Master's · San Francisco, California
Is Public Administration at Golden Gate University worth it?
Low confidence Low confidence: fewer than 40 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 2.1 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $106,449
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $131,685
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $49,785
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Typical borrowing (no graduate net price is published)
- $53k (likely $53k – $53k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $62k a year vs bachelor's graduates 4 years out in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 2.1 years (likely 1.5–3.2)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $376k (likely $170k – $635k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.13M (likely $675k – $1.69M)
- Today's dollars
Change income, residency or loans Compare Public Administration at other schools
Scorecard reports no net price for graduate programs; cost is based on what graduates typically borrowed.
Other majors at Golden Gate University
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$135,150
- Taxation (Master's)$134,927
- Legal Research and Advanced Professional Studies (Master's)$131,366
- Human Resources Management and Services (Master's)$123,772
- Accounting and Related Services (Master's)$120,311
- Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods (Master's)$111,252
- Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's)$107,694
- Law (First professional)$96,079
- Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (Master's)$95,577
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's)$91,369
Public Administration at other schools in California
- San Francisco State University$108,093
- University of Southern California$103,721
- California State University-East Bay$99,879
- University of San Francisco$99,141
- California Baptist University$98,056
- Notre Dame de Namur University$93,465
- California State University-Northridge$92,353
- San Diego State University$91,303
- Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey$89,916
- California State University-Dominguez Hills$89,849