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 Policy Schools Near Sioux City, IA (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Sioux City, Iowa is home to about 85,651 residents. Median household income is $65,473 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 21.7% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In Iowa, the top-earning public policy-related role is Economists at a median $96,310 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Public Policy Schools to Sioux City
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near Sioux City, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Sioux 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:
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 Sioux City.
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 Iowa schools on the Iowa public policy page.
Public Policy Wages Near Sioux City
Sioux City is part of the Sioux City, IA-NE-SD metro area (BLS area code 43580). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Iowa statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists
N/A
IA statewide
–
Management Analysts
$93,910
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$108,566
Economists
$96,310
IA statewide
$111,341
Social and Community Service Managers
$73,530
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$85,006
Survey Researchers
$83,170
IA statewide
$96,150
Compliance Officers
$72,610
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$83,942
General and Operations Managers
$90,230
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$104,312
Financial and Investment Analysts
$80,940
Sioux City, IA-NE-SD
$93,572
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.
Sioux City at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
85,651
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$65,473
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
21.7%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
86.5 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Sioux City-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs
What are the highest-paying public policy roles near Sioux City?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near Sioux City are: Economists ($96,310), Management Analysts ($93,910), General and Operations Managers ($90,230). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Iowa statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Norfolk instead of Sioux City?
Norfolk, NE is 61.6 miles from Sioux City 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.
Is Sioux City an affordable place to study public policy?
Sioux City’s median household income of $65,473 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Sioux City while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Iowa 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.
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.
