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Best Criminal Justice Schools Near Athens, GA (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Athens, Georgia has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Athens has a population of about 137,582. In Georgia, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Judge or Magistrate at a median $133,660 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Athens
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Athens, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Athens 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 Athens.
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.
Athens is part of the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area (BLS area code 12020). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Georgia statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney
$105,360
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$112,926
Judge or Magistrate
$133,660
GA statewide
$143,258
Police Supervisor
$81,530
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$87,385
Detective or Criminal Investigator
$58,850
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$63,076
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer
$60,710
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$65,070
Correctional Officer
$47,900
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$51,340
Probation Officer
$62,450
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$66,935
Forensic Science Technician
$63,600
GA statewide
$68,167
Paralegal or Legal Assistant
$48,840
Athens-Clarke County, GA
$52,347
Information Security Analyst
$128,970
GA statewide
$138,232
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.
Athens at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
93.3 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Athens-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs
How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Athens, GA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Athens. The closest is University of Georgia in Athens, GA (0.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Georgia Gwinnett College (36.5 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying criminal justice roles near Athens?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Athens are: Judge or Magistrate ($133,660), Information Security Analyst ($128,970), Attorney ($105,360). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Georgia statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Winder instead of Athens?
Winder, GA is 20.4 miles from Athens 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.
