Public Administration Schools Near Lake Charles, LA (2026)

Lake Charles, Louisiana has 3 accredited schools offering public administration programs, with tuition ranging from $2,844 to $20,266 per year for indexed programs. Lake Charles has a population of about 81,679. Median household income is $56,864 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 29.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Lake Charles, LA metro area, the top-earning public administration-related role is General and Operations Manager at a median $101,370 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Public Administration Schools to Lake Charles

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public administration programs near Lake Charles, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Lake Charles 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 Louisiana schools on the Louisiana public administration page.


Public Administration Wages Near Lake Charles

Lake Charles is part of the Lake Charles, LA metro area (BLS area code 29340). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Louisiana statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Community Service Manager$80,000Lake Charles, LA$93,132
Urban and Regional Planner$74,500LA statewide$86,729
General and Operations Manager$101,370Lake Charles, LA$118,009
Management Analyst$97,810Lake Charles, LA$113,865

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.


Lake Charles at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population81,679Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$56,864Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+29.4%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)85.9 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Lake Charles-Area Cities With Public Administration Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public administration schools are near Lake Charles, LA?

Our directory has 3 accredited schools offering public administration programs near Lake Charles. The closest is Lamar University in Beaumont, TX (52.4 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Louisiana Christian University (90.5 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying public administration roles near Lake Charles?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public administration-related roles near Lake Charles are: General and Operations Manager ($101,370), Management Analyst ($97,810), Social and Community Service Manager ($80,000). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Louisiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Sulphur instead of Lake Charles?

Sulphur, LA is 8.6 miles from Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles an affordable place to study public administration?

Lake Charles’s median household income of $56,864 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Lake Charles while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Louisiana 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 Lake Charles

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

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.