Best Online Criminal Justice Programs in Charlottesville, VA (2026)

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

Charlottesville, Virginia has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs. Charlottesville has a population of about 45,863. Median household income is $69,829 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 60.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Charlottesville, VA metro area, the top-earning criminal justice-related role is Attorney at a median $149,430 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Criminal Justice Schools to Charlottesville

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

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

Published tuitionContact school for pricing

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Published tuitionContact school for pricing

Online programsYes

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

Criminal Justice Wages Near Charlottesville

Charlottesville is part of the Charlottesville, VA metro area (BLS area code 16820). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Virginia statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Attorney	$149,430	Charlottesville, VA	$150,787
Judge or Magistrate	$104,000	Charlottesville, VA	$104,945
Police Supervisor	$94,220	Charlottesville, VA	$95,076
Detective or Criminal Investigator	$93,160	Charlottesville, VA	$94,006
Police or Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$60,880	Charlottesville, VA	$61,433
Correctional Officer	$52,700	Charlottesville, VA	$53,179
Probation Officer	$58,830	Charlottesville, VA	$59,364
Forensic Science Technician	$68,900	VA statewide	$69,526
Paralegal or Legal Assistant	$59,740	Charlottesville, VA	$60,283
Information Security Analyst	$126,340	Charlottesville, VA	$127,487

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.

Charlottesville at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	45,863	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$69,829	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	60.6%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	99.1 (below U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Charlottesville-Area Cities With Criminal Justice Programs

Waynesboro, VA – 22.7 mi away (21,887 pop)
Staunton, VA – 32.4 mi away (58,077 pop)
Harrisonburg, VA – 34.7 mi away (72,470 pop)
Fredericksburg, VA – 57.2 mi away (164,610 pop)
Lynchburg, VA – 58.5 mi away (123,795 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminal justice schools are near Charlottesville, VA?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering criminal justice programs near Charlottesville. The closest is Piedmont Virginia Community College in Charlottesville, VA (0.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Longwood University (51.1 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminal justice-related roles near Charlottesville are: Attorney ($149,430), Information Security Analyst ($126,340), Judge or Magistrate ($104,000). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Virginia statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Waynesboro instead of Charlottesville?

Waynesboro, VA is 22.7 miles from Charlottesville 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 Charlottesville an affordable place to study criminal justice?

Charlottesville’s median household income of $69,829 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Charlottesville while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Virginia 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 Charlottesville

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

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 Virginia (2026)

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