Best Criminology Schools Near Sacramento, CA (2026)

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

Sacramento, California has 8 accredited schools offering criminology programs, with tuition ranging from $1,272 to $21,224 per year for indexed programs. Sacramento has a population of about 524,802. Median household income is $83,753 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 36.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In California, the top-earning criminology-related role is Sociologist at a median $125,770 annually (BLS, May 2025).

Closest Criminology Schools to Sacramento

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

Acceptance rate 94%

Graduation rate 56%

Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $64,876

Avg net price $9,338/yr

Tuition

In‑state$8,018

Out‑of‑state$20,618

Contact

6000 J St Sacramento, CA 95819-2694
(916) 278-6011
Visit website

Key stats

Retention rate: 81%
Programs offered: 30

Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University CommissionIPEDS College Scorecard

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California criminology page.

Criminology Wages Near Sacramento

Sacramento is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA metro area (BLS area code 40900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Sociologist	$125,770	CA statewide	$117,873
Detective and Criminal Investigator	$109,500	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$102,624
Probation Officer and Correctional Treatment Specialist	$100,690	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$94,367
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer	$111,460	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$104,461

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.

Sacramento at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	524,802	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$83,753	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	36.4%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	106.7 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Sacramento-Area Cities With Criminology Programs

West Sacramento, CA – 4.5 mi away (52,981 pop)
Elk Grove, CA – 11.4 mi away (169,743 pop)
Rancho Cordova, CA – 11.7 mi away (72,326 pop)
Citrus Heights, CA – 13.2 mi away (87,432 pop)
Davis, CA – 14.5 mi away (75,553 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited criminology schools are near Sacramento, CA?

Our directory has 8 accredited schools offering criminology programs near Sacramento. The closest is California State University-Sacramento in Sacramento, CA (2.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is San Jose State University (87.9 miles). 8 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying criminology roles near Sacramento?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying criminology-related roles near Sacramento are: Sociologist ($125,770), Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officer ($111,460), Detective and Criminal Investigator ($109,500). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in West Sacramento instead of Sacramento?

West Sacramento, CA is 4.5 miles from Sacramento and has its own set of local criminology programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Sacramento an affordable place to study criminology?

Sacramento’s median household income of $83,753 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Sacramento while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California 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 Criminology Programs

Other Programs Available in Sacramento

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

Data verified: August 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 Criminology Schools in California: Online Programs (2026)