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Best Criminal Justice Schools Near Florence, AL (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Florence, Alabama has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Florence has a population of about 42,716. In Alabama, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Information Security Analyst at a median $122,730 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Florence
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Florence, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Florence city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
How We Rank Schools
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:
BOCSCORE
Graduation rate 30%
Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
Average net price (lower is better) 20%
Retention rate 15%
Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Florence.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Florence is part of the Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL metro area (BLS area code 22520). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Alabama statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney
$98,850
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$116,568
Judge or Magistrate
$52,850
AL statewide
$62,323
Police Supervisor
$60,610
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$71,474
Detective or Criminal Investigator
$66,290
AL statewide
$78,172
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer
$56,010
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$66,050
Correctional Officer
$35,900
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$42,335
Probation Officer
$61,050
AL statewide
$71,993
Forensic Science Technician
$59,560
AL statewide
$70,236
Paralegal or Legal Assistant
$45,540
Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
$53,703
Information Security Analyst
$122,730
AL statewide
$144,729
Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.
Florence at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
84.8 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Florence-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs
How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Florence, AL?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Florence. The closest is University of North Alabama in Florence, AL (1.9 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is The University of Tennessee Southern (43.8 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying criminal justice roles near Florence?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Florence are: Information Security Analyst ($122,730), Attorney ($98,850), Detective or Criminal Investigator ($66,290). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Alabama statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Athens instead of Florence?
Athens, AL is 40.6 miles from Florence and has its own set of local criminal justice programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
How do I verify a program is accredited?
Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.
Data verified: September 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
