Best Public Administration Schools Near Appleton, WI (2026)

Updated August 11, 2026 BLS data College Scorecard On this page

Appleton, Wisconsin has 6 accredited schools offering public administration programs, with tuition ranging from $6,200 to $35,470 per year for indexed programs. Appleton has a population of about 74,873. Median household income is $77,450 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 37.0% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Appleton, WI metro area, the top-earning public administration-related role is General and Operations Manager at a median $109,890 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Closest Public Administration Schools to Appleton

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

Public Administration Wages Near Appleton

Appleton is part of the Appleton, WI metro area (BLS area code 11540). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Wisconsin statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Social and Community Service Manager$82,550Appleton, WI$89,340
Urban and Regional Planner$81,770Appleton, WI$88,496
General and Operations Manager$109,890Appleton, WI$118,929
Management Analyst$99,060Appleton, WI$107,208

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.

Appleton at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population74,873Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$77,450Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+37.0%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)92.4 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Appleton-Area Cities With Public Administration Programs

Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public administration schools are near Appleton, WI?

Our directory has 6 accredited schools offering public administration programs near Appleton. The closest is University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in Oshkosh, WI (19.1 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (86.8 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

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

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public administration-related roles near Appleton are: General and Operations Manager ($109,890), Management Analyst ($99,060), Social and Community Service Manager ($82,550). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Wisconsin statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Neenah instead of Appleton?

Neenah, WI is 8.7 miles from Appleton 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 Appleton an affordable place to study public administration?

Appleton’s median household income of $77,450 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Appleton while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Wisconsin 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 Appleton

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

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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