Best Criminal Justice Schools Near Carteret, NJ (2026)

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

Carteret, New Jersey has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs, with tuition ranging from $5,415 to $12,506 per year for indexed programs. Carteret has a population of about 25,187. Median household income is $87,553 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 27.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Attorney at a median $208,880 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Carteret

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Carteret, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Carteret 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 Carteret. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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

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#1

Kean University

Union, NJ 6.4 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
65.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 60%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $57,237
Avg net price $12,447/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 76%
  • Programs offered: 73

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Seton Hall University

South Orange, NJ 10.9 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
66.6 BOC Score
Graduation rate 70%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $70,196
Avg net price $31,446/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 83%
  • Programs offered: 91

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#3

Rutgers University-Newark

Newark, NJ 11.0 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
76.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 71%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $74,479
Avg net price $19,703/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 84%
  • Programs offered: 52

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#4

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Newark, NJ 11.2 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
86.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 80%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $84,276
Avg net price $16,504/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 90%
  • Programs offered: 65

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#5

New Jersey City University

Jersey City, NJ 11.4 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
49.9 BOC Score
Graduation rate 54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $52,745
Avg net price $16,053/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 66%
  • Programs offered: 60

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#6

Saint Peter's University

Jersey City, NJ 12.8 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
62.7 BOC Score
Graduation rate 59%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $57,815
Avg net price $12,199/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 72%
  • Programs offered: 62

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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#7

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

New Brunswick, NJ 12.9 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
79.1 BOC Score
Graduation rate 84%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $74,479
Avg net price $24,406/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 93%
  • Programs offered: 185

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#8

Strayer University-New Jersey

Piscataway, NJ 13.1 miles from Carteret
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
18.8 BOC Score
Graduation rate 19%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $40,092
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 50%
  • Programs offered: 15

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Criminal Justice Wages Near Carteret

Carteret is part of the New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ metro area (BLS area code 35620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to New Jersey statewide.

Occupation Median Wage Source COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney $208,880 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $185,506
Judge or Magistrate $204,160 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $181,314
Police Supervisor $135,270 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $120,133
Detective or Criminal Investigator $106,440 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $94,529
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer $105,540 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $93,730
Correctional Officer $93,220 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $82,789
Probation Officer $79,370 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $70,488
Forensic Science Technician $81,670 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $72,531
Paralegal or Legal Assistant $75,330 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $66,901
Information Security Analyst $140,470 New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ $124,751

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.

Carteret at a Glance

Metric Value Source
Population 25,187 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income $87,553 Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ 27.7% Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100) 112.6 (above U.S. average) BEA RPP 2024

Other Carteret-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Carteret, NJ?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Carteret. The closest is Kean University in Union, NJ (6.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Essex County College (10.9 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Carteret are: Attorney ($208,880), Judge or Magistrate ($204,160), Information Security Analyst ($140,470). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with New Jersey statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Linden instead of Carteret?

Linden, NJ is 2.8 miles from Carteret 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 Carteret an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Carteret’s median household income of $87,553 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Carteret while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and New Jersey 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 Carteret

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

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 New Jersey (2026)