Best Criminal Justice Schools Near Louisville, KY (2026)

Updated September 6, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Louisville, Kentucky has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs, with tuition ranging from $4,808 to $32,941 per year for indexed programs. Louisville has a population of about 1,003,412. In the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Judge or Magistrate at a median $156,550 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Louisville

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Louisville, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Louisville 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:

  • 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 Louisville. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

Sort:
#1

Sullivan University

Louisville, KY 3.4 miles from Louisville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
43.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 36%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,008
Avg net price $25,532/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 33

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Bellarmine University

Louisville, KY 4.8 miles from Louisville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
63.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 65%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $62,069
Avg net price $21,499/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 75%
  • Programs offered: 58

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Sponsored Ad
#3

University of Louisville

Louisville, KY 7.0 miles from Louisville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Accredited
59.3 BOC Score
Acceptance rate 79%
Graduation rate 61%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $53,899
Avg net price $17,988/yr
Tuition
In‑state$13,136
Out‑of‑state$29,482
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 81%
  • Programs offered: 133

Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

Spalding University

Louisville, KY 7.9 miles from Louisville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
39.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $49,438
Avg net price $25,491/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 67%
  • Programs offered: 32

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

Sponsored Ad
#5

Jefferson Community and Technical College

Louisville, KY 7.9 miles from Louisville
  • 2 year
  • Offers a fully online program
  • Accredited
49.7 BOC Score
Graduation rate 33%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $38,171
Avg net price $6,376/yr
Tuition
In‑state$4,808
Out‑of‑state$6,512
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 42

Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Criminal Justice Wages Near Louisville

Louisville is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area (BLS area code 31140). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Kentucky statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney $124,530 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $133,759
Judge or Magistrate $156,550 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $168,153
Police Supervisor $95,610 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $102,696
Detective or Criminal Investigator $83,620 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $89,817
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer $63,220 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $67,905
Correctional Officer $45,330 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $48,690
Probation Officer $58,380 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $62,707
Forensic Science Technician $61,470 KY statewide $66,026
Paralegal or Legal Assistant $61,270 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $65,811
Information Security Analyst $106,760 Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN $114,672

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.

Louisville at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 93.1 (below U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Louisville-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Louisville, KY?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Louisville. The closest is Sullivan University in Louisville, KY (3.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Jefferson Community and Technical College (7.9 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying criminal justice roles near Louisville?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Louisville are: Judge or Magistrate ($156,550), Attorney ($124,530), Information Security Analyst ($106,760). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Kentucky statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Jeffersontown instead of Louisville?

Jeffersontown, KY is 5.1 miles from Louisville 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.

Learn More About Criminal Justice Programs

Other Programs Available in Louisville

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

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.

Back to Best Criminal Justice Schools in Kentucky (2026)