BestOnlineCollege.org is an advertising-supported website. Many of the school and program listings that appear on this site are from partners who compensate us, and this compensation may affect how, where, and in what order listings appear (such as featured placements). This compensation does not influence our editorial content, evaluations, or rankings, which are determined independently using publicly available data. We do not review or feature every school or program available in the marketplace. Our goal is to provide accurate, unbiased information so you can make informed decisions. Read our full Advertiser Disclosure.
Best Public Administration Schools Near Madison, WI (2026)
Madison, Wisconsin has 5 accredited schools offering public administration programs, with tuition ranging from $8,532 to $35,470 per year for indexed programs. Madison has a population of about 275,568. Median household income is $76,983 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 59.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Madison, WI metro area, the top-earning public administration-related role is General and Operations Manager at a median $126,620 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Public Administration Schools to Madison
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public administration programs near Madison, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Madison 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 Madison
Madison is part of the Madison, WI metro area (BLS area code 31540). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Wisconsin statewide.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social and Community Service Manager | $88,130 | Madison, WI | $90,576 |
| Urban and Regional Planner | $103,940 | Madison, WI | $106,824 |
| General and Operations Manager | $126,620 | Madison, WI | $130,134 |
| Management Analyst | $97,170 | Madison, WI | $99,866 |
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.
Madison at a Glance
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 275,568 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $76,983 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 59.2% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 97.3 (below U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
Other Madison-Area Cities With Public Administration Programs
- Fitchburg, WI – 6.8 mi away (28,875 pop)
- Sun Prairie, WI – 10.6 mi away (32,820 pop)
- Fort Atkinson, WI – 29.7 mi away (21,399 pop)
- Janesville, WI – 33.4 mi away (70,299 pop)
- Watertown, WI – 34.3 mi away (23,304 pop)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many accredited public administration schools are near Madison, WI?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering public administration programs near Madison. The closest is University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Whitewater, WI (37.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Northern Illinois University (85.4 miles). 5 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying public administration roles near Madison?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public administration-related roles near Madison are: General and Operations Manager ($126,620), Urban and Regional Planner ($103,940), Management Analyst ($97,170). 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 Fitchburg instead of Madison?
Fitchburg, WI is 6.8 miles from Madison 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 Madison an affordable place to study public administration?
Madison’s median household income of $76,983 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Madison 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
- Is a Public Administration degree worth it?
- Main Public Administration degree guide
- Online Public Administration programs in Wisconsin
- Public Administration programs by state
Other Programs Available in Madison
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Madison:
- Business Development programs in Madison, WI
- Construction Management programs in Madison, WI
- Economics programs in Madison, WI
- Financial Technology programs in Madison, WI
- Forensic Accounting programs in Madison, WI
- Health Information Management programs in Madison, WI
- Hospitality Management programs in Madison, WI
- International Business programs in Madison, WI
- Organizational Leadership programs in Madison, WI
- Management Information Systems programs in Madison, WI
- Nonprofit Management programs in Madison, WI
- Operations Management programs in Madison, WI
- Real Estate programs in Madison, WI
- Recreation Management programs in Madison, WI
- Retail Management programs in Madison, WI
- Risk Management programs in Madison, WI
- Statistics programs in Madison, WI
- Taxation programs in Madison, WI
- Corrections programs in Madison, WI
- Crime Analysis programs in Madison, WI
- Criminal Justice Administration programs in Madison, WI
- Criminology programs in Madison, WI
- Cybercrime programs in Madison, WI
- Emergency Management programs in Madison, WI
- Fire Science programs in Madison, WI
- Forensic Science programs in Madison, WI
- Legal Services programs in Madison, WI
- Legal Studies programs in Madison, WI
- Paralegal programs in Madison, WI
- Security Management programs in Madison, WI
- Cloud Computing programs in Madison, WI
- Computer Engineering programs in Madison, WI
- Innovation programs in Madison, WI
- Mobile App Development programs in Madison, WI
- Software Development programs in Madison, WI
- User Experience programs in Madison, WI
- Web Development programs in Madison, WI
- Artificial Intelligence programs in Madison, WI
- Machine Learning programs in Madison, WI
- Supply Chain Management programs in Madison, WI
- Data Analytics programs in Madison, WI
- Public Health programs in Madison, WI
- Human Resources programs in Madison, WI
- Project Management programs in Madison, WI
- Special Education programs in Madison, WI
- Homeland Security programs in Madison, WI
- Marketing programs in Madison, WI
- Finance programs in Madison, WI
- Kinesiology programs in Madison, WI
- Sports Management programs in Madison, WI
- Early Childhood Education programs in Madison, WI
- Elementary Education programs in Madison, WI
- Biology programs in Madison, WI
- Communications programs in Madison, WI
- Graphic Design programs in Madison, WI
- Human Services programs in Madison, WI
- MBA programs in Madison, WI
- Criminal Justice programs in Madison, WI
- Nursing programs in Madison, WI
- Business Administration programs in Madison, WI
- Computer Science programs in Madison, WI
- Psychology programs in Madison, WI
- Education programs in Madison, WI
- Engineering programs in Madison, WI
- Technology programs in Madison, WI
- Liberal Arts programs in Madison, WI
- Healthcare programs in Madison, WI
- Cybersecurity programs in Madison, WI
- Accounting programs in Madison, WI
- Healthcare Administration programs in Madison, WI
- Social Work programs in Madison, WI
- Counseling programs in Madison, WI
Related from Our Editorial Library
- Best Accredited Online Colleges (2026)
- Best Online Colleges Ranking
- Effective Learning Strategies for Online Students
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.
Back to Best Public Administration Schools in Wisconsin (2026)