Economics is of the hottest degree programs in the United States, coming in as the #19 most popular major in the country. This makes choosing the right school a hard decision.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 407 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Economics Schools ranking. Combined, these schools handed out 47,809 degrees in economics to qualified students.
The economics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Economics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for economics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
In order to find the schools that are the best fit for you, you may want to filter to one of the degree levels below.
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 Economics Schools list to help you make the college decision.
You can also filter this list by location to find schools closer to you.
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.
When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don't forget it.
Although we recommend filtering by degree level first, you can view the list below to see which schools give the educational experience for the economics degree levels they offer. Only those schools that rank in the top 20% of all the schools we analyze get awarded with a place on this list.
It is hard to beat University of Chicago if you want to pursue a degree in economics. UChicago is a large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Chicago. A Best Colleges rank of #3 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means UChicago is a great university overall.
There were roughly 777 economics students who graduated with this degree at UChicago in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from University of Chicago earn $36,748 more than the average economics student.
Any student who is interested in economics has to take a look at Northwestern University. Located in the city of Evanston, Northwestern is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #5 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Northwestern is a great university overall.
There were about 421 economics students who graduated with this degree at Northwestern in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Northwestern University receive an earnings boost of about $29,605 above the average earnings of economics majors.
Every student who is interested in economics needs to take a look at University of Pennsylvania. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Philadelphia. A Best Colleges rank of #2 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UPenn is a great university overall.
There were approximately 281 economics students who graduated with this degree at UPenn in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics program at University of Pennsylvania make $33,770 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Vanderbilt University is a great choice for students pursuing a degree in economics. Located in the city of Nashville, Vanderbilt is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Tennessee.
There were approximately 269 economics students who graduated with this degree at Vanderbilt in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Vanderbilt University receive an earnings boost of around $28,984 above the typical earnings of economics majors.
Columbia is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of New York. A Best Colleges rank of #15 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Columbia is a great university overall.
There were about 535 economics students who graduated with this degree at Columbia in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Columbia University in the City of New York receive $27,808 more than the typical economics student.
Located in the city of Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is a private not-for-profit university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #6 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Johns Hopkins is a great university overall.
There were roughly 450 economics students who graduated with this degree at Johns Hopkins in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics major at Johns Hopkins University make $37,503 above the standard college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Ithaca, Cornell is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #9 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Cornell is a great university overall.
There were roughly 280 economics students who graduated with this degree at Cornell in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics program at Cornell University get $29,640 above the average graduate with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Located in the city of Cambridge, Harvard is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #4 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Harvard is a great university overall.
There were approximately 332 economics students who graduated with this degree at Harvard in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics program at Harvard University make $48,666 more than the typical college grad with the same degree when they enter the workforce.
Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the large city of Durham. A Best Colleges rank of #7 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Duke is a great university overall.
There were roughly 288 economics students who graduated with this degree at Duke in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Duke University get an earnings boost of around $43,322 over the average income of economics majors.
Located in the city of Berkeley, UC Berkeley is a public university with a fairly large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were about 830 economics students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from University of California - Berkeley make $25,119 more than the standard economics student.
Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #10 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Stanford is a great university overall.
There were approximately 149 economics students who graduated with this degree at Stanford in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Stanford University receive $42,777 more than the typical economics student.
Brown is a large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Providence. This university ranks 1st out of 9 colleges for overall quality in the state of Rhode Island.
There were approximately 237 economics students who graduated with this degree at Brown in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from Brown University earn $16,737 more than the typical economics student.
Georgetown is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of Washington. A Best Colleges rank of #11 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgetown is a great university overall.
There were approximately 284 economics students who graduated with this degree at Georgetown in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Georgetown University receive $27,764 more than the standard economics graduate.
Located in the town of Hanover, Dartmouth is a private not-for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population. A Best Colleges rank of #12 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Dartmouth is a great college overall.
There were roughly 170 economics students who graduated with this degree at Dartmouth in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from Dartmouth College get an earnings boost of about $39,348 over the average income of economics graduates.
Notre Dame is a fairly large private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Notre Dame. This university ranks 1st out of 41 colleges for overall quality in the state of Indiana.
There were roughly 252 economics students who graduated with this degree at Notre Dame in the most recent data year. Degree recipients from the economics program at University of Notre Dame get $20,972 more than the typical college grad in this field shortly after graduation.
UCLA is a very large public university located in the large city of Los Angeles. This university ranks 4th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were about 1052 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCLA in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from University of California - Los Angeles receive $6,764 more than the typical economics grad.
University of Virginia is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Charlottesville. This university ranks 1st out of 57 colleges for overall quality in the state of Virginia.
There were roughly 483 economics students who graduated with this degree at University of Virginia in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from University of Virginia - Main Campus receive an earnings boost of about $19,631 above the typical income of economics graduates.
Located in the city of Chestnut Hill, Boston College is a private not-for-profit college with a large student population. This college ranks 3rd out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were approximately 440 economics students who graduated with this degree at Boston College in the most recent data year. Economics degree recipients from Boston College earn a boost of approximately $16,779 above the average earnings of economics majors.
Yale is a large private not-for-profit university located in the midsize city of New Haven. This university ranks 1st out of 18 schools for overall quality in the state of Connecticut.
There were about 284 economics students who graduated with this degree at Yale in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from Yale University receive $27,290 more than the standard economics grad.
Located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor, U-M is a public university with a very large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 56 colleges for overall quality in the state of Michigan.
There were approximately 690 economics students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics major at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor make $13,089 more than the standard college grad in this field when they enter the workforce.
UCSB is a very large public university located in the medium-sized suburb of Santa Barbara. This university ranks 7th out of 161 colleges for overall quality in the state of California.
There were approximately 679 economics students who graduated with this degree at UCSB in the most recent data year. Those economics students who get their degree from University of California - Santa Barbara receive $11,007 more than the standard economics student.
NYU is a very large private not-for-profit university located in the city of New York. This university ranks 3rd out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were about 602 economics students who graduated with this degree at NYU in the most recent year we have data available. Those economics students who get their degree from New York University receive $13,168 more than the standard economics graduate.
Located in the small city of Chapel Hill, UNC Chapel Hill is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 2nd out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 469 economics students who graduated with this degree at UNC Chapel Hill in the most recent year we have data available. Degree recipients from the economics major at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earn $10,017 more than the typical college graduate with the same degree shortly after graduation.
Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 7th out of 63 colleges for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 231 economics students who graduated with this degree at Tufts in the most recent year we have data available. Economics degree recipients from Tufts University earn a boost of around $19,798 over the average income of economics graduates.
Located in the city of Boston, Boston U is a private not-for-profit university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 4th out of 63 schools for overall quality in the state of Massachusetts.
There were roughly 468 economics students who graduated with this degree at Boston U in the most recent year we have data available. Soon after graduation, economics degree recipients typically earn around $55,733 at the beginning of their careers.
This section shows the rest of the colleges awarded a Best Economics Schools badge.
Showing in this list means the college was ranked in the top 20% of the 407 different United States economics schools we analyzed.
The bars on the spread charts above show the distribution of the schools on this list +/- one standard deviation from the mean.
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 the rest 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).
Credit for the banner image above goes to pixabay.
The economics program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Economics rankings. In order to come up with a best overall ranking for economics schools, we combine our degree-level rankings, weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each level.
