Healthcare administration degrees by award level
There are 368 healthcare administration bachelor's degrees at 364 institutions in the federal data, and they are not close to equivalent. Tuition runs from under a thousand dollars a year to over sixty thousand, and the share of students who finish ranges from single figures to well over ninety percent. These rankings score each one on graduation rate, cost, delivery and selectivity, using IPEDS and the schools' own program pages.
These are the 25 highest-scoring programs whose own page we have read, written up so the difference between them is visible before you request information from any of them. Everything in a write-up comes from the school's own program page, linked at the end of it. Scoring is the four weighted factors set out on the methodology page. Median in-state tuition among them is $8,559 a year, against $15,148 across all 368 ranked programs.
University of Central Florida
Fully online CAHME master's on campus
Orlando, FL
$4,478 in-state tuition78% graduation rate40% admit rate83.9 score
UCF runs the same B.S. in Health Services Administration fully online or on campus, so the delivery choice does not change the degree and does not have to be made at enrollment.
View University of Central Florida's Health Services Administration (BS)
UNC Chapel Hill
On campus CAHME master's on campus
Chapel Hill, NC
$7,019 in-state tuition91% graduation rate15% admit rate81.9 score
Students move through in a cohort of about fifty, complete an eight-week internship the summer between junior and senior year, and finish with a year-long capstone.
View UNC Chapel Hill's Health Policy and Management Major, B.S.P.H.
Florida International
Fully online CAHME master's on campus
Miami, FL
$4,721 in-state tuition74% graduation rate55% admit rate79.9 score
The BHSA is a 60-credit upper-level curriculum, which means it is built to be entered with two years already done rather than started from scratch as a freshman.
View Florida International's Bachelor of Health Services Administration (BHSA)
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus
Fully online
Norman, OK
$5,220 in-state tuition75% graduation rate77% admit rate76.8 score
OU's online Healthcare Management major is a degree-completion route within the B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies, with a practicum built around an academic portfolio.
View University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus's B.S. in Interdisciplinary Studies: Healthcare Management
Bryan
Fully online
Springfield, MO
$14,580 in-state tuition90% graduation rate75.9 score
Bryan University in Springfield, Missouri, offers an online Allied Health Management BS with a capstone that combines an outcomes-management proposal, a community service-learning experience, and a portfolio.
Appalachian State
Fully online CAHME master's on campus
Boone, NC
$4,242 in-state tuition75% graduation rate90% admit rate75.3 score
Appalachian State pairs its Health Care Management BS with an internship, a required professional development course, and an individual faculty mentor when you declare the major.
View Appalachian State's Bachelor of Science in Health Care Management
UNC Charlotte
Fully online CAHME master's on campus
Charlotte, NC
$3,812 in-state tuition69% graduation rate80% admit rate74.5 score
The Health Systems Management degree sits in the same department as UNC Charlotte's MHA, with early entry and dual degree routes running between them.
View UNC Charlotte's Bachelor of Science in Health Systems Management
University of Rhode Island
Fully online
Kingston, RI
$14,630 in-state tuition73% graduation rate72% admit rate73.3 score
URI's 2018–19 catalog describes a Health Services Administration major within the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, with an 18-credit area of emphasis.
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Fully online
Cincinnati, OH
$11,685 in-state tuition75% graduation rate85% admit rate73.2 score
This is a completion degree rather than a route in from high school: entry requires an associate degree plus a current healthcare certification or license.
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Fully online
Slippery Rock, PA
$7,716 in-state tuition66% graduation rate71% admit rate73.2 score
Slippery Rock pairs eight non-clinical concentrations with accelerated 3+3 and 3+2 pathways that move an administration major directly into SRU's own occupational therapy, physical therapy, or physician assistant graduate programs a year early.
View Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania's Health Care Administration and Management, B.S.
University of South Florida
On campus CAHME master's on campus
Tampa, FL
$4,559 in-state tuition77% graduation rate43% admit rate73 score
Health care administration is one of five concentrations inside USF's B.S. in Health Sciences, taken as 21 concentration credits on top of a 24-credit health sciences foundation.
View University of South Florida's B.S. in Health Sciences, Health Care Administration concentration
Towson
Fully online
Towson, MD
$7,530 in-state tuition69% graduation rate82% admit rate72.8 score
The major ends in a 12-unit internship that is a degree requirement, not an elective, and asks for a full 40-hour week inside a health service organization.
Auburn
On campus
Auburn, AL
$11,016 in-state tuition82% graduation rate46% admit rate72.1 score
Auburn admits students to the health services administration major by application only, after they have completed 30 semester hours and written a statement of purpose of no more than 500 words.
