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2024 Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region

85 Colleges in the Great Lakes Region
9,301 General Business Degrees Awarded
$46,236 Avg Early-Career Salary
If you pursue a degree in general business/commerce, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #16 most popular program in the country. This means there are lots of options to choose from when you decide to get your degree.

For its 2024 ranking, College Factual looked at 85 schools in the Great Lakes Region to determine which ones were the best for general business/commerce students pursuing a degree. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 9,301 degrees in general business/commerce during the 2020-2021 academic year.

What's on this page: * Degree-Level Rankings

Choosing a Great General Business/Commerce School

Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region The general business program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for General Business/Commerce rankings. We derive our Best Overall General Business/Commerce School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.

In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.

General Business/Commerce Rankings by Degree Level

Associate Degrees in General Business
Bachelor's Degrees in General Business
Master's Degrees in General Business
Doctor's Degrees in General Business

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region list, to help you choose the best school for you. If you'd like to restrict your choices to just one part of the country, you can filter this list by location.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

If you want to learn more about how we derive our rankings, see College Factual's Methodology.


 

Best Schools for General Business/Commerce in the Great Lakes Region

The schools below may not offer all types of general business degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 15% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.

12 Top Great Lakes Region Schools in General Business

1
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
114 General Business Degrees Awarded
$162,478 Median Starting Salary

Every student who is interested in general business/commerce needs to take a look at Northwestern University. Located in the small city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.

There were approximately 114 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at Northwestern University get $116,242 above the standard college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Northwestern University

2
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
3,071 General Business Degrees Awarded
$85,921 Median Starting Salary

Indiana University - Bloomington is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in general business/commerce. Located in the small city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #55 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means IU Bloomington is a great university overall.

There were roughly 3071 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at IU Bloomington in the most recent year we have data available. General Business/Commerce degree recipients from Indiana University - Bloomington earn a boost of approximately $39,685 above the average earnings of general business/commerce majors.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Indiana University - Bloomington

3
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
120 General Business Degrees Awarded
31.7% Growth in Graduates

It's difficult to beat University of Notre Dame if you wish to pursue a degree in general business/commerce. Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. A Best Colleges rank of #20 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Notre Dame is a great university overall.

There were roughly 120 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at University of Notre Dame make $18,035 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Notre Dame

4
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
8th Most Popular In IL

University of Chicago is a good option for students pursuing a degree in general business/commerce. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.

There were approximately 14 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent data year.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Chicago

5
Doctor's Degree Highest Degree Type
221 General Business Degrees Awarded
$112,390 Median Starting Salary

UW - Madison is a very large public university located in the city of Madison. A Best Colleges rank of #30 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.

There were roughly 221 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the general business/commerce degree program at University of Wisconsin - Madison make $66,154 more than the average college grad in this field shortly after graduation.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Wisconsin - Madison

6
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
235 General Business Degrees Awarded
4.7% Growth in Graduates

IWU is a large private not-for-profit university located in the rural area of Marion. A Best Colleges rank of #291 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means IWU is a great university overall.

There were approximately 235 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at IWU in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, general business degree recipients typically make an average of $45,673 at the beginning of their careers.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Indiana Wesleyan University - National & Global

7
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
785 General Business Degrees Awarded
$79,099 Median Starting Salary

IUPUI is a very large public university located in the city of Indianapolis. A Best Colleges rank of #274 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means IUPUI is a great university overall.

There were roughly 785 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at IUPUI in the most recent data year. General Business/Commerce degree recipients from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis get an earnings boost of about $32,863 over the typical earnings of general business/commerce graduates.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Indiana University - Purdue University - Indianapolis

8
Associate Degree Highest Degree Type
199 General Business Degrees Awarded
26.6% Growth in Graduates

Macomb Community College is a fairly large public college located in the city of Warren. A Best Colleges rank of #377 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Macomb Community College is a great college overall.

There were roughly 199 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Macomb Community College in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, general business degree recipients generally earn about $36,547 in their early careers.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Macomb Community College

9
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
289 General Business Degrees Awarded
5.2% Growth in Graduates

Ball State is a fairly large public university located in the small city of Muncie. A Best Colleges rank of #205 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Ball State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 289 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Ball State in the most recent year we have data available. Those general business/commerce students who get their degree from Ball State University make $13,606 more than the average general business grad.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Ball State University

10
Bachelor's Degree Highest Degree Type
7th Most Popular In IL
43 General Business Degrees Awarded

Illinois Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit university located in the city of Bloomington. This university ranks 20th out of 85 colleges for overall quality in the state of Illinois.

There were approximately 43 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Illinois Wesleyan in the most recent year we have data available.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Illinois Wesleyan University

11
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
284 General Business Degrees Awarded
$59,797 Median Starting Salary

Located in the town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #359 out of 2,217 schools nationwide means UW - Whitewater is a great university overall.

There were approximately 284 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at UW - Whitewater in the most recent year we have data available. General Business/Commerce degree recipients from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earn a boost of approximately $13,561 above the typical earnings of general business/commerce graduates.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater

12
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Master's Degree Highest Degree Type
120 General Business Degrees Awarded
24.2% Growth in Graduates

Michigan State is a very large public university located in the city of East Lansing. A Best Colleges rank of #74 out of 2,217 colleges nationwide means Michigan State is a great university overall.

There were roughly 120 general business/commerce students who graduated with this degree at Michigan State in the most recent year we have data available. General Business/Commerce degree recipients from Michigan State University receive an earnings boost of about $80,264 over the average income of general business/commerce graduates.

More information about a degree in general business/commerce from Michigan State University

Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional great schools for General Business/Commerce students in the Great Lakes Region that almost earned our Best General Business/Commerce Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
13 Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI
14 Saint Norbert College De Pere, WI
15 Grand Valley State University Allendale, MI
16 Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL
17 Davenport University Grand Rapids, MI
18 Purdue University Fort Wayne Fort Wayne, IN
19 Youngstown State University Youngstown, OH
20 Indiana University - South Bend South Bend, IN
21 Oakland University Rochester Hills, MI

Best General Business/Commerce Colleges by State

Explore the best general business/commerce colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes Region .

State Colleges Degrees Awarded
Michigan 322 1,060
Ohio 314 563
Illinois 304 867
Indiana 294 5,636
Wisconsin 273 526

View All Rankings >

General Business/Commerce is one of 21 different types of Business, Management & Marketing programs to choose from.

General Business Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Business/Commerce 9,301

View All General Business Concentrations >

Majors Similar to General Business

Related Major Annual Graduates
Business Administration & Management 52,496
Accounting 14,839
Marketing 9,982
Finance & Financial Management 9,758
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods 7,693
Human Resource Management 5,374
Business Support & Assistant Services 5,143
Hospitality Management 2,087
Management Information Systems 1,926
Entrepreneurial Studies 1,870

View All General Business Related Majors >

Notes and References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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