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Washington, District of Columbia has 21 accredited schools offering public relations programs, with tuition ranging from $8,136 to $68,017 per year for indexed programs. Washington has a population of about 672,079. Median household income is $106,287 (Census ACS 2023, 5-year). About 63.6% of adults 25+ hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. In the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area, the top-earning public relations-related role is Public Relations Manager at a median $195,190 annually (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
The accredited institutions listed below are the closest in our directory that offer public relations programs near Washington, ranked by BOC Score and straight-line distance from Washington city center. The list is rebuilt from federal IPEDS data on every site update.
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:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Washington. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:Accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher EducationIPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
Source: IPEDS / College Scorecard (2023 cohort). Browse all District of Columbia schools on the District of Columbia public relations page.
Washington is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area (BLS area code 47900). Where MSA-level wages are published, the table below shows MSA medians; otherwise it falls back to District of Columbia statewide.
| Occupation | Median Wage | Source | COL-Adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Relations Specialist | $101,680 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $93,370 |
| Public Relations Manager | $195,190 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $179,238 |
| News Analyst, Reporter, and Journalist | $101,020 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $92,764 |
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.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 672,079 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B01003) |
| Median household income | $106,287 | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B19013) |
| Adults 25+ with bachelor’s+ | 63.6% | Census ACS 2023 5-yr (B15003) |
| Regional Price Parity (US=100) | 108.9 (above U.S. average) | BEA RPP 2024 |
Our directory has 21 accredited schools offering public relations programs near Washington. The closest is Howard University in Washington, DC (1.2 miles), and the farthest of the schools shown is Morgan State University (38.1 miles). 10 of the highlighted schools are flagged as offering distance education.
Based on BLS OEWS May 2025 wage data, the top-paying public relations-related roles near Washington are: Public Relations Manager ($195,190), Public Relations Specialist ($101,680), News Analyst, Reporter, and Journalist ($101,020). These reflect MSA-level medians where published, with District of Columbia statewide fallback for occupations not reported at the metro level.
Alexandria, VA is 7.0 miles from Washington and has its own set of local public relations programs – see the city’s page. For online programs, distance matters less; for hybrid or in-person formats, comparing both can help.
Washington’s median household income of $106,287 (Census ACS 2023) is one input. Online programs let students stay in Washington while attending lower-cost out-of-state schools, and District of Columbia public universities often offer reduced in-state online tuition.
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.
Compare every accredited online degree program with city-level data for Washington:
Data verified: August 11, 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.
Back to Best Public Relations Schools in District of Columbia (2026)
