by our College Data Analytics TeamIn 2025, College Factual analyzed 384 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 35,886 bachelor's degrees in economics to qualified students.
What's on this page: * Our Methodology
Your choice of economics for getting your bachelor's degree school matters. Important measures of a quality economics program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:The overall quality of a bachelor's degree school is important to ensure a quality education, not just how well they do in a particular major. To take this into account we consider a school's overall Best Colleges ranking which itself looks at a combination of different factors like degree completion, educational resources, student body caliber and post-graduation earnings for the school as a whole.
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
The metrics below are just some of the other metrics that we use to determine our rankings.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best schools for economics students working on their bachelor's degree.
Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we've developed a number of rankings, including this Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools list, to help you choose the best school for you.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in economics. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
University of Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in economics. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago.
Economics bachelor's degree recipients from University of Chicago get an earnings boost of around $38,158 above the typical income of economics majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Chicago
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in economics has to look into Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population.
Bachelor's recipients from the economics program at Northwestern University make $31,015 above the average college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Northwestern University
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in economics needs to look into University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia.
Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania receive $35,180 more than the standard economics graduate.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Pennsylvania
Any student who is interested in a bachelor's degree in economics has to take a look at Columbia University in the City of New York. Columbia is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York.
Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Columbia University in the City of New York receive $29,218 more than the standard economics grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Columbia University in the City of New York
Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Vanderbilt University get an earnings boost of around $30,394 over the typical earnings of economics graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Vanderbilt University
Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population.
Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Cornell University earn $31,050 more than the standard economics grad.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Cornell UniversityDuke is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham. Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Duke University earn a boost of about $44,732 over the typical income of economics majors. Located in the midsize city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the economics program at Harvard University make $50,076 more than the standard college graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce. Located in the large city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University receive $24,264 more than the average economics student. Located in the medium-sized city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a very large student population. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Berkeley make $26,529 more than the average economics graduate.7
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Annual Graduates$98,649
Median Starting Salary8
258
Annual Graduates$103,993
Median Starting Salary9
140
Annual Graduates$78,181
Median Starting Salary10
Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington.
Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Georgetown University receive an earnings boost of about $30,543 above the typical income of economics majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from Georgetown UniversityBrown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the medium-sized city of Providence. Bachelor's recipients from the economics program at Brown University get $18,147 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Stanford University earn a boost of approximately $44,187 above the typical income of economics majors. Located in the remote town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College earn $40,758 more than the standard economics grad. Located in the small city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Boston College receive an earnings boost of around $18,182 above the average income of economics graduates.12
179
Annual Graduates$72,064
Median Starting Salary13
112
Annual Graduates$98,104
Median Starting Salary14
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Notre Dame is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large suburb of Notre Dame.
Economics bachelor's degree recipients from University of Notre Dame receive an earnings boost of around $22,382 over the typical earnings of economics majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Notre DameUCLA is a fairly large public university located in the city of Los Angeles. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of California - Los Angeles earn $8,174 more than the standard economics graduate. University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Charlottesville. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from University of Virginia - Main Campus make $21,041 more than the standard economics grad. Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New Haven. Economics bachelor's degree recipients from Yale University get an earnings boost of around $28,700 over the average earnings of economics graduates. NYU is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. Those economics students who get their bachelor's degree from New York University earn $14,578 more than the standard economics grad.17
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492
Annual Graduates$74,958
Median Starting Salary19
182
Annual Graduates$82,617
Median Starting Salary20
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population.
Economics bachelor's degree recipients from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor receive an earnings boost of approximately $14,499 over the typical earnings of economics majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in economics from University of Michigan - Ann ArborUCSB is a very large public university located in the midsize suburb of Santa Barbara. Bachelor's recipients from the economics program at University of California - Santa Barbara get $12,417 above the average graduate in this field shortly after graduation. Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a very large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the economics program at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $11,427 above the standard college grad with the same degree shortly after graduation. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. Bachelor's recipients from the economics major at Tufts University earn $21,208 above the typical graduate in this field shortly after graduation. Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. Soon after graduation, economics bachelor's recipients typically earn about $55,733 in the first five years of their career.22
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217
Annual Graduates$75,125
Median Starting Salary25
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This section represents the rest of the schools awarded a Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 384 different United States economics schools we analyzed.Rank College Location 51 University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 52 Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 53 The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 54 Binghamton University Vestal, NY 55 Amherst College Amherst, MA 56 Florida State University Tallahassee, FL 57 Wellesley College Wellesley, MA 58 Colgate University Hamilton, NY 59 American University Washington, DC 60 University of Florida Gainesville, FL 61 Rutgers University - New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ 62 Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA 63 Villanova University Villanova, PA 64 Hamilton College Clinton, NY 65 Trinity College Hartford, CT 66 Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME 67 Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 68 University of California - Irvine Irvine, CA 69 University of Washington - Seattle Campus Seattle, WA 70 Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA 71 Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA 72 Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, NC 73 Brandeis University Waltham, MA 74 Ohio State University - Main Campus Columbus, OH 75 Colby College Waterville, ME 76 Lafayette College Easton, PA
Here are some additional great schools for Economics students that almost earned our Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools award.
View the Best Economics Bachelor's Degree Schools for a specific region near you.
Economics is one of 13 different types of Social Sciences programs to choose from.
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| General Economics | 17,564 |
| Econometrics & Quantitative Economics | 17,305 |
| International Economics | 331 |
| Applied Economics | 276 |
| Development Economics & International Development | 221 |
| Other Economics | 189 |
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 41,131 |
| Sociology | 25,951 |
| Anthropology | 8,349 |
| International Relations & National Security | 8,079 |
| General Social Sciences | 5,605 |
| Geography & Cartography | 3,429 |
| Other Social Sciences | 1,402 |
| Urban Studies | 866 |
| Sociology & Anthropology | 550 |
| Archeology | 235 |