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2022 Best Value Colleges for Economics in the Southwest Region (With Aid)

29 Ranked Colleges
2,902 Degrees Awarded
$16,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

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 Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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 the Southwest region, there were 2,902 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,669 and $20,712 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 29 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

The economics school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid”.

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. 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 Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 26 Best Value Colleges for Economics in the Southwest Region (With Aid)

#1

Rice University

Houston, Texas

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rice University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Houston, Texas, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 103 degrees to qualified ’s economics students in 2019-2020.

Rice also took the #1 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Rice is $16,999 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 1.0% 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full Rice Economics Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a large public school situated in Edinburg, Texas. It awarded 15 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for UT Rio Grande Valley is $4,514 for southwest region economics students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Economics at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Austin. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. Austin, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 523 students in 2019-2020.

UT Austin also took the #2 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $18,023 for southwest region economics students with aid per year to attend UT Austin.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Economics at The University of Texas at Austin

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Texas at Dallas. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. UT Dallas is a public institution located in Richardson, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 79 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Dallas also made our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for UT Dallas is $15,232 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%.

Read more about Economics at UT Dallas

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Arizona State University - Tempe. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 285 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Tempe, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $11,706 for southwest region economics students with aid per year to attend Arizona State University - Tempe.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Arizona State University - Tempe Economics Report

The University of Texas at San Antonio ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. This large school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and it awarded 19 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region economics students with aid list, UTSA has also earned the #20 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The University of Texas at San Antonio is $13,853 for southwest region economics students with aid.

Read full report on Economics at UTSA

#7

University of Houston

Houston, Texas

University of Houston did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. University of Houston is a large school located in Houston, Texas that handed out 215 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

UH did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Houston is $12,838 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full UH Economics Report

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. Texas A&M University - College Station is located in College Station, Texas and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 396 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.

Texas A&M College Station did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M College Station is $19,057 for southwest region economics students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full Texas A&M University - College Station Economics Report

University of North Texas landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Denton, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 59 students in 2019-2020.

UNT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UNT is $15,086 for southwest region economics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full UNT Economics Report

#10

University of Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

University of Arizona landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. University of Arizona is a public institution located in Tucson, Arizona. The school has a large population, and it awarded 283 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Arizona did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Arizona is $15,016 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Economics at University of Arizona

#11

Arizona State University - Skysong

Scottsdale, Arizona

Arizona State University - Skysong came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Arizona State University - Skysong is a large school located in Scottsdale, Arizona that handed out 28 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

ASU - Skysong did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for ASU - Skysong is $13,971 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

Read full report on Economics at ASU - Skysong

#11

Texas Tech University

Lubbock, Texas

Texas Tech University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Lubbock, Texas is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 104 students in 2019-2020.

Texas Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Texas Tech is $17,571 for southwest region economics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Economics at Texas Tech

Oklahoma State University - Main Campus ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus is a public institution located in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

OSU also took the #15 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend OSU is $14,648 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full OSU Economics Report

#13

Texas State University

San Marcos, Texas

Texas State University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in San Marcos, Texas, this large public school handed out 41 diplomas to qualified ’s economics students in 2019-2020.

Texas State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #22 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $15,230 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid per year to attend Texas State.

Read more about Economics at Texas State

#14

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico

University of New Mexico - Main Campus came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 66 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for University of New Mexico - Main Campus is $14,446 for southwest region economics students with aid.

Read more about Economics at University of New Mexico - Main Campus

With a ranking of #15, The University of Texas at Arlington did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. The University of Texas at Arlington is a large school located in Arlington, Texas that handed out 54 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Arlington did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #19 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $14,246 for southwest region economics students with aid per year to attend UT Arlington.

Read full report on Economics at UT Arlington

New Mexico State University - Main Campus landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. Las Cruces, New Mexico is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s economics degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

The estimated yearly cost for New Mexico State University - Main Campus is $8,659 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

Full NMSU Main Campus Economics Report

With a ranking of #17, Stephen F Austin State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. SFASU is located in Nacogdoches, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 ’s economics degrees to qualified students.

The estimated yearly cost for SFASU is $13,723 for southwest region economics students with aid.

Read full report on Economics at Stephen F Austin State University

University of Central Oklahoma did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #18. University of Central Oklahoma is a fairly large school located in Edmond, Oklahoma that handed out 4 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

UCO also took the #25 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UCO is $16,562 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid.

Read more about Economics at University of Central Oklahoma

#19

Texas Lutheran University

Seguin, Texas

Texas Lutheran University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #19. TLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Seguin, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

TLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #16 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Texas Lutheran University is $19,223 for southwest region economics students with aid.

Full Texas Lutheran University Economics Report

With a ranking of #20, University of Oklahoma Norman Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Oklahoma is a large public school situated in Norman, Oklahoma. It awarded 114 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

University of Oklahoma also took the #10 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is $21,145 for southwest region economics students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 full report on Economics at University of Oklahoma Norman Campus

#21

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi, Texas

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #21. Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi is a public institution located in Corpus Christi, Texas. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

It costs about $16,332 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid per year to attend Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Read more about Economics at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi

#22

St. Mary's University

San Antonio, Texas

St. Mary’s University landed the #22 spot on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in San Antonio, Texas, and it awarded 4 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

St. Mary’s also made our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list, coming in at #24. It costs about $19,276 for southwest region economics students with aid per year to attend St. Mary’s.

Read more about Economics at St. Mary’s

#23

Austin College

Sherman, Texas

Austin College ranked #23 on this year’s Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Sherman, Texas, and it awarded 14 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

Austin College also took the #18 spot in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $21,357 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid per year to attend Austin College.

The low student loan default rate of 4.7% 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 full report on Economics at Austin College

#24

Trinity University

San Antonio, Texas

With a ranking of #24, Trinity University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. Trinity University is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Antonio, Texas. The school has a small population, and it awarded 38 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Trinity U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” list. It costs about $24,669 for Southwest Region Economics students with aid per year to attend Trinity University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Economics at Trinity U

#25

University of Dallas

Irving, Texas

With a ranking of #25, University of Dallas did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Economics Schools in the Southwest Region For Those Getting Aid list. University of Dallas is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Irving, Texas. It awarded 17 ’s economics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our southwest region economics students with aid list, UD has also earned the #21 rank in our “Best Economics Schools in the Southwest Region” ranking. It costs about $21,655 for southwest region economics students with aid per year to attend University of Dallas.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UD Economics Report

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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