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Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

95 Colleges
$6,713 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$39,141 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Criminal Justice & Corrections School for You

In 2020-2021, 113,121 criminal justice and corrections students received a degree or certificate, making the major the #7 most popular in the country.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

The Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. This report analyzed 95 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for criminal justice students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges.

Top 15% Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools

$3,780 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found Southeast Community College Area to be the best value school for criminal justice and corrections students who want to pursue a degree in the Plains States Region . Southeast Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Lincoln.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeast Community College are $3,780 per year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at Southeast Community College accumulate an average of around $14,578 in student debt.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Southeast Community College Area

$5,010 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northeast Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northeast are $5,010 per year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at Northeast accumulate an average of around $11,079 in student debt.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Northeast Community College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Alexandria Technical & Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Alexandria, ATCC is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at ATCC are $5,910 per year. After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from ATCC carry an average student debtload of $15,750.

ATCC also claimed a spot on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Alexandria Technical & Community College

#4

North Hennepin Community College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Out of the 95 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, North Hennepin Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, North Hennepin Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at North Hennepin Community College are $4,882 a year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at North Hennepin Community College accumulate an average of around $25,850 in student debt.

North Hennepin Community College also claimed a spot on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

$5,815 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the fringe town of Cloquet, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College is a public college with a small student population.

Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,815 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College carry an average student debtload of $17,750.

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#6

Normandale Community College

Bloomington, MN

With a ranking of #6, Normandale Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Located in the city of Bloomington, Normandale Community College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Normandale Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,789 in tuition and fees each year.

Normandale Community College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Full Criminal Justice & Corrections at Normandale Community College Report

#7

Lake Region State College

Devils Lake, ND
$5,000 Average Tuition & Fees

With a ranking of #7, Lake Region State College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. Lake Region State College is a small public school located in the town of Devils Lake.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Lake Region State College are $5,000 a year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at Lake Region State College accumulate an average of around $12,750 in student debt.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lake Region State College

$4,680 Average Tuition & Fees

Metropolitan Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. MCC is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Omaha.

MCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,680 in tuition and fees each year. Criminal Justice majors at MCC take out an average of $13,539 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

#9

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN
$5,741 Average Tuition & Fees

Hennepin Technical College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Hennepin Technical College undergraduate students pay an average of $5,741 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that criminal justice majors at Hennepin Technical College take out is $20,396.

Read More…

#10

Inver Hills Community College

Inver Grove Heights, MN
$5,809 Average Tuition & Fees

Inver Hills Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. IHCC is a small public school located in the large suburb of Inver Grove Heights.

IHCC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,809 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from IHCC carry an average student debtload of $21,500.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Inver Hills Community College

$6,052 Average Tuition & Fees

Northland Community and Technical College landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. Located in the town of Thief River Falls, Northland Community and Technical College is a public college with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northland Community and Technical College are $6,052 per year.

Read More…

#12

Century College

White Bear Lake, MN
$5,907 Average Tuition & Fees

Century College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the suburb of White Bear Lake, Century College is a public school with a medium-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Century College are $5,907 per year. Criminal Justice majors at Century College take out an average of $29,451 in student loans while working on their egree.

Read More…

Lake Area Technical Institute landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value criminal justice and corrections programs. LATI is a small public school located in the town of Watertown.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LATI are $6,718 per year. After completing their degree, criminal justice graduates from LATI carry an average student debtload of $12,000.

Read full report on Criminal Justice & Corrections at Lake Area Technical Institute

#14

Wayne State College

Wayne, NE
$7,458 Average Tuition & Fees

Wayne State College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for criminal justice and corrections students. It came in at #14 on the list. WSC is a small public school located in the distant town of Wayne.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WSC are $7,458 a year. While working on their degree, criminal justice majors at WSC accumulate an average of around $25,086 in student debt.

Read More…

Additional Noteworthy Schools

Here are some additional great value schools for Criminal Justice & Corrections students in the Plains States Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Criminal Justice & Corrections Schools in the Plains States Region award.

Rank College Location
15 Chadron State College Chadron, NE
16 Central Methodist University - College of Graduate & Extended Studies Fayette, MO
17 Johnson County Community College Overland Park, KS
18 Hibbing Community College Hibbing, MN
19 Jefferson College Hillsboro, MO

Best Criminal Justice & Corrections Colleges by State

Explore the best criminal justice and corrections schools for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Missouri 1,273
Minnesota 1,525
Kansas 586
Iowa 627
Nebraska 608
North Dakota 225
South Dakota 154

One of 4 majors within the area of study, criminal justice and corrections has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Fire Protection 13,766
Homeland Security 7,140
Security Science and Technology 6,888
Other Homeland Security 1,695

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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