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

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

Santa Maria, California has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Santa Maria has a population of about 109,880. Median household income is $84,617 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 15.1% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Attorney at a median $170,970 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Santa Maria

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

Santa Maria is part of the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro area (BLS area code 42200). 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	$170,970	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$157,142
Judge or Magistrate	N/A	CA statewide	–
Police Supervisor	$161,440	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$148,382
Detective or Criminal Investigator	$130,810	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$120,230
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$120,900	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$111,121
Correctional Officer	$94,740	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$87,077
Probation Officer	$103,640	CA statewide	$95,257
Forensic Science Technician	$102,100	CA statewide	$93,842
Paralegal or Legal Assistant	$80,930	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$74,384
Information Security Analyst	$130,770	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$120,193

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 Maria at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	109,880	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$84,617	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	15.1%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	108.8 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Santa Maria-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Arroyo Grande, CA – 15.4 mi away (54,542 pop)
Lompoc, CA – 18.8 mi away (53,062 pop)
San Luis Obispo, CA – 26.3 mi away (62,391 pop)
Atascadero, CA – 40.3 mi away (30,330 pop)
Goleta, CA – 47.8 mi away (30,850 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Santa Maria. The closest is San Joaquin Valley College-Santa Maria in Santa Maria, CA (0.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Taft College (57.7 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Santa Maria are: Attorney ($170,970), Police Supervisor ($161,440), Detective or Criminal Investigator ($130,810). 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 Arroyo Grande instead of Santa Maria?

Arroyo Grande, CA is 15.4 miles from Santa Maria 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 Maria an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Santa Maria’s median household income of $84,617 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Santa Maria 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 Maria

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

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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