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Best Public Policy Schools Near Lees Summit, MO (2026)
Updated September 6, 2026BLS dataCollege ScorecardOn this page
Lees Summit, Missouri has 2 accredited schools offering public policy programs. Lees Summit has a population of about 89,467. In the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area, the top-earning public policy-related role is Economists at a median $128,520 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
Closest Public Policy Schools to Lees Summit
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public policy programs near Lees Summit, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Lees Summit 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 Lees Summit.
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 Missouri schools on the Missouri public policy page.
Public Policy Wages Near Lees Summit
Lees Summit 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 Missouri statewide.
Occupation
Median Wage
Source
COL-Adjusted (US=100)
Political Scientists
N/A
MO statewide
–
Management Analysts
$98,430
Kansas City, MO-KS
$106,411
Economists
$128,520
Kansas City, MO-KS
$138,941
Social and Community Service Managers
$78,920
Kansas City, MO-KS
$85,319
Survey Researchers
$69,100
Kansas City, MO-KS
$74,703
Compliance Officers
$77,650
Kansas City, MO-KS
$83,946
General and Operations Managers
$90,490
Kansas City, MO-KS
$97,827
Financial and Investment Analysts
$97,680
Kansas City, MO-KS
$105,600
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.
Lees Summit at a Glance
Metric
Value
Source
Regional Price Parity (US=100)
92.5 (below U.S. average)
BEA RPP 2024
Other Lees Summit-Area Cities With Public Policy Programs
How many accredited public policy schools are near Lees Summit, MO?
Our directory has 2 accredited schools offering public policy programs near Lees Summit. The closest is Park University in Parkville, MO (24.7 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is University of Kansas (46.6 miles). 2 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
What are the highest-paying public policy roles near Lees Summit?
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public policy-related roles near Lees Summit are: Economists ($128,520), Management Analysts ($98,430), Financial and Investment Analysts ($97,680). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with Missouri statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Should I look at programs in Raytown instead of Lees Summit?
Raytown, MO is 6.9 miles from Lees Summit 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 6, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-2035) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
