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In 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Public Administration degree recipients are New York, NY, Bloomington, IN, and Phoenix, AZ. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Public Administration degree recipients are Kapolei, HI, Belmont, CA, and Miami Shores, FL. The most common degree awarded to students studying Public Administration is a masters degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Public Administration and the types of students that study this field. Indiana University-Bloomington awards the most degrees in Public Administration in the US, but Claremont Lincoln University and Anna Maria College have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Public Administration.
Tuition costs for Public Administration majors are, on average, $7,800 for in-state public colleges, and $36,378 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Public Administration programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (288 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (8,639 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Public Administration, is Public, 4-year or above (8,639 completions in 2024).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Public Administration programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
Indiana University-Bloomington has the most Public Administration degree recipients, with 556 degrees awarded in 2024.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Public Administration.
Out of all institutions that offer Public Administration programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Claremont Lincoln University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Public Administration, with 26.1%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Public Administration by year.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Public Administration and Social Service graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Public Administration and Social Service majors is $73,095 and the most common occupations are Social workers, all other, Other managers, and Social & community service managers.
The industry that employs the most Public Administration and Social Service majors is Individual & family services, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Oil & gas extraction.
The average salary for Public Administration and Social Service majors is $73,095 and the most common occupations are Social workers, all other, Other managers, and Social & community service managers.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Public Administration and Social Service majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Public Administration and Social Service majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Public Administration and Social Service majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations for Public Administration and Social Service majors, by number of employees, are Social workers, all other, Other managers, and Social & community service managers.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Public Administration and Social Service majors working as Social workers, Other therapists, including exercise physiologists, and Probation officers & correctional treatment specialists.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Public Administration and Social Service majors are Surgeons, Geoscientists and hydrologists, except geographers, and Air traffic controllers & airfield operations specialists.
The number of Public Administration and Social Service graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.56%, from 839,713 in 2023 to 861,243 in 2024.
The largest single share of Public Administration and Social Service graduates go on to work as Social workers, all other (19.1%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Public Administration and Social Service by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Public Administration and Social Service majors, by number of employees, are Individual & family services, Elementary & secondary schools, and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals.
The highest paying industries of Public Administration and Social Service majors, by average wage, are Oil & gas extraction, Sound recording industries, and Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.
The number of Public Administration and Social Service graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 2.56%, from 839,713 in 2023 to 861,243 in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Public Administration and Social Service graduates by share is Individual & family services, followed by Elementary & secondary schools. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Public Administration and Social Service.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Public Administration and Social Service majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Public Administration and Social Service majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Public Administration and Social Service in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Public Administration and Social Service is 43.2.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Masters Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Public Administration and Social Service degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Public Administration and Social Service (6,184 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Public Administration and Social Service. The most common ages of employees with this major are 30 and 28 years old, which represent 2.91% and 2.85% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Public Administration are Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Postbaccalaureate Certificate.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Public Administration and Social Service are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Professional degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Public Administration.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Public Administration for each race & ethnicity.
In 2024, White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Public Administration.
White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Other Europe, not specified that hold Public Administration and Social Service degrees (6.21 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is Mexico (12,866 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Public Administration field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public Administration majors need many skills, but most especially Reading Comprehension. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Public Administration majors need more than the average amount of Management of Financial Resources, Management of Material Resources, and Operations Analysis.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Public Administration majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Management of Financial Resources is very distinctive for majors, but the Reading Comprehension, Active Listening, and Writing are the three most important skills for people in the field.
Photo by Gabriel White