Mississippi State
Fully online
Mississippi State, MS
$10,052 in-state tuition67% graduation rate78% admit rate71.7 score
Mississippi State’s online Healthcare Administration BS is offered through MSU-Meridian and includes a healthcare internship and strategic management coursework.
Central Penn
Fully online
Summerdale, PA
$18,324 in-state tuition51% graduation rate18% admit rate71.2 score
The degree is built as the top half of a 2+2 pathway, meant for students who already hold a clinical associate degree in something like surgical technology, paramedicine or physical therapist assisting and now want the business half on top.
View Central Penn's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Management
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Fully online CAHME master's on campus
Moorhead, MN
$8,838 in-state tuition57% graduation rate59% admit rate71 score
Moorhead requires an internship at a healthcare organization and offers the degree online, face-to-face or hybrid, so the format is a choice rather than a condition of enrolling.
View Minnesota State University Moorhead's BS in Healthcare Management and Leadership
University of Mississippi
Fully online
University, MS
$9,612 in-state tuition72% graduation rate97% admit rate71 score
UMMC's Health Systems Administration B.S. uses separate tracks for credentialed health practitioners, health care operations students and generalists.
View University of Mississippi's Bachelor of Science in Health Systems Administration
Rowan
Fully online
Glassboro, NJ
$11,812 in-state tuition67% graduation rate78% admit rate71 score
Rowan offers an online healthcare management and administration BS covering the business and public-policy sides of health systems.
William Carey
Fully online
Hattiesburg, MS
$14,250 in-state tuition60% graduation rate60% admit rate70 score
This is a degree completion track for people who already hold an associate degree or a health credential, and it splits into a healthcare administration focus or a focus on teaching health professions students.
View William Carey's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration & Education
Regent
Fully online
Virginia Beach, VA
$19,950 in-state tuition57% graduation rate38% admit rate70 score
Regent offers the degree on its own or with a Nursing Home Administration concentration, and teaches it exclusively online from a stated Christian foundation.
Maine College of Health Professions
Fully online
Lewiston, ME
$19,162 in-state tuition67% graduation rate71% admit rate69.3 score
Maine College of Health Professions combines eight-week online Healthcare Administration B.S. courses with required interprofessional education and community service.
View Maine College of Health Professions's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
Charter Oak State
Fully online
New Britain, CT
$7,896 in-state tuition67% graduation rate69.2 score
Charter Oak built this degree for people already working in healthcare, and teaches it completely online with term starts through the year.
View Charter Oak State's Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration
Southeast Missouri State
Fully online
Cape Girardeau, MO
$8,559 in-state tuition58% graduation rate74% admit rate69.2 score
Southeast Missouri's Healthcare Administration B.S.B.A. includes a required health care internship within a degree grounded in business administration.
California State University-Long Beach
On campus
Long Beach, CA
$6,084 in-state tuition69% graduation rate46% admit rate68.8 score
CSULB graduated its first cohort in 1988 and has held full AUPHA certification since 1996, which is a peer-reviewed examination of curriculum, infrastructure and outcomes rather than a membership badge.
The school states this program holds AUPHA certification. AUPHA certifies undergraduate programs in health administration, which is a different thing from the CAHME accreditation that applies to master's degrees.
View California State University-Long Beach's Health Care Administration (BS-HCA)
Winona State
Fully online
Winona, MN
$8,388 in-state tuition57% graduation rate75% admit rate68.8 score
Winona State's online Healthcare Leadership and Administration completion program builds workplace research projects into a 120-credit bachelor's degree.
View Winona State's Bachelor of Applied Science in Healthcare Leadership and Administration
This is not the national top 25: it is ranked order among the programs we have read the page for. Tuition is also charged at in-state rates, so the right list for most readers is their own state's, and the 33 state rankings below carry every ranked program in each whether or not it has a write-up yet.
