College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid

12 Ranked Colleges
1,251 Degrees Awarded
$19,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 49,055 people earned their degree in economics, making the major the 19th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, economics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $48,736 and had an average of $22,046 in loans still to pay off.

Across North Carolina, there were 1,251 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,101 and $20,742 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in economics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality economics programs that also have a lower cost than 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Economics Rankings Other Ranking Categories

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid.

Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Economics in North Carolina (With Aid)

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 419 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our north carolina economics students with aid list, UNC Chapel Hill has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $12,469 for North Carolina Economics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Economics Report

2
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid. Duke University is located in Durham, North Carolina and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 256 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.

Duke also took the #1 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Duke University is $32,459 for North Carolina Economics students with aid.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Duke University Economics Report

3
Appalachian State crest
Appalachian State University
Boone, North Carolina

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Appalachian State University landed the #3 spot on the list. Boone, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 38 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Appalachian State, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Appalachian State University is $13,989 for north carolina economics students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Economics at Appalachian State University

4
NC State crest
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Carolina State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid list. NC State is a large school located in Raleigh, North Carolina that handed out 42 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NC State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NC State is $16,411 for North Carolina Economics students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read full report on Economics at NC State

5
ECU crest
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend East Carolina University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid list. Greenville, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 101 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ECU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for East Carolina University is $16,550 for north carolina economics students with aid.

Full East Carolina University Economics Report

6

University of North Carolina at Charlotte landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid ranking. UNC Charlotte is a large school located in Charlotte, North Carolina that handed out 46 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

UNC Charlotte did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” list. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Charlotte is $17,634 for North Carolina Economics students with aid.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Economics at UNC Charlotte

7

University of North Carolina at Greensboro ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and it awarded 26 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our north carolina economics students with aid list, UNC Greensboro has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $11,629 for North Carolina Economics students with aid per year to attend UNC Greensboro.

Read full report on Economics at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

8
Wake Forest University crest
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Wake Forest University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid list. Wake Forest University is a medium-sized school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that handed out 117 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

Wake Forest University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” list. It costs about $32,845 for North Carolina Economics students with aid per year to attend Wake Forest University.

With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at Wake Forest University

9
NC A&T crest
North Carolina A & T State University
Greensboro, North Carolina

North Carolina A & T State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Greensboro, North Carolina, this fairly large public school handed out 23 degrees to qualified ’s economics students in 2020-2021.

NC A&T also made our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” list, coming in at #12. It costs about $10,563 for North Carolina Economics students with aid per year to attend NC A&T.

Full NC A&T Economics Report

10

With a ranking of #10, University of North Carolina at Asheville did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid list. University of North Carolina at Asheville is a small public school situated in Asheville, North Carolina. It awarded 19 ’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.

UNCA also took the #11 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $12,551 for North Carolina Economics students with aid per year to attend University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Read full report on Economics at UNCA

11

University of North Carolina at Wilmington did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Wilmington, North Carolina, this fairly large public school awarded 11 diplomas to qualified ’s economics students in 2020-2021.

UNCW also took the #10 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of North Carolina at Wilmington is $19,136 for north carolina economics students with aid.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.1% 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%.

Read more about Economics at University of North Carolina at Wilmington

12
Elon crest
Elon University
Elon, North Carolina

Elon University landed the #12 spot on the 2023 Best Value Economics Schools in North Carolina For Those Getting Aid ranking. Elon, North Carolina is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s economics degrees to 25 students in 2020-2021.

Elon also took the #4 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in North Carolina” ranking. It costs about $38,122 for north carolina economics students with aid per year to attend Elon University.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Economics at Elon

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options