Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in Santa Clara, CA (2026)

Updated June 11, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Santa Clara, California has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Santa Clara has a population of about 129,239. Median household income is $173,670 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 65.3% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Attorney at a median $301,320 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Santa Clara

The 5 accredited institutions below are the closest among the 5 schools in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Santa Clara. Distances are calculated from Santa Clara city center.

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:

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 Santa Clara. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California criminal justice page.

Criminal Justice Wages Near Santa Clara

Santa Clara is part of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area (BLS area code 41940). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney	$301,320	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$272,935
Judge or Magistrate	N/A	CA statewide	–
Police Supervisor	$163,700	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$148,279
Detective or Criminal Investigator	$158,640	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$143,696
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$136,140	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$123,315
Correctional Officer	$132,670	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$120,172
Probation Officer	$144,410	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$130,806
Forensic Science Technician	$137,280	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$124,348
Paralegal or Legal Assistant	$99,250	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$89,900
Information Security Analyst	$176,120	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$159,529

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.

Santa Clara at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	129,239	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$173,670	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	65.3%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	110.4 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Santa Clara-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Sunnyvale, CA – 3.5 mi away (152,771 pop)
Cupertino, CA – 5.4 mi away (60,643 pop)
Campbell, CA – 5.9 mi away (40,939 pop)
Milpitas, CA – 6.3 mi away (77,528 pop)
Mountain View, CA – 6.6 mi away (80,447 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Santa Clara, CA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Santa Clara. The closest is Mission College in Santa Clara, CA (2.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is West Valley College (7.3 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying criminal justice roles near Santa Clara?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Santa Clara are: Attorney ($301,320), Information Security Analyst ($176,120), Police Supervisor ($163,700). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Sunnyvale instead of Santa Clara?

Sunnyvale, CA is 3.5 miles from Santa Clara 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.

Is Santa Clara an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Santa Clara’s median household income of $173,670 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Clara while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

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.

Learn More About Criminal Justice Programs

Other Programs Available in Santa Clara

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Santa Clara:

Data verified: June 11, 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.

Back to Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in California (2026)

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