8 | 84 mi |
New Jersey has 42 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the New Jersey page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Paterson |
|---|---|---|
| Picatinny Arsenal | Other | 20 mi |
| Fort Hamilton | Army | 22 mi |
| 4th Mardiv Brooklyn | Other | 27 mi |
| Camp Smith | Army | 30 mi |
| West Point Military Reserve | Reserve | 31 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook | Coast Guard | 32 mi |
| Naval Weapons Station Earle (Waterfront Unit) | Navy | 35 mi |
| Coast Guard Station Jones Beach Freeport | Coast Guard | 39 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $140,470 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $124,751 |
| Logisticians | $92,540 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $82,185 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $100,980 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $89,680 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $105,540 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $93,730 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $167,580 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $148,828 |
| Project Management Specialists | $126,660 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $112,487 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $119,390 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $106,030 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $133,640 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro | $118,686 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
