Best Public Administration Schools Near Pasadena, CA (2026)

Pasadena, California has 19 accredited schools offering public administration programs, with tuition ranging from $7,160 to $72,097 per year for indexed programs. Pasadena has a population of about 136,462. Median household income is $103,778 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 56.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area, the top-earning public administration-related role is General and Operations Manager at a median $125,830 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Public Administration Schools to Pasadena

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public administration programs near Pasadena, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Pasadena city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.

No school data available.

Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all California schools on the California public administration page.

Public Administration Wages Near Pasadena

Pasadena is part of the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metro area (BLS area code 31080). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to California statewide.

Occupation	Median Wage	Source	COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Community Service Manager	$87,100	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$76,673
Urban and Regional Planner	$111,380	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$98,046
General and Operations Manager	$125,830	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$110,766
Management Analyst	$104,930	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$92,368

Source: BLS, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes wage data at the metro (MSA) and state level – not by individual city.

Pasadena at a Glance

Metric	Value	Source
Population	136,462	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income	$103,778	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+	56.0%	Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)	113.6 (above U.S. average)	BEA RPP 2024

Other Pasadena-Area Cities With Public Administration Programs

South Pasadena, CA – 3.6 mi away (25,913 pop)
La Canada Flintridge, CA – 4.9 mi away (20,447 pop)
San Gabriel, CA – 5.0 mi away (40,404 pop)
Alhambra, CA – 5.2 mi away (85,474 pop)
Arcadia, CA – 6.1 mi away (58,523 pop)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public administration schools are near Pasadena, CA?

Our directory has 19 accredited schools offering public administration programs near Pasadena. The closest is California State University-Los Angeles in Los Angeles, CA (6.6 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Claremont Lincoln University (24.6 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying public administration roles near Pasadena?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public administration-related roles near Pasadena are: General and Operations Manager ($125,830), Urban and Regional Planner ($111,380), Management Analyst ($104,930). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with California statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in South Pasadena instead of Pasadena?

South Pasadena, CA is 3.6 miles from Pasadena and has its own set of local public administration programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Pasadena an affordable place to study public administration?

Pasadena’s median household income of $103,778 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Pasadena while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and California public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.

How do I verify a program is accredited?

Confirm institutional accreditation via the U.S. Department of Education database (U.S. Dept. of Education database), and check for any program-specific accreditation listed by the school.

Learn More About Public Administration Programs

Other Programs Available in Pasadena

Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Pasadena:

Data verified: August 11, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.

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