Public Administration

2,585 students earn a public administration credential each year across 152 US colleges. Earnings below are the median for each school's graduates one and five years after finishing; debt is the median federal loan balance at completion.

Typical earnings, 1 year out: $45,278
Typical earnings, 5 years out: $59,361

Filter the college directory to schools offering this major →

Rank colleges by

Highest earnings Most graduates

Bachelor's programs — top 100 of 127 colleges by graduate earnings

CollegeGrads / yearEarnings 1 yearEarnings 5 yearsDebt

1Barry UniversityMiami, Florida25$103,1071 year out$72,493$25,728 2National UniversitySan Diego, California14$77,0771 year out—$31,603 3California State University-NorthridgeNorthridge, California24$76,0491 year out—$37,500 4University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, Maryland48$74,0531 year out—$29,202 5Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, New Hampshire8$73,1291 year out—$31,139 6California Baptist UniversityRiverside, California16$68,6821 year out—$39,244 7The University of Arizona Global CampusChandler, Arizona3$65,5031 year out$64,804$41,250 8University of Phoenix-ArizonaPhoenix, Arizona56$61,7901 year out$68,415$45,656 9Flagler CollegeSaint Augustine, Florida16$61,6131 year out$49,473$21,485 10Upper Iowa UniversityFayette, Iowa17$61,1041 year out$75,905$31,000 11George Mason UniversityFairfax, Virginia29$56,6741 year out$72,841$20,106 12Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee, North Carolina120$56,4451 year out$61,307$18,375 13Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, New York88$53,9121 year out$74,419$26,000 14CUNY John Jay College of Criminal JusticeNew York, New York38$48,8811 year out$57,522$13,895 15James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, Virginia56$48,3961 year out$69,552$19,500 16Indiana University-BloomingtonBloomington, Indiana420$47,0131 year out$74,845$20,731 17Texas State UniversitySan Marcos, Texas30$46,4911 year out$52,103$27,418 18Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant, Michigan30$46,3011 year out—$27,500 19Florida International UniversityMiami, Florida81$46,2811 year out$58,006$27,022 20Florida Atlantic UniversityBoca Raton, Florida41$46,0471 year out$59,981$19,804 21Kean UniversityUnion, New Jersey13$45,8501 year out$55,299$31,000 22California State University-Dominguez HillsCarson, California42$45,4711 year out$65,441$18,965 23Miami University-OxfordOxford, Ohio16$45,2781 year out$74,271$25,731 24University of Wisconsin-WhitewaterWhitewater, Wisconsin6$44,9511 year out$59,361$27,187 25University of Wisconsin-La CrosseLa Crosse, Wisconsin14$43,6321 year out$56,013$20,500 26CUNY Medgar Evers CollegeBrooklyn, New York18$43,3171 year out—$19,187 27Indiana University-IndianapolisIndianapolis, Indiana66$43,1101 year out$61,050$25,000 28St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, Florida20$42,7351 year out—$31,809 29University of Hawaii-West OahuKapolei, Hawaii115$42,4811 year out$53,361$21,000 30Ohio State University-Main CampusColumbus, Ohio88$41,6501 year out$63,423$21,887 31San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, California56$41,0201 year out$50,842$15,000 32University of OregonEugene, Oregon66$39,3651 year out$61,025$16,166 33University of ArizonaTucson, Arizona32$39,1361 year out$57,287$21,000 34University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, Iowa9$38,8771 year out$55,244$27,000 35Wayne State UniversityDetroit, Michigan7$38,7671 year out—$30,750 36University of Central FloridaOrlando, Florida47$38,6811 year out$53,850$22,453 37Indian River State CollegeFort Pierce, Florida23$38,5211 year out$38,943—38The University of Texas at San AntonioSan Antonio, Texas30$38,3581 year out$48,927$20,500 39CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegeNew York, New York45$37,7921 year out$64,011$13,250 40California State University-San BernardinoSan Bernardino, California—$36,9691 year out$54,225$13,300 41California State University-FullertonFullerton, California24$36,6261 year out$68,007$13,273 42The University of Texas at DallasRichardson, Texas9$36,3281 year out$57,861$17,961 43Grand Valley State UniversityAllendale, Michigan26$36,2361 year out$50,338$25,697 44Purdue University Fort WayneFort Wayne, Indiana23$34,7801 year out$52,883$22,242 45Rhode Island CollegeProvidence, Rhode Island10$32,4091 year out——46Park UniversityParkville, Missouri28—1 year out——47Brigham Young University-IdahoRexburg, Idaho24—1 year out——48Liberty UniversityLynchburg, Virginia22—1 year out——49University of La VerneLa Verne, California17—1 year out$85,403$29,333 50University of GuamMangilao, Guam16—1 year out——51University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusNorman, Oklahoma14—1 year out—$20,548 52University of Houston-Clear LakeHouston, Texas13—1 year out——53Seattle UniversitySeattle, Washington13—1 year out——54University of California-RiversideRiverside, California12—1 year out——55University of North DakotaGrand Forks, North Dakota12—1 year out——56University of Maine at AugustaAugusta, Maine11—1 year out——57Iowa State UniversityAmes, Iowa10—1 year out——58University of Missouri-St LouisSaint Louis, Missouri10—1 year out——59The University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleKnoxville, Tennessee10—1 year out——60University of KansasLawrence, Kansas9—1 year out$58,908—61Eastern Michigan UniversityYpsilanti, Michigan9—1 year out——62University of Central ArkansasConway, Arkansas8—1 year out——63University of Wisconsin-Green BayGreen Bay, Wisconsin7—1 year out$45,096—64Auburn UniversityAuburn, Alabama6—1 year out$54,761—65California State University-ChicoChico, California6—1 year out——66Hawaii Pacific UniversityHonolulu, Hawaii6—1 year out——67Roger Williams UniversityBristol, Rhode Island6—1 year out——68Lee UniversityCleveland, Tennessee6—1 year out——69University of Illinois SpringfieldSpringfield, Illinois5—1 year out——70Indiana University-NorthwestGary, Indiana5—1 year out——71Washburn UniversityTopeka, Kansas5—1 year out——72Cleveland State UniversityCleveland, Ohio5—1 year out$54,917—73University of Central OklahomaEdmond, Oklahoma5—1 year out——74Point Park UniversityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania5—1 year out——75Texas Southern UniversityHouston, Texas5—1 year out$44,275—76Hampton UniversityHampton, Virginia5—1 year out——77Samford UniversityBirmingham, Alabama4—1 year out——78Northern Arizona UniversityFlagstaff, Arizona4—1 year out——79California State University-BakersfieldBakersfield, California4—1 year out$63,595—80Saginaw Valley State UniversityUniversity Center, Michigan4—1 year out——81Mars Hill UniversityMars Hill, North Carolina4—1 year out——82Franklin UniversityColumbus, Ohio4—1 year out——83Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityMount Vernon, Ohio4—1 year out——84Rogers State UniversityClaremore, Oklahoma4—1 year out——85Kutztown University of PennsylvaniaKutztown, Pennsylvania4—1 year out——86University of MiamiCoral Gables, Florida3—1 year out——87Southern University at New OrleansNew Orleans, Louisiana3—1 year out——88University of Maine at Fort KentFort Kent, Maine3—1 year out——89Oakland UniversityRochester Hills, Michigan3—1 year out——90Columbia CollegeColumbia, Missouri3—1 year out——91University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPittsburgh, Pennsylvania3—1 year out——92Tarleton State UniversityStephenville, Texas3—1 year out——93Arkansas Baptist CollegeLittle Rock, Arkansas2—1 year out——94Harding UniversitySearcy, Arkansas2—1 year out——95Lewis UniversityRomeoville, Illinois2—1 year out——96Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, Illinois2—1 year out——97Indiana University-KokomoKokomo, Indiana2—1 year out——98University of Massachusetts-DartmouthNorth Dartmouth, Massachusetts2—1 year out——99Plymouth State UniversityPlymouth, New Hampshire2—1 year out——100St. John's University-New YorkQueens, New York2—1 year out——

