Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in Wake Forest, NC (2026)

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

Wake Forest, North Carolina has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Wake Forest has a population of about 51,199. Median household income is $120,777 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 57.8% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Information Security Analyst at a median $143,640 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Wake Forest

The 5 accredited institutions below are the closest among the 5 schools in our directory that offer criminal justice programs near Wake Forest. Distances are calculated from Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

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

Criminal Justice Wages Near Wake Forest

Wake Forest is part of the Raleigh-Cary, NC metro area (BLS area code 39580). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to North Carolina statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney	$131,920	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$134,338
Judge or Magistrate	N/A	NC statewide	–
Police Supervisor	$102,610	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$104,491
Detective or Criminal Investigator	$77,210	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$78,625
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$65,860	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$67,067
Correctional Officer	$54,070	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$55,061
Probation Officer	$65,490	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$66,690
Forensic Science Technician	$62,790	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$63,941
Paralegal or Legal Assistant	$61,880	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$63,014
Information Security Analyst	$143,640	Raleigh-Cary, NC	$146,273

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.

Wake Forest at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	51,199	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$120,777	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	57.8%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	98.2 (below U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Wake Forest-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Raleigh, NC – 11.6 mi away (1,005,457 pop)
Garner, NC – 19.5 mi away (28,776 pop)
Morrisville, NC – 20.0 mi away (24,732 pop)
Cary, NC – 21.0 mi away (162,320 pop)
Clayton, NC – 21.3 mi away (20,260 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Wake Forest, NC?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Wake Forest. The closest is Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, NC (13.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is North Carolina Central University (21.5 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying criminal justice roles near Wake Forest?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Wake Forest are: Information Security Analyst ($143,640), Attorney ($131,920), Police Supervisor ($102,610). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with North Carolina statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Raleigh instead of Wake Forest?

Raleigh, NC is 11.6 miles from Wake Forest 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 Wake Forest an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Wake Forest’s median household income of $120,777 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Wake Forest while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and North Carolina 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 Wake Forest

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

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 North Carolina (2026)

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