Average criminal justice major salary

Updated September 14, 2023

$40,272

$21,00010%

$40,272Median

$76,00090%

What is the average criminal justice major salary in the US?

Criminal justice major graduates in America make, on average, $40,272 a year or $19.36 per hour.Those in the bottom 10 percent make under $21,000 a year, and the top 10 percent make over $76,000.Most jobs for criminal justice majors are in utilities companies and professional companies.States with the highest salaries for criminal justice major graduates include New York, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

Best paying cities

$49,418

$48,881

$48,446

Average criminal justice salary by company

Criminal justice major graduates report their job security as good. But just as in every field, some employers pay higher wages than others.Most jobs for criminal justice majors are in utilities companies and utilities companies.Companies like JPMorgan Chase & Co. or Citi will get you the highest pay packages.Companies like Xerox and Universal Protection Service also report very competitive wages for criminal justice major graduates.

Average salary by company

Rank	Company	Zippia score	Average criminal justice salary
1	1.JPMorgan Chase & Co.	4.8	$61,378
2	2.Citi	4.6	$61,162
3	3.Xerox	4.3	$49,544
4	4.Universal Protection Service	3.8	$48,712
5	5.Department of Homeland Security	4.5	$48,091
6	6.Darden Restaurants	4.4	$47,514
7	7.U.S. Census Bureau	4.3	$47,448
8	8.CVS Health	4.6	$47,357
9	9.Bank of America	4.7	$46,701
10	10.General Dynamics	4.7	$46,593
11	11.Wells Fargo	4.6	$45,721
12	12.Capital One	4.7	$45,523
13	13.Amazon	4.7	$45,128
14	14.UPS	4.6	$44,951
15	15.AT&T	4.6	$44,066
16	16.State Farm Insurance Agency	3.9	$43,690
17	17.Allstate	4.6	$43,188
18	18.Gap Inc.	4.5	$43,002
19	19.United States Army Corps of Engineers	4.4	$41,325
20	20.FedEx	4.4	$40,621

Average criminal justice major salary by city

Criminal justice major graduates in the US make an average salary of $40,272 per year or $19.36 per hour.The top city when it comes to salaries for criminal justice majors is San Francisco, CA at $49,418 per year.The average entry-level salary in San Francisco, CA is $24,000.New York, NY, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, Seattle, WA, Baltimore, MD, and Portland, OR also have great salaries for criminal justice major graduates.Some of the states with the best salaries for criminal justice majors are New York, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, and Rhode Island.The lowest earning states are Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.

Average salary by location

Rank	City	Average criminal justice salary	Salary range
1	San Francisco, CA	$49,418	$25k $71k
2	New York, NY	$48,881	$25k $71k
3	Washington, DC	$48,446	$25k $71k
4	Boston, MA	$45,403	$25k $71k
5	Seattle, WA	$44,696	$25k $71k
6	Baltimore, MD	$42,890	$25k $71k
7	Portland, OR	$41,480	$25k $71k
8	Philadelphia, PA	$41,187	$25k $71k
9	Chicago, IL	$40,681	$25k $71k
10	Minneapolis, MN	$40,570	$25k $71k
11	Las Vegas, NV	$39,932	$25k $71k
12	Richmond, VA	$39,923	$25k $71k
13	Denver, CO	$39,445	$25k $71k
14	Detroit, MI	$39,337	$25k $71k
15	Cleveland, OH	$39,324	$25k $71k
16	Portland, ME	$39,297	$25k $71k
17	Glendale, AZ	$38,226	$25k $71k
18	San Antonio, TX	$37,460	$25k $71k
19	Washington, UT	$37,371	$25k $71k
20	Raleigh, NC	$36,648	$25k $71k

Average criminal justice major salary by state

The darker areas on the map show where criminal justice majors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average salary

