Best Online Public Health Programs in Kansas City, KS (2026)

Kansas City, Kansas has 5 accredited schools offering public health programs. Kansas City has a population of about 154,776. Median household income is $59,183 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 20.2% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area, the top-earning public health-related role is Medical and Health Services Manager at a median $124,990 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).


Closest Public Health Schools to Kansas City

The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public health programs near Kansas City, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Kansas City 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 Kansas City. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.

#1

Kansas City Kansas Community College

Kansas City, KS 0.5 miles from Kansas City BOC Score 44.4
  • 2 year
  • Campus + Online
Graduation rate 32%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $40,795
Avg net price $16,744/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Programs offered: 52

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

#2

Donnelly College

Kansas City, KS 5.1 miles from Kansas City BOC Score 39.6
  • 4 year
Graduation rate 36%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry $35,715
Avg net price $11,476/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Contact
Key stats
  • Retention rate: 67%
  • Programs offered: 7

Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard

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


Public Health Wages Near Kansas City

Kansas City is part of the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area (BLS area code 28140). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Kansas statewide.

OccupationMedian WageSourceCOL-Adjusted (US=100)
Epidemiologist$79,620Kansas City, MO-KS$86,076
Health Education Specialist$62,990Kansas City, MO-KS$68,097
Medical and Health Services Manager$124,990Kansas City, MO-KS$135,124
Community Health Worker$49,650Kansas City, MO-KS$53,676

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.


Kansas City at a Glance

MetricValueSource
Population154,776Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income$59,183Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+20.2%Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)92.5 (below U.S. average)BEA RPP 2024

Other Kansas City-Area Cities With Public Health Programs


Frequently Asked Questions

How many accredited public health schools are near Kansas City, KS?

Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering public health programs near Kansas City. The closest is Park University in Parkville, MO (5.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Baker University (33.6 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.

What are the highest-paying public health roles near Kansas City?

Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public health-related roles near Kansas City are: Medical and Health Services Manager ($124,990), Epidemiologist ($79,620), Health Education Specialist ($62,990). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Kansas statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.

Should I look at programs in Shawnee instead of Kansas City?

Shawnee, KS is 8.2 miles from Kansas City and has its own set of local public health programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.

Is Kansas City an affordable place to study public health?

Kansas City’s median household income of $59,183 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Kansas City while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Kansas 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 Health Programs

Other Programs Available in Kansas City

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

Data verified: July 30, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024โ€“2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.