67 Public Administration journals (Social Sciences) in ORBIT Tier 1 with at least 10 papers in 2025. ORBIT Tier 1: top quarter of Social Sciences by citation impact, our own ranking. Not a Scopus or Web of Science quartile.
As of 2 October 2026. From OpenAlex, Crossref and DOAJ. ORBIT Tier is our own ranking within a field, not a Scopus or Web of Science quartile.
| Journal | ISSN | Papers in 2025 | ORBIT Tier | Fee to publish | Open access | DOAJ | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The British Journal of Social Work | 0045-3102 | 315 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Public Money & Management | 0954-0962 | 167 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Research on Social Work Practice | 1049-7315 | 164 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Public Organization Review | 1566-7170 | 152 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | Netherlands |
| Public Management Review | 1461-667X | 146 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Social Work Education | 0261-5479 | 142 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Public Administration Review | 0033-3352 | 134 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| European Journal of Social Work | 1369-1457 | 124 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Families in Society The Journal of Contemporary Social Services | 1044-3894 | 100 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work | 2640-8066 | 97 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Employee Relations | 0142-5455 | 91 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Social Work | 1468-0173 | 91 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| International Journal of Public Administration | 0190-0692 | 89 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| International Social Work | 0020-8728 | 80 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Public Performance & Management Review | 1530-9576 | 72 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Australian Social Work | 0312-407X | 71 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | Australia |
| Economic and Industrial Democracy | 0143-831X | 68 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| The Economic and Labour Relations Review | 1035-3046 | 68 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | Australia |
| Industrial and Labor Relations Review | 0019-7939 | 67 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources | 1038-4111 | 65 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Social Work Education | 1043-7797 | 63 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Nordic Social Work Research | 2156-857X | 63 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | United Kingdom |
| British Journal of Industrial Relations | 0007-1080 | 62 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| International Journal of Public Sector Management | 0951-3558 | 59 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Health & Social Work | 0360-7283 | 57 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Industrial Relations Journal | 0019-8692 | 55 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Teaching in Social Work | 0884-1233 | 55 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Social Work | 0037-8046 | 53 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Ethics and Social Welfare | 1749-6535 | 51 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Social Work Practice | 0265-0533 | 51 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Progressive Human Services | 1042-8232 | 50 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| African Journal of Social Work | 1563-3934 | 48 | 1 | ≈ ₹28,899 to publish | Yes | Yes | Zimbabwe |
| Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work | 1178-5527 | 48 | 1 | Fee not published | Yes | No | New Zealand |
| Critical and Radical Social Work | 2049-8608 | 48 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Social Work/Maatskaplike Werk | 0037-8054 | 47 | 1 | ≈ ₹19,911 to publish | Yes | Yes | South Africa |
| Financial Accountability and Management | 0267-4424 | 45 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| International Public Management Journal | 1096-7494 | 44 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Advances in Social Work | 1527-8565 | 43 | 1 | Fee not published | Yes | No | United States |
| Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society | 0019-8676 | 42 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Journal of Industrial Relations | 0022-1856 | 40 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | Australia |
| Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory | 1053-1858 | 40 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Public Personnel Management | 0091-0260 | 40 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Administration & Society | 0095-3997 | 39 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| International Journal of Public Leadership | 2056-4929 | 39 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Public Affairs Education | 1523-6803 | 39 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| The American Review of Public Administration | 0275-0740 | 38 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| European Social Work Research | 2755-1768 | 37 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | |
| Review of Public Personnel Administration | 0734-371X | 36 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Social Work With Groups | 0160-9513 | 34 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Labor Studies Journal | 0160-449X | 31 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| International Review of Public Administration | 1229-4659 | 30 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Practice | 0950-3153 | 30 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Public Administration Quarterly | 0734-9149 | 30 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Journal of Technology in Human Services | 0740-445X | 29 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Social Work Research | 1070-5309 | 29 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| Perspectives on Public Management and Governance | 2398-4910 | 28 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | United States |
| Studies in Clinical Social Work Transforming Practice Education and Research | 2837-6811 | 28 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | |
| Journal of Comparative Social Work | 0809-9936 | 27 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Norway |
| Labour & Industry a journal of the social and economic relations of work | 1030-1763 | 26 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | Australia |
| Social Work in Health Care | 0098-1389 | 23 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United States |
| China Journal of Social Work | 1752-5098 | 22 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | United Kingdom |
| Journal of Policy Practice and Research | 2662-1517 | 19 | 1 | Free via subscription (paywalled) | No | No | Switzerland |
| Scandinavian Journal of Public Administration | 2001-7405 | 19 | 1 | Free to publish — per DOAJ | Yes | Yes | Sweden |
| International Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics | 1553-6947 | 18 | 1 | Fee not published | No | No | |
| Journal of Human Services | 2689-7040 | 14 | 1 | ≈ ₹2,890 to publish | Yes | Yes | United States |
| Journal of Behavioral Public Administration | 2576-6465 | 12 | 1 | Fee not published | Yes | No | United States |
| Social Work and Social Welfare | 2591-782X | 12 | 1 | Fee not published | Yes | No | Singapore |