Which state pays public administration bachelor's graduates the most?

Florida, where the median program pays its graduates $46,047 in their first year, the highest of 2 state rankings. California is next, at $45,471.

Which public administration bachelor's program pays the most?

Barry University in Florida reports the highest first-year pay of the 45 programs ranked here, $103,107. Its median federal debt is $25,728.

How much debt do public administration bachelor's graduates have?

The median program leaves its graduates with $23,626 in federal debt. Across programs, the median debt is 49% of first-year pay.

Highest-Paying Public Administration (Bachelor's) Programs in the US

45 programs report first-year pay
2 state rankings
Bachelor's in Public Administration

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

The median public administration bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $45,278 in their first year and $59,135 five years after. Florida has the highest state median ($46,047), and California the lowest ($45,471). The median program leaves its graduates with $23,626 in federal debt.

Median first-year pay$45,278Across 45 programs

Median pay after 5 years$59,135Across 48 programs

Median federal debt$23,626Across 46 programs

Debt-to-earnings49%Across 43 programs

All 45 programs, ranked by graduate pay

Each program is ranked by the median pay of its graduates one year after they finished, from College Scorecard. This measures what graduates earn, not how good the teaching is. Pay also depends on where graduates live and work. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	School	Year 1 pay	After cost of living	Year 5 pay	Debt	Debt to pay
1	Barry UniversityMiami, FL · private nonprofit	$103,107	$99,703	$72,493	$25,728	25%
2	National UniversitySan Diego, CA · private nonprofit	$77,077	$69,614	Not reported	$31,603	41%
3	CSUNNorthridge, CA · public	$76,049	$68,686	Not reported	$37,500	49%
4	UMGCAdelphi, MD · public	$74,053	$70,554	Not reported	$29,202	39%
5	SNHUManchester, NH · private nonprofit	$73,129	Not adjusted	Not reported	$31,139	43%
6	California Baptist UniversityRiverside, CA · private nonprofit	$68,682	$62,032	Not reported	$39,244	57%
7	University of Arizona Global CampusChandler, AZ · public	$65,503	Not adjusted	$64,804	$41,250	63%
8	University of PhoenixPhoenix, AZ · private for-profit	$61,790	Not adjusted	$68,415	$45,656	74%
9	Flagler CollegeSaint Augustine, FL · private nonprofit	$61,613	$59,579	$49,473	$21,485	35%
10	Upper Iowa UniversityFayette, IA · private nonprofit	$61,104	Not adjusted	$75,905	$31,000	51%
11	George MasonFairfax, VA · public	$56,674	$56,055	$72,841	$20,106	35%
12	Western Carolina UniversityCullowhee, NC · public	$56,445	$59,840	$61,307	$18,375	33%
13	Syracuse UniversitySyracuse, NY · private nonprofit	$53,912	Not adjusted	$74,419	$26,000	48%
14	John Jay CollegeNew York, NY · public	$48,881	$45,293	$57,522	$13,895	28%
15	JMUHarrisonburg, VA · public	$48,396	$47,868	$69,552	$19,500	40%
16	IU BloomingtonBloomington, IN · public	$47,013	$50,373	$74,845	$20,731	44%
17	Texas StateSan Marcos, TX · public	$46,491	$47,901	$52,103	$27,418	59%
18	Central Michigan UniversityMount Pleasant, MI · public	$46,301	Not adjusted	Not reported	$27,500	59%
19	FIUMiami, FL · public	$46,281	$44,753	$58,006	$27,022	58%
20	FAUBoca Raton, FL · public	$46,047	$44,527	$59,981	$19,804	43%
21	Kean UniversityUnion, NJ · public	$45,850	$42,140	$55,299	$31,000	68%
22	Cal State Dominguez HillsCarson, CA · public	$45,471	$41,068	$65,441	$18,965	42%
23	Miami UniversityOxford, OH · public	$45,278	$48,805	$74,271	$25,731	57%
24	UW-WhitewaterWhitewater, WI · public	$44,951	Not adjusted	$59,361	$27,187	60%
25	UW-La CrosseLa Crosse, WI · public	$43,632	$46,370	$56,013	$20,500	47%
26	Medgar Evers CollegeBrooklyn, NY · public	$43,317	$40,138	Not reported	$19,187	44%
27	IU IndianapolisIndianapolis, IN · public	$43,110	$46,191	$61,050	$25,000	58%
28	St Petersburg CollegeSt. Petersburg, FL · public	$42,735	$41,324	Not reported	$31,809	74%
29	UH West OahuKapolei, HI · public	$42,481	$38,636	$53,361	$21,000	49%
30	Ohio StateColumbus, OH · public	$41,650	$44,894	$63,423	$21,887	53%
31	San Diego StateSan Diego, CA · public	$41,020	$37,048	$50,842	$15,000	37%
32	University of OregonEugene, OR · public	$39,365	$38,085	$61,025	$16,166	41%
33	University of ArizonaTucson, AZ · public	$39,136	$38,873	$57,287	$21,000	54%
34	University of Northern IowaCedar Falls, IA · public	$38,877	Not adjusted	$55,244	$27,000	69%
35	Wayne StateDetroit, MI · public	$38,767	$40,291	Not reported	$30,750	79%
36	UCFOrlando, FL · public	$38,681	$37,404	$53,850	$22,453	58%
37	Indian River State CollegeFort Pierce, FL · public	$38,521	$37,249	$38,943	Not reported	Not reported
38	UTSASan Antonio, TX · public	$38,358	$39,521	$48,927	$20,500	53%
39	Baruch CollegeNew York, NY · public	$37,792	$35,018	$64,011	$13,250	35%
40	Cal State San BernardinoSan Bernardino, CA · public	$36,969	$33,390	$54,225	$13,300	36%
41	Cal State FullertonFullerton, CA · public	$36,626	$33,080	$68,007	$13,273	36%
42	UT DallasRichardson, TX · public	$36,328	$37,430	$57,861	$17,961	49%
43	Grand Valley StateAllendale, MI · public	$36,236	$37,661	$50,338	$25,697	71%
44	Purdue Fort WayneFort Wayne, IN · public	$34,780	$37,266	$52,883	$22,242	64%
45	Rhode Island CollegeProvidence, RI · public	$32,409	Not adjusted	Not reported	Not reported	Not reported

