Best Value Colleges for Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other
Schools ranked by payback period — how quickly you recoup your investment through higher earnings.
8
Schools Ranked
$39,662
Avg. Earnings
2.6 yrs
Best Payback
407
Graduates
How we calculate value: Payback = (4 years of net price) / (major earnings - $35k baseline). A 2-year payback means you recoup your investment in 2 years through higher earnings vs. not attending college.
| # | School | Major Earnings | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA · Public | $59,253 | 2.6 yrs |
| 2 | Jacksonville State University Jacksonville, AL · Public | $49,058 | 5.4 yrs |
| 3 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, IL · Public | $45,383 | 6.4 yrs |
| 4 | National Louis University Chicago, IL · Private | $36,077 | 61.2 yrs |
| 5 | University at Albany Albany, NY · Public | $35,416 | 189.7 yrs |
| 6 | University of California-Davis Davis, CA · Public | $35,060 | 946.2 yrs |
| 7 | Troy University Troy, AL · Public | $27,947 | N/A |
| 8 | College of Coastal Georgia Brunswick, GA · Public | $21,508 | N/A |
Payback uses earnings by major from the College Scorecard's field-of-study file, last updated June 2026, against net price from the June 2026 release. Scorecard publishes the two separately, so they are different vintages.