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2022 Best Value Colleges for Economics (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

8 Ranked Colleges
478 Degrees Awarded
$10,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 48,831 people earned their degree in economics, making the major the 18th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,295 and had an average of $21,978 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 478 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,633 and $20,232 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in economics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent 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 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.

More Ways to Rank Economics Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Economics (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Nashville, Tennessee is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s economics degrees to 289 students in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt also made our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for Vanderbilt is $3,156 for tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at Vanderbilt University

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #2 spot on the list. Knoxville, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 42 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UT Knoxville has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $10,224 for tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UT Knoxville.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at UT Knoxville

#3

Rhodes College

Memphis, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rhodes College. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Memphis, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s economics degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Rhodes College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $16,870 for Tennessee Economics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Rhodes College.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at Rhodes College

#4

Middle Tennessee State University

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Middle Tennessee State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. Middle Tennessee State University is located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.

Middle Tennessee State University also made our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $8,919 for Tennessee Economics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Middle Tennessee State University.

Read full report on Economics at Middle Tennessee State University

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and it awarded 4 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UT Chattanooga has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UT Chattanooga is $8,108 for Tennessee Economics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Economics at The University of Tennessee - Chattanooga

#6

University of Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

University of Memphis came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Memphis, Tennessee is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

UofM also took the #6 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UofM is $10,256 for Tennessee Economics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Economics at UofM

#7

East Tennessee State University

Johnson City, Tennessee

With a ranking of #7, East Tennessee State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Johnson City, Tennessee, this fairly large public school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified ’s economics students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k list, ETSU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $10,632 for Tennessee Economics students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend ETSU.

Read more about Economics at East Tennessee State University

Sewanee - The University of the South ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Sewanee - The University of the South is a private not-for-profit institution located in Sewanee, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 62 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Sewanee did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Economics Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend Sewanee is $17,277 for tennessee economics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Economics at Sewanee - The University of the South

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.

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