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Best Public Policy Schools Near Amherst, MA (2026)
Updated September 5, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Amherst, Massachusetts has 5 accredited schools offering public policy programs. Amherst has a population of about 40,989. In Massachusetts, the top-earning public policy-related role is Political Scientists at a median $133,930 annually (BLS, May 2025).
Closest Public Policy Schools to Amherst
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near Amherst, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Amherst 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 Amherst.
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.
Amherst is part of the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA metro area (BLS area code 11200). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to Massachusetts statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists
$133,930
MA statewide
$133,663
Management Analysts
$103,610
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$103,403
Economists
$94,030
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$93,842
Social and Community Service Managers
$81,650
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$81,487
Survey Researchers
$74,890
MA statewide
$74,741
Compliance Officers
$77,550
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$77,395
General and Operations Managers
$98,200
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$98,004
Financial and Investment Analysts
$95,820
Amherst Town-Northampton, MA
$95,629
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.
Amherst at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
100.2 (above U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Amherst-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs
How many accredited public policy schools are near Amherst, MA?
Our directory has 5 accredited schools offering public policy programs near Amherst. The closest is University of Massachusetts-Amherst in Amherst, MA (1.8 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Trinity College (43.7 miles). 4 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying public policy roles near Amherst?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near Amherst are: Political Scientists ($133,930), Management Analysts ($103,610), General and Operations Managers ($98,200). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Massachusetts statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Northampton instead of Amherst?
Northampton, MA is 9.0 miles from Amherst 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.
