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2024 Best Public Administration Schools in California

24 Colleges in California
1,883 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$57,932 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you plan on majoring in public administration, you won't be alone since the degree program is ranked #60 in the country in terms of popularity. So, you have a fair amount of options to choose from when looking for a school.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 24 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for public administration students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 1,883 degrees in public administration during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great Public Administration School

Best Public Administration Schools in California The public admin program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Public Administration rankings. We derive our Best Overall Public Administration School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

Public Administration Rankings by Degree Level

Bachelor's Degrees in Public Admin
Master's Degrees in Public Admin
Doctor's Degrees in Public Admin

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Public Administration Schools in California list, to help you choose the best school for you. More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.

To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Read more about College Factual's methodology.


 

Best Schools for Public Administration in California

If you aren't interested in a particular degree level and want to know which schools are the overall best at delivering an education for the public admin degrees they offer, see the list below.

10 Top California Schools in Public Admin

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
164 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$68,264 Median Starting Salary

University of Southern California is a good option for students pursuing a degree in public administration. Located in the large city of Los Angeles, USC is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USC is a great university overall.

There were about 164 public administration students who graduated with this degree at USC in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from University of Southern California receive an earnings boost of approximately $10,332 above the average income of public administration graduates.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of Southern California

2
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
309 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
13.6% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in public administration has to look into California State University - Northridge. CSUN is a very large public university located in the large city of Northridge. This university ranks 49th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were roughly 309 public administration students who graduated with this degree at CSUN in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the public administration program at California State University - Northridge make $10,086 above the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from California State University - Northridge

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
131 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$55,813 Median Starting Salary

California State University - Long Beach is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a degree in public administration. Located in the city of Long Beach, CSULB is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #186 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means CSULB is a great university overall.

There were roughly 131 public administration students who graduated with this degree at CSULB in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn around $55,813 in the first couple years of working.

More information about a degree in public administration from California State University - Long Beach

4
USFCA crest
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
80 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
21.3% Growth in Graduates

Any student who is interested in public administration needs to check out University of San Francisco. Located in the city of San Francisco, USFCA is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #164 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means USFCA is a great university overall.

There were roughly 80 public administration students who graduated with this degree at USFCA in the most recent year we have data available. Those public administration students who get their degree from University of San Francisco earn $18,093 more than the average public admin student.

More information about a degree in public administration from University of San Francisco

5
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
$84,062 Median Starting Salary

Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a small private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Francisco. A Best Colleges rank of #181 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Golden Gate University - San Francisco is a great university overall.

There were roughly 30 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Golden Gate University - San Francisco in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the public administration program at Golden Gate University - San Francisco get $26,130 more than the standard graduate in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in public administration from Golden Gate University - San Francisco

6
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
172 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
16.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the large city of San Diego, SDSU is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #141 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means SDSU is a great university overall.

There were roughly 172 public administration students who graduated with this degree at SDSU in the most recent data year. Students who graduate with their degree from the public admin program report average early career earnings of $47,286.

More information about a degree in public administration from San Diego State University

7
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
53 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$58,939 Median Starting Salary

Cal Baptist is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Riverside. This university ranks 82nd out of 168 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.

There were about 53 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Cal Baptist in the most recent year we have data available. Graduates who receive their degree from the public admin program earn an average of $58,939 in their early career salary.

More information about a degree in public administration from California Baptist University

8
National University crest
National University
San Diego, CA
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
108 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
$64,397 Median Starting Salary

National University is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of San Diego. A Best Colleges rank of #196 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means National University is a great university overall.

There were roughly 108 public administration students who graduated with this degree at National University in the most recent data year. Public Administration degree recipients from National University receive an earnings boost of around $6,465 above the average income of public administration majors.

More information about a degree in public administration from National University

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
66 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
7.6% Growth in Graduates

Cal State Fullerton is a very large public university located in the large suburb of Fullerton. A Best Colleges rank of #252 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means Cal State Fullerton is a great university overall.

There were approximately 66 public administration students who graduated with this degree at Cal State Fullerton in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the public admin program earn around $42,063 in the first couple years of their career.

More information about a degree in public administration from California State University - Fullerton

10
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
129 Public Admin Degrees Awarded
9.3% Growth in Graduates

Located in the city of Carson, CSUDH is a public university with a large student population. This university ranks 98th out of 168 schools for overall quality in the state of California.

There were approximately 129 public administration students who graduated with this degree at CSUDH in the most recent year we have data available. Students who graduate with their degree from the public admin program state that they receive average early career earnings of $53,478.

More information about a degree in public administration from California State University - Dominguez Hills

Best Public Administration Colleges in the Far Western US Region

Explore all the Best Public Administration Schools in the Far Western US Area or other specific states within that region.

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Washington 300 290
Oregon 266 112
Nevada 192 68
Hawaii 164 186
Alaska 119 34

View All Rankings >

Public Administration is one of 4 different types of Public Administration & Social Service programs to choose from.

Public Admin Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
Public Administration 1,883

View All Public Admin Focus Areas >

Related Major Annual Graduates
Human Services 1,746
Public Policy 798
Other Public Administration 101
Community Organization & Advocacy 43

View All Public Admin Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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