Criminal Psychologist Salary 2026
Criminal psychologists earn an estimated $90,000 to $120,000 per year depending on setting. "Criminal psychologist" is a popular umbrella term with no dedicated BLS code; the work is done by licensed forensic, clinical, and correctional psychologists, whose closest federal benchmark is "Psychologists, All Other" at a $110,840 median (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Last verified 6 September 2026 · Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, SOC 19-3039, median $110,840; OPM 2026 General Schedule for federal roles
Quick answer
A criminal psychologist earns an estimated median of about $90,000 to $120,000 per year. Pay depends heavily on setting: state corrections and forensic-hospital roles run $75,000 to $115,000, Federal Bureau of Prisons staff psychologists reach $115,000 to $155,000 with locality pay and recruitment incentives, and private forensic consultants who testify as expert witnesses ($150 to $350 per hour) can exceed $160,000. Those setting bands are our estimates. Because there is no BLS code for criminal psychology, the honest benchmark is BLS SOC 19-3039 (Psychologists, All Other) at a $110,840 median.
$90-120K
Estimated Median Annual
$110,840
BLS 19-3039 Anchor (May 2025)
$115-155K
Federal BOP Range (OPM scale)
$150-350
Expert Witness $/hr (estimate)
Data note: The BLS does not report a separate occupational code for criminal psychologists. They are captured within BLS 19-3033 (Clinical and Counseling Psychologists, median $100,580) or 19-3039 (Psychologists, All Other, median $110,840, OEWS May 2025, snapshot taken 6 September 2026). Setting-level figures on this page are estimates aligned with our forensic and correctional psychology pages, and with published federal pay scales (OPM 2026 General Schedule, BOP recruitment incentives).
Criminal vs Forensic vs Correctional Psychology
These three labels are constantly confused. The pay is similar because they overlap heavily, but the day-to-day work and the BLS category differ. Here is how they line up.
| Role | What they do | Typical setting | Estimated pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Criminal psychologist | Umbrella term: studies criminal behavior, motivation, and risk; often really a forensic or correctional role | Varies (see below) | $90,000 - $120,000 |
| Forensic psychologist | Applies psychology to the legal system: competency, criminal responsibility, custody, expert testimony | Courts, consulting, forensic hospitals | $101,000 - $115,000 |
| Correctional psychologist | Treats and evaluates incarcerated people inside prisons and jails | Federal BOP, state DOC | $75,000 - $155,000 |
| Criminal profiler (BAU) | Behavioral case analysis for investigations. Usually a federal agent, not a licensed psychologist | FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit | Federal GS/GL agent scale |
Criminal Psychologist Salary by Work Setting
| Setting | Typical Annual Range | Key Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Private Consulting + Expert Witness | $140,000 - $250,000+ | $150-350/hr testimony; requires established reputation and caseload |
| Federal Bureau of Prisons (staff psychologist) | $115,000 - $155,000 | GS-13 base $90,925 (OPM 2026) + locality + up to 25% recruitment incentive; PSLF eligible |
| State Forensic Hospital | $90,000 - $120,000 | Competency restoration; inpatient forensic units |
| Police / Public-Safety Psychologist | $90,000 - $130,000 | Fitness-for-duty evaluations, negotiation consultation, officer wellness |
| State Department of Corrections | $75,000 - $115,000 | Wide state variation; California CCHCS around $167K at the top |
| Academia (psychology / criminal justice) | $70,000 - $100,000 | Teaching and research; consulting typically supplements income |
How to Become a Criminal Psychologist
- 1. Doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in clinical, counseling, or forensic psychology with criminal-justice coursework
- 2. APA-accredited internship with a forensic or corrections rotation
- 3. Postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology (1-2 years; often at state hospitals or federal facilities)
- 4. Licensure as a psychologist in your state (doctoral degree, supervised hours, EPPP)
- 5. Supervised forensic experience (1,000+ hours for board eligibility)
- 6. Optional: ABPP board certification in Forensic Psychology
What Criminal Psychologists Actually Do
- Assess offenders for violence and recidivism risk
- Evaluate competency to stand trial and criminal responsibility
- Treat incarcerated and court-mandated clients
- Consult with attorneys and law enforcement on behavior
- Provide sentencing mitigation and parole evaluations
- Support hostage negotiation and crisis response teams
- Testify as expert witnesses in criminal and civil cases
- Research the causes and prevention of criminal behavior
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do criminal psychologists make?
There is no separate BLS occupational code for criminal psychologists, so pay is estimated from the categories they fall under. Most are counted within Clinical and Counseling Psychologists (BLS SOC 19-3033, median $100,580) or Psychologists, All Other (SOC 19-3039, median $110,840, OEWS May 2025). Our estimated pay runs $90,000 to $120,000 depending on setting. Federal Bureau of Prisons staff psychologists reach $115,000 to $155,000 with locality pay and recruitment incentives, state corrections roles run $75,000 to $115,000, and private forensic consultants who add expert-witness testimony ($150 to $350 per hour) can exceed $160,000. Every setting-level band on this page is our estimate, not a BLS figure.
What is the difference between a criminal psychologist and a forensic psychologist?
Criminal psychology is a popular umbrella term for the study of criminal behavior, motivations, and risk. Forensic psychology is the formal, licensed profession that applies psychology to the legal system: competency-to-stand-trial evaluations, criminal responsibility assessments, risk and recidivism evaluations, and expert-witness testimony. In practice, most working professionals who describe themselves as criminal psychologists are licensed as forensic, clinical, or correctional psychologists. The pay is therefore similar to forensic psychology because it is largely the same set of jobs under a different label. Criminology, by contrast, is a social-science discipline that usually does not require a psychology license.
Do criminal psychologists work for the FBI as profilers?
Rarely in the way television portrays it. The criminal profilers at the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) are Supervisory Special Agents, paid on the federal GS/GL law-enforcement scale plus Law Enforcement Availability Pay (25 percent), not licensed clinical psychologists in a treatment role. Psychologists do support law enforcement, typically as police and public-safety psychologists (fitness-for-duty evaluations, hostage-negotiation consultation, officer wellness) earning roughly $90,000 to $130,000, or as consultants. So the profiling career most people picture is a federal-agent path, while the criminal-psychologist career is a licensed-psychologist path. They overlap but are not the same job.
How do you become a criminal psychologist?
The standard route mirrors forensic psychology: a doctoral degree (PhD or PsyD) in clinical, counseling, or forensic psychology with criminal-justice or forensic coursework, an APA-accredited internship with a forensic or corrections rotation, a one-to-two-year postdoctoral fellowship (often at a state forensic hospital or federal facility), state licensure as a psychologist, and accumulation of supervised forensic hours. Optional ABPP board certification in Forensic Psychology strengthens court credibility and earning potential. The full path typically takes 8 to 12 years after a bachelor's degree.
Which setting pays criminal psychologists the most?
Private consulting combined with expert-witness testimony has the highest ceiling: established practitioners bill $150 to $350 per hour for evaluations and court testimony and can clear $160,000 or more when a full caseload is combined with base employment. Among salaried roles, Federal Bureau of Prisons psychologists at high-locality institutions reach $135,000 to $170,000 (GS-13 base plus locality plus a recruitment incentive of up to 25 percent), and California Correctional Health Care Services pays licensed staff psychologists around $167,000. State corrections and forensic-hospital roles in the South and Plains sit at the lower end, near $75,000 to $105,000.