Associate programs — 14 colleges

CollegeGrads / yearEarnings 1 yearEarnings 5 yearsDebt

1Indiana Wesleyan University-National & GlobalMarion, Indiana19—1 year out——2Frederick Community CollegeFrederick, Maryland16—1 year out——3CUNY Medgar Evers CollegeBrooklyn, New York8—1 year out——4Southwestern CollegeChula Vista, California7—1 year out——5Hudson Valley Community CollegeTroy, New York6—1 year out——6CUNY Hostos Community CollegeBronx, New York4—1 year out$48,183—7Lamar Institute of TechnologyBeaumont, Texas3—1 year out——8Navajo Technical UniversityCrownpoint, New Mexico2—1 year out——9Kilgore CollegeKilgore, Texas2—1 year out——10San Antonio CollegeSan Antonio, Texas2—1 year out——11Salish Kootenai CollegePablo, Montana1—1 year out——12Lorain County Community CollegeElyria, Ohio1—1 year out——13Tyler Junior CollegeTyler, Texas1—1 year out——14Northwest Indian CollegeBellingham, Washington1—1 year out——

Certificate programs — 21 colleges

CollegeGrads / yearEarnings 1 yearEarnings 5 yearsDebt

1Florida State UniversityTallahassee, Florida—$36,1021 year out—$20,125 2Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, Arizona22—1 year out——3Rio Salado CollegeTempe, Arizona22—1 year out——4University of Maryland Global CampusAdelphi, Maryland20—1 year out——5CUNY Hunter CollegeNew York, New York10—1 year out——6University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh CampusPittsburgh, Pennsylvania9—1 year out——7Tyler Junior CollegeTyler, Texas7—1 year out——8Glendale Community CollegeGlendale, Arizona6—1 year out——9Indiana University-IndianapolisIndianapolis, Indiana6—1 year out——10Frederick Community CollegeFrederick, Maryland6—1 year out——11Providence CollegeProvidence, Rhode Island4—1 year out——12San Antonio CollegeSan Antonio, Texas4—1 year out——13South Texas CollegeMcAllen, Texas3—1 year out——14Jackson CollegeJackson, Michigan2—1 year out——15Roger Williams UniversityBristol, Rhode Island2—1 year out——16Auburn UniversityAuburn, Alabama1—1 year out——17University of Maryland-Baltimore CountyBaltimore, Maryland1—1 year out——18Bridgewater State UniversityBridgewater, Massachusetts1—1 year out——19Little Big Horn CollegeCrow Agency, Montana1—1 year out——20Western Oregon UniversityMonmouth, Oregon1—1 year out——21Liberty UniversityLynchburg, Virginia1—1 year out——

US Department of Education College Scorecard field-of-study data (4-digit CIP). Graduates are conferrals in the most recent IPEDS year; earnings cover federally-aided completers who are working and not enrolled; medians for small programs are privacy-suppressed (—).