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Best Public Policy Schools Near Lake Charles, LA (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Lake Charles, Louisiana is home to about 81,679 residents. Median household income is $56,864 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 29.4% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Lake Charles, LA metro area, the top-earning public policy-related role is General and Operations Managers at a median $101,370 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Public Policy Schools to Lake Charles
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near Lake Charles, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles.
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 Louisiana schools on the Louisiana public policy page.
Public Policy Wages Near Lake Charles
Lake Charles is part of the Lake Charles, LA metro area (BLS area code 29340). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Louisiana statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists
N/A
LA statewide
–
Management Analysts
$97,810
Lake Charles, LA
$113,865
Economists
$73,050
LA statewide
$85,041
Social and Community Service Managers
$80,000
Lake Charles, LA
$93,132
Survey Researchers
N/A
LA statewide
–
Compliance Officers
$78,780
Lake Charles, LA
$91,711
General and Operations Managers
$101,370
Lake Charles, LA
$118,009
Financial and Investment Analysts
$75,560
Lake Charles, LA
$87,963
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.
Lake Charles at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Population
81,679
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003)
Median household income
$56,864
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013)
Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+
29.4%
Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003)
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
85.9 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Lake Charles-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs
What are the highest-paying public policy roles near Lake Charles?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near Lake Charles are: General and Operations Managers ($101,370), Management Analysts ($97,810), Social and Community Service Managers ($80,000). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Louisiana statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Sulphur instead of Lake Charles?
Sulphur, LA is 8.6 miles from Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles an affordable place to study public policy?
Lake Charles’s median household income of $56,864 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Lake Charles while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and Louisiana 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.