Criminal justice major average salary by state

State	Average criminal justice major salary	Average hourly rate
New York	$48,810	$23.47
California	$47,506	$22.84
Connecticut	$47,120	$22.65
New Jersey	$46,656	$22.43
Massachusetts	$45,625	$21.94
Washington	$44,551	$21.42
Rhode Island	$43,884	$21.10
Maryland	$42,848	$20.60
Delaware	$42,435	$20.40
Hawaii	$42,313	$20.34
New Hampshire	$41,821	$20.11
Oregon	$41,794	$20.09
Alaska	$41,626	$20.01
Pennsylvania	$41,026	$19.72
Minnesota	$40,575	$19.51
Illinois	$40,547	$19.49
Vermont	$40,289	$19.37
Nevada	$40,195	$19.32
Virginia	$40,117	$19.29
Colorado	$39,433	$18.96
North Dakota	$39,211	$18.85
Michigan	$39,178	$18.84
Maine	$39,006	$18.75
Wisconsin	$38,653	$18.58
Ohio	$38,251	$18.39
Arizona	$38,182	$18.36
Texas	$37,079	$17.83
West Virginia	$36,559	$17.58
Wyoming	$36,426	$17.51
North Carolina	$36,290	$17.45
Iowa	$36,084	$17.35
Indiana	$35,665	$17.15
New Mexico	$35,404	$17.02
Utah	$35,326	$16.98
South Dakota	$35,281	$16.96
Idaho	$35,088	$16.87
Nebraska	$34,964	$16.81
Kansas	$34,880	$16.77
Georgia	$34,701	$16.68
Missouri	$34,655	$16.66
Florida	$34,446	$16.56
Montana	$34,445	$16.56
Tennessee	$34,281	$16.48
Alabama	$34,198	$16.44
Kentucky	$34,069	$16.38
Louisiana	$33,334	$16.03
South Carolina	$33,187	$15.96
Oklahoma	$32,954	$15.84
Mississippi	$32,383	$15.57
Arkansas	$32,031	$15.40

Highest paying jobs for criminal justice majors

Rank	Job title	Average salary	Open jobs
1	Investigative Analyst	$125,975	28,703
2	Attorney	$109,476	10,991
3	Security Engineer	$104,524	86,093
4	Information Security Analyst	$98,143	112,818
5	Real Estate Agent	$91,787	41,399
6	Cyber Security Analyst	$88,422	64,387
7	Securities Analyst	$84,334	33,422
8	Risk Analyst	$81,483	71,284
9	Personnel Security Specialist	$78,967	52,507
10	Intelligence Analyst	$77,752	21,390
11	Asset Protection Lead	$77,218	66,476
12	Business Analyst	$74,430	170,514
13	Data Analyst	$74,342	167,520
14	Physical Security Specialist	$74,037	99,888
15	Analyst	$73,007	253,138
16	Investigator	$71,405	5,085
17	Forensic Scientist	$71,350	43,335
18	Finance Analyst	$69,887	138,600
19	Account Executive	$69,618	205,561
20	Real Estate Paralegal	$68,386	24,369

Average criminal justice major salary by industry

Criminal justice major salaries can vary depending on the industry.Our data shows that government companies, manufacturing companies, and finance companies tend to have the highest salaries for criminal justice major graduates.government companies pay criminal justice major graduates an average salary of $41,785, manufacturing companies pay $36,293, and finance companies come in at $35,744.The types of companies that pay criminal justice majors the least are in the retail industry, where the average annual salary is $30,911.

Average salary by industry

Rank	Industry	Average criminal justice major salary	Range
1	Government	$41,785	$24k $51k
2	Manufacturing	$36,293	$24k $51k
3	Finance	$35,744	$24k $51k
4	Health Care	$35,028	$24k $51k
5	Telecommunication	$33,845	$24k $51k
6	Technology	$32,534	$24k $51k
7	Hospitality	$32,515	$24k $51k
8	Professional	$32,479	$24k $51k
9	Retail	$30,911	$24k $51k

Salary history for criminal justice major graduates

This data shows the national average salary between 2011-2020 among Criminal Justice major graduates.

Salaries for related majors

Rank	Major	Average salary	Range
1	Homeland Security	$58,300	$36k $82k
2	Fire Science And Protection	$49,365	$36k $82k
3	Law Enforcement	$48,270	$36k $82k