Best Public Administration Schools Near Nashville, TN (2026)

Updated August 31, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Nashville, Tennessee has 5 accredited schools offering public administration programs. Nashville has a population of about 1,065,078. In the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area, the top-earning public administration-related role is General and Operations Manager at a median $119,990 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Public Administration Schools to Nashville

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

How We Rank Schools

Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:

  • Graduation rate 30%
  • Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
  • Average net price (lower is better) 20%
  • Retention rate 15%
  • Fully online availability 10%

Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Nashville. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.

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#1

Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN 2.5 miles from Nashville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
34.2 BOC Score
Graduation rate 39%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $42,730
Avg net price $15,796/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 52%
  • Programs offered: 55

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville, TN 2.7 miles from Nashville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
52.3 BOC Score
Graduation rate 57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $49,378
Avg net price $16,813/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 74%
  • Programs offered: 66

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#3

Lipscomb University

Nashville, TN 4.6 miles from Nashville
  • 4 year
  • Offers a fully online program
62.5 BOC Score
Graduation rate 68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $55,541
Avg net price $24,739/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 85%
  • Programs offered: 107

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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

Public Administration Wages Near Nashville

Nashville is part of the Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN metro area (BLS area code 34980). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Tennessee statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Community Service Manager$89,840Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN$93,292
Urban and Regional Planner$84,350Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN$87,591
General and Operations Manager$119,990Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN$124,600
Management Analyst$102,640Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN$106,584

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.

Nashville at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Regional Price Parity (US=100)96.3 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Nashville-Area Cities With Public Administration Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public administration schools are near Nashville, TN?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering public administration programs near Nashville. The closest is Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN (2.5 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Western Kentucky University (59.1 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public administration-related roles near Nashville are: General and Operations Manager ($119,990), Management Analyst ($102,640), Social and Community Service Manager ($89,840). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Tennessee statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Brentwood instead of Nashville?

Brentwood, TN is 12.4 miles from Nashville 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.

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 Nashville

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

Data verified: August 31, 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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