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

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

Santa Cruz, California has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Santa Cruz has a population of about 60,953. Median household income is $111,427 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 57.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Police Supervisor at a median $172,590 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Santa Cruz

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

Santa Cruz is part of the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area (BLS area code 42100). 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	$164,790	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$149,945
Judge or Magistrate	N/A	CA statewide	–
Police Supervisor	$172,590	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$157,043
Detective or Criminal Investigator	$102,710	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$93,458
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$122,970	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$111,893
Correctional Officer	$80,950	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$73,658
Probation Officer	$103,640	CA statewide	$94,304
Forensic Science Technician	$102,100	CA statewide	$92,903
Paralegal or Legal Assistant	$64,690	Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	$58,863
Information Security Analyst	$138,570	CA statewide	$126,087

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 Cruz at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	60,953	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$111,427	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	57.7%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	109.9 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Santa Cruz-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Watsonville, CA – 15.1 mi away (77,266 pop)
Los Gatos, CA – 17.9 mi away (30,545 pop)
Saratoga, CA – 20.0 mi away (30,767 pop)
Campbell, CA – 21.3 mi away (40,939 pop)
Cupertino, CA – 23.4 mi away (60,643 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Santa Cruz. The closest is Cabrillo College in Aptos, CA (6.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is San Jose City College (24.0 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Santa Cruz are: Police Supervisor ($172,590), Attorney ($164,790), Information Security Analyst ($138,570). 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 Watsonville instead of Santa Cruz?

Watsonville, CA is 15.1 miles from Santa Cruz 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 Cruz an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Santa Cruz’s median household income of $111,427 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Cruz 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 Cruz

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

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.

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