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Best Public Policy Schools Near Athens, AL (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Athens, Alabama has 3 accredited schools offering public policy programs. Athens has a population of about 32,587. In the Huntsville, AL metro area, the top-earning public policy-related role is General and Operations Managers at a median $136,340 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Public Policy Schools to Athens
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near Athens, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Athens 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:
BOCSCORE
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 Athens.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
BOC
Ranked by BOC Score — U.S. Dept. of Education outcome data. Advertising never affects rankings.
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all Alabama schools on the Alabama public policy page.
Public Policy Wages Near Athens
Athens is part of the Huntsville, AL metro area (BLS area code 26620). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Alabama statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists
N/A
AL statewide
–
Management Analysts
$121,970
Huntsville, AL
$131,010
Economists
$129,960
AL statewide
$139,592
Social and Community Service Managers
$74,400
Huntsville, AL
$79,914
Survey Researchers
N/A
AL statewide
–
Compliance Officers
$84,990
Huntsville, AL
$91,289
General and Operations Managers
$136,340
Huntsville, AL
$146,445
Financial and Investment Analysts
$99,400
Huntsville, AL
$106,767
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.
Athens at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
93.1 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Athens-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs
How many accredited public policy schools are near Athens, AL?
Our directory has 3 accredited schools offering public policy programs near Athens. The closest is Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL (17.0 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Tennessee State University (95.8 miles). 3 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying public policy roles near Athens?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near Athens are: General and Operations Managers ($136,340), Economists ($129,960), Management Analysts ($121,970). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Alabama statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Madison instead of Athens?
Madison, AL is 11.8 miles from Athens and has its own set of local public policy 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.
Data verified: September 5, 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.
