2024 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics in the Southwest Region

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 618 people earned their degree in applied economics, making the major the 534th most popular in the United States.

Across the Southwest region, there were 55 applied economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in applied economics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent applied economics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the applied economics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region

The colleges and universities below are the best for southwest region applied economics students.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics in the Southwest Region

1

University of Houston
Houston, Texas

#3 in overall quality

$13,721 Average Net Price

$48,769 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Houston landed the #1 spot on the list. Houston, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s applied economics degrees to 20 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UH, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Houston is $13,721 for Southwest Region Applied Economics students.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Houston Applied Economics Report

2

University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona

#2 in overall quality

$13,358 Average Net Price

$46,654 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Arizona. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Arizona also took the #2 spot in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Arizona is $13,358 for southwest region applied economics students.

Read more about Applied Economics at University of Arizona

3

Southern Methodist University
Dallas, Texas

#1 in overall quality

$38,208 Average Net Price

$62,901 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Methodist University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region. SMU is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Dallas, Texas. It awarded 10 ’s applied economics degrees in 2020-2021.

SMU also took the #1 spot in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SMU is $38,208 for southwest region applied economics students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full SMU Applied Economics Report

• Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.