by our College Data Analytics Team
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois” ranking.
Economics is the 19th most popular major in the country with 49,055 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 Illinois, there were 2,155 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,939 and $23,350 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 1,771 economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $40,117 and $25,584 respectively.
This year’s “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois” ranking analyzed 35 colleges that offered a degree in economics. That schools that top this list have a program in economics in which the largest percentage of students at the school are enrolled.
For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
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 “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois” 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. 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.
The following schools top our list of the Best “Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois”.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Principia College. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Located in Elsah, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2020-2021.
Out of the 35 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 491 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad 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 undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.
Out of the 35 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the #3 spot on the list. Lake Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 32 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.3% 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Knox College. The school came in at #4 for the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois. Located in Galesburg, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 20 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Out of the 35 schools in the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Monmouth College landed the #5 spot on the list. Monmouth College is a small school located in Monmouth, Illinois that handed out 13 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #6, Wheaton College Illinois did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Wheaton College Illinois is a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 35 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 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 impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Northwestern University ranked #7 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 351 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
Illinois College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. Illinois College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Jacksonville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 443 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #10, Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Illinois Wesleyan is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Economics at Illinois Wesleyan University
McKendree University ranked #11 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. McKendree University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lebanon, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Augustana College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #12. Rock Island, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 17 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 3.5% 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.
North Central College did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #13. North Central College is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
With a ranking of #15, University of Illinois at Chicago did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 117 students in 2020-2021.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Illinois at Chicago
Northeastern Illinois University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s economics students in 2020-2021.
Read full report on Economics at Northeastern Illinois University
With a ranking of #17, Dominican University did quite well on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Dominican University is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Roosevelt University ranked #18 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Roosevelt is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 10 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
Illinois State University landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 17 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Governors State University ranked #21 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. University Park, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.
Northern Illinois University did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #22. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s economics degrees to qualified students.
DePaul University landed the #23 spot on the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 3.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Elmhurst University ranked #24 on this year’s Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois list. Elmhurst University is a small school located in Elmhurst, Illinois that handed out 4 bachelors’s economics degrees in 2020-2021.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville did quite well in the 2023 Schools for a Bachelor’s Highly Focused on Economics Major in Illinois ranking, coming in at #25. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s economics degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Economics Report
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