Pay after cost of living divides first-year pay by the Bureau of Economic Analysis price level of the school's state, where the US average is 100. It is shown for 36 programs where at least half of the graduates who work are working in the school's state. The other 9, whose graduates mostly work in other states or whose state has no price level, are listed last when you sort by it.

2 programs report pay but not debt, so they are ranked only by pay.

College Scorecard withholds pay for programs with too few graduates, to protect their privacy, so those programs can't be ranked.

Public Administration (Bachelor's) programs by state

Each row is the median across the state's public administration bachelor's programs. State names link to the full ranking of that state's programs.

State	Programs	Year 1 pay	Debt
Florida	7	$46,047	$24,091
California	7	$45,471	$24,149

Programs in 16 more states and territories report pay, but too few to rank. A state ranking needs at least five programs that report both pay and debt.

Quick picks nationwide

Lowest median debt

Cal State Fullerton, CA$13,273
Cal State San Bernardino, CA$13,300
San Diego State, CA$15,000
Cal State Dominguez Hills, CA$18,965
FAU, FL$19,804
Flagler College, FL$21,485
UCF, FL$22,453
Barry University, FL$25,728
FIU, FL$27,022
National University, CA$31,603

Lowest debt for the pay

Only the 13 programs with their own page here are included. "Debt for the pay" is median debt divided by first-year pay.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to public administration, largest first. Pay is the median across the US and all experience levels.

General and Operations Managers

$105,770

Median pay in the US. 3,503,020 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 285,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $50,090Top 10%: $253,390

Construction Managers

$114,990

Median pay in the US. 380,360 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 49,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $69,690Top 10%: $189,440

Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers

$107,230

Median pay in the US. 221,180 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,300 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $65,120Top 10%: $194,900

Social and Community Service Managers

$80,390

Median pay in the US. 209,330 people work in this job in the US. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 18,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $53,150Top 10%: $132,260

Common questions

The median public administration bachelor's program in the US pays its graduates $45,278 in their first year and $59,135 five years after.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Medians are across programs, not students: each program counts once, however many graduates it has.
National medians include every program in the 50 states, DC, and US territories, including schools that have since closed. Schools with several campuses that report one combined figure are counted once.
Programs are ranked by College Scorecard median pay one year after graduation. Pay after cost of living uses the price level of the school's state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025. Price levels are the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities for 2024.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk
Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024