| State | Programs | Median pay | What the data shows there |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 24 | $103,670 | The most programs of any state, and pay well under the national median |
| Florida | 21 | $120,360 | Seven institutions where an accredited master's sits on the same campus |
| New York | 21 | $164,120 | The highest healthcare administration salaries in the country |
| Texas | 20 | $114,150 | Fourteen public programs, the most anywhere, averaging $5,541 a year |
| Ohio | 17 | $106,140 | Seventeen programs split almost evenly between the public and private sectors |
| California | 15 | $141,480 | The most jobs in the country and the fewest programs relative to them |
| Georgia | 15 | $131,910 | Pays above the national median and graduates the fewest students of any state |
| North Carolina | 14 | $114,410 | Private programs cost far more than public ones and finish fewer students |
| Illinois | 13 | $117,850 | The private tier costs nearly four times as much and finishes twelve points more |
| Missouri | 13 | $104,370 | Private programs average 61% completion against 43% at the public ones |
| Michigan | 12 | $107,570 | Public and private completion sit a point apart, 50% against 51% |
| Virginia | 12 | $129,270 | Private tuition is 1.8 times public, and finishes 18 points fewer |
| Indiana | 11 | $104,140 | Private programs cost four times public and finish eleven points more |
| Minnesota | 11 | $122,700 | Six public programs at 60% completion against five private at 46% |
| Massachusetts | 10 | $134,360 | Home to the cheapest ranked program in the country, at $910 a year |
| Tennessee | 10 | $107,120 | Roughly three times the price for five completion points |
| Wisconsin | 9 | $128,320 | Tuition differs threefold between the sectors and completion by one point |
| Alabama | 8 | $97,790 | Second-lowest pay in the country, and the strongest public completion |
| Kansas | 7 | $111,030 | Public programs cost a third as much and finish thirteen points more |
| South Carolina | 7 | $105,620 | No institution in the state reaches 50% completion |
| Iowa | 6 | $101,940 | A single public program finishes 75%, where the five private ones average 52% |
| Mississippi | 6 | $98,160 | Even the weakest program here finishes 48% of its students |
| New Jersey | 6 | $145,650 | Fourth-highest pay in the country, and one public program |
| Kentucky | 6 | $103,450 | A low median pay figure hiding a nearly national ceiling |
| Oregon | 5 | $141,690 | The private tier costs 4.7 times more and delivers twenty more points |
How much choice a state offers and what it pays for the work are close to unrelated. Pennsylvania has the most programs of any state here at 24, and a median of $103,670, which sits in the lower half of this table. New Jersey pays $145,650 from 6 programs. New York is the one state that has both, with 21 programs and the highest median here at $164,120.
The practical reading is that the size of a state's field is not a signal about what the degree earns there. Choose the state on where you intend to live and work, then use the ranking inside it, which is what the state pages are for.
Just over half the ranked programs in this field can be finished entirely online, which makes format a weaker filter here than in most subjects and opens the national list to someone who cannot move. It does not make the degree cheaper: the median online program costs more in tuition than the median on-campus one, and the for-profit share of the online list is several times what it is on campus.
The online healthcare administration rankings apply the same model across that subset and set out both findings with the figures behind them.
A national ranking of 368 programs would put the same list in front of everyone, and the list would be wrong for most of them. Tuition is charged at in-state rates that only apply where you live, the wage this degree leads to varies by tens of thousands of dollars between states, and whether an accredited master's is available at the same institution is a local fact rather than a national one.
The 33 states ranked here show how wide that variation is. New York pays a median of $164,120 for this work and Alabama $97,790, a difference of $66,330 a year for the same job title. Pennsylvania offers 24 programs to choose between and California 15, despite California employing more of these managers than any other state.
Graduation rate carries 40% of the score, in-state tuition 25%, delivery flexibility 20% and admission selectivity 15%. Every input comes from federal IPEDS data or a school's own program page, and a program must report both a graduation rate and a tuition figure, and still be enrolling new students, to be ranked at all. Weights are never renormalized around a missing factor, because that turns non-disclosure into an advantage. The full model, including the factors deliberately left out and why, is in the ranking methodology (version 1.0).
These 17 jurisdictions hold 33 ranked programs between them, too few to carry a ranking page of their own. 14 of the 33 can be finished fully online, which is the practical route for most readers here: a state with two programs is a state where the national online field is the real choice set, and an in-state tuition advantage is worth less than it looks when there is little to apply it to.
All 368 ranked programs sit on a state page. This is the way in: pick a state and the page ranks every program in it, with tuition, completion and delivery beside each one.
The degree feeds one federal occupation: Medical and Health Services Managers, SOC 11-9111. It is a large one, 597,080 jobs nationally, and a wide one. The median is $123,860, the middle half sit between $94,700 and $166,100, and the top tenth clear $224,340. The bottom tenth earn $73,390, which is the figure most pages in this field leave out.
Those are BLS OEWS figures for May 2025, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They describe everyone doing this work at every education level, so they are not a starting salary for a new bachelor's graduate, and no page here presents them as one.
This is where the field misleads people most often, and the correction is simple. CAHME accredits healthcare management programs at master's level only. It does not accredit any bachelor's degree anywhere, so an undergraduate program advertising itself as CAHME-accredited is describing something that does not exist.
The undergraduate equivalent is AUPHA certification, which is a membership standard rather than programmatic accreditation and is not part of the score. Where a school states the certification on its own page, the program card says so.
What every ranked program does hold is institutional accreditation, which is what makes a degree recognized by employers and by graduate schools at all. You can check any institution against the Department of Education's database directly.