National University Public Administration (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Public Administration
- Private nonprofit university
- San Diego, CA
- About 14 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
National University public administration graduates earn more than graduates of most public administration programs nationally, $77,077 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $31,603 in federal loans, more than at 87% of public administration programs in the country. It is one of the higher-paying public administration degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all public administration bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Debt and first-year pay at every California public administration program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $335 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
89% of graduates (16 of 18) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Diego area are about 12% above the national average, so a $77,077 salary here buys what about $68,888 buys in a typical US city.
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 all experience levels.
General and Operations Managers
$124,390Median pay in California. 300,840 people work in this job in California. 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.
Construction Managers
$133,160Median pay in California. 34,750 people work in this job in California. 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.
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers
$123,780Median pay in California. 30,540 people work in this job in California. 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.
Social and Community Service Managers
$83,210Median pay in California. 33,510 people work in this job in California. 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.
About National University
Public Administration ranks 6th of 21 bachelor's programs at National University by first-year earnings. The top three are Nursing ($99,714), Electrical Engineering ($93,417), and Management Information Systems ($92,758).
Other public administration bachelor's programs near San Diego
Common questions
The median graduate earns $77,077 one year after graduating. The median across public administration bachelor's programs in California is $45,471.
The median federal loan balance is $31,603, which ranks 5th lowest of 7 public administration bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $335 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 41% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 49%.
Most do. 89% (16 of 18) were working in California one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the public administration program.
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